Alisha A.

Uniforms by Alisha A.

A student is transferring schools, she passes all of her tests and the try out day was amazing. The student is excited to go, when she realizes her family can't afford the cost of the uniforms. Uniforms should not be used everyday. To buy uniforms it costs money. So if you don't have enough money to buy the uniform, then you can't go to that school. What is the point of having uniforms? They don't reduce fights, they don't help kids fit in, they take away personal expression, and students don't even like uniforms. So what is the point of having them?

According to the US Supreme Court "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech”(Marcoff). Uniforms are unconstitutional. Your clothes help define you, and uniforms make it so that you can't show who you are. Picking out your outfit gives you freedom, and if you don't have freedom then you cancel some of your constitutional rights.

Studies have shown that most students don’t like uniforms. According to one study done by The University of Nevada at Reno, 90% of middle school students oppose uniforms. According to researchers at Long Beach (CA) Unified School District, 69% of students said uniforms did not make them feel more connected with the school community. This means that some of the main reasons why people have schools uniforms don't even work. Not to mention that schools did not fix problems with fights or people not fitting in when uniforms were introduced (Viadero).

Uniforms don't benefit students. In fact uniforms may even be associated with a small effect on achievement in reading and an overall grade drop in school. Uniforms do not help people to make friends because they don't build self-esteem, which may be why people donʻt make friends other than the ones they already know. Having students wear uniforms can cause other versions of personal expression that may not be positive (Armstrong). For example, inappropriate clothing or hairstyles on the weekends may become a problem because when kids don't get to choose their clothes, then they miss out on learning to make choices everyday about what is appropriate and inappropriate.

Some think that uniforms help to curb violence and keep students feeling safe. A study done by the Long Beach (CA) unified school district says that 81%of students say that uniforms did not reduce fights, and 71% of students said they did not feel like they fit in more,  69% of students said that they did not feel more connected or feel safer in their community. So who better to believe than the people it's happening to?

If studies show that uniforms don't help the majority of students, then what is the point of having them? It's okay to have uniforms sometimes, but not everyday. Having free dress means being able to show personality and be comfortable while you learn. Uniforms should not be used everyday.