Introduction

The debate about students wearing school uniforms has been a steadfast issue since the development of school uniforms. The liberty of forfeiting school uniforms remains exciting for students since it gives them a sense of freedom in their dress code. The touchy subject regarding school uniforms solicited various responses from students, teachers, and parents, with each party having reasonable reasons for and against the notion. This article seeks to show the facts about dress codes in schools and the pros and cons of students wearing school uniforms.

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Pros of wearing school uniforms

Mandatory school uniforms can be traced back to the 16th century in the United Kingdom. The implementation of school uniforms has brought forth numerous advantages. Among the benefits of school uniforms are the following:

1. Eradicates social classes among students.

Initially, the liberty of students to wear their home clothes promoted social classes among students. This is because well-off students would be draped in designer and expensive clothes while the rest would not have the same flashy clothes. This promoted social classes and reduced the confidence and self-esteem of students otherwise regarded as middle or low-class. Wearing uniforms eradicates social classes among students and equalizes all students through average school uniforms. Wearing uniforms places students at an almost-same level, thus rubbing the class markers that would have otherwise formed.

2. Sharpens the students’ focus and listening ability.

Students’ attention span in elementary, middle, and high schools is meager and easily shiftable. Flashy items will always cause one to bat their eyelid in wandering eyes and gasp in shock. The absence of uniformity among the students will drift the students’ attention, thus causing distractions. Adopting uniforms immensely improves students’ academic focus and promotes their listening ability. This, therefore, reduces the distractions among the students and improves the school performance. Moreover, school uniforms help promote discipline among the students through restrictions on dress code, thus promoting decency and ensuring teachers spend less time disciplining unattentive students.

3. Promotes a sense of belonging.

School uniforms help in boosting the sense of belonging among students. In a group of students from various schools, students are likely to pair up with students in their schools based on their uniforms. It allows the students to appreciate the community aspect of the school and bring and promote the school spirit. A study by Dress Code Ranchi proves that school uniforms promote school spirit. Moreover, school uniforms form a bonding aspect for all students despite their age and promote alumni inclusivity, as it forms part of the school tradition.

4. School uniforms reduce bullying.

Social classes form one of the most crucial factors that promote bullying among students in school. Several student cases regarding bullying based on their dress code, hairstyles, and general appearance have increased apprehension among students. School uniforms help to reduce bullying cases among students based on their dress codes. Promoting a standard uniform improves students’ mental health by significantly reducing bullying. It also equips students with a sense of comfort by promoting student equity. Despite this being an unpopular and debatable opinion, studies prove that school uniforms have reduced bullying.

5. School uniforms promote safety and identifiability.

Subtle school uniforms promote students’ safety by reducing their chances as targets. This is because of minimal flashy clothes and jewelry that may make them targets for robbery. Moreover, school uniforms allow for easy identification. This, therefore, allows easy spotting of non-students within the school who may pose a danger to the students.

Cons of school uniforms

What has advantages will equally have disadvantages. There are, therefore, several pros and cons of school dress code. Despite the arguable pros that school uniforms have brought, there are various reasons why school uniforms are bad. The following are the disadvantages of school uniforms.

6. School uniforms do not improve academic performance.

Knowledge is power, and information is liberating. Schools’ end purpose is to ensure this primary purpose’s achievement. However, mandatory uniform policies have minimal impact on promoting academic excellence. Therefore, focusing on adherence to proper school dress code eats away from the attention given to promoting better academic performance. Therefore, School uniform policies incite unnecessary attention and effort in adherence to policies that do not promote academic excellence. This leaves the unanswered question, should school uniforms be mandatory?

7. School uniforms add to more school policies.

Schools are accustomed to many policies that help maintain proper running and order in the school setup. The policies govern the disciplinary actions, academics, and behavior around the school. However, school uniforms add to the long list of existing school policies. It, consequently, mandates the teachers with more obligation to ensure adherence to the policy, which may not be as crucial for school excellence. School uniforms increase the policing and monitoring of students, thus taking time and effort that would have otherwise been spent on improving school performance.

8. Uniforms limit the students’ freedom of expression.

The constitution’s first amendment highlights the freedom of expression through dress code, provided the dressing is not disruptive or vulgar. However, school uniforms defy the students’ constitutional rights by denying their freedom of expression. The 21st century has promoted teenagers’ freedom of expression through dress codes, piercings, and tattoos. However, most of these are prohibited in schools, thus restraining the creativity and free will of the students.

9. Violation of religious expressions

Religions such as Islam and Sikhism have a very specific code of dress. However, school uniform policies may not allow such religions’ inclusivity, thus frustrating religious expressions. However, despite the argument that schools have incorporated religious attire into the school uniform policies, the adoption rate of religious attire among schools is not uniform worldwide. This argument would form an arguably strong point in an essay-writing debate on the pros and cons of school dress codes. Services such as write my essay  may help the students to form a compelling argument on the same.

10. School uniforms erase cultural differences.

Cultural heritage is a vital element of the society. Various cultures have their unique form of dressing that acts as a representation of their cultural expression. However, the school uniform system fails to acknowledge and revere cultural differences. Therefore, this contributes to future generations’ fading of cultural values and heritage, as students are not allowed to dress based on their cultures openly. The modernity of schools in incorporating uniforms erases cultural differences, thus proving why school uniforms are bad.

Conclusion

Any adjourning advantages have equal disadvantages, and this article proves that school uniforms have pros and cons. The deciding vote is towering with victory in numbers, thus answering whether students should wear school uniforms.