School Uniforms

Why School Uniforms Are Good

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From kindergarten to senior year of high school, a uniform was my outfit five days out of the week. I went to a private high school located in Somerville, NJ. Any person who heard that I had to wear a uniform for all those years pitied me, which lead me mostly to confusion. I really did not understand why people felt bad for me. Wearing a uniform solved so many problems for me. I never had to worry about what to wear to school. My only decision was blue polo or white polo and sometimes that decision was enough for me. It may not seem that way, but wearing a uniform made everyone feel like equals. In a world that is obsessed with material objects, no one in my elementary or high school time ever had to compete with others because of material items. School uniforms may be the simple answer to solve some problems that are currently being faced in schools. Schools should implement uniforms because it can make the school environment a better and more productive place for all. 

Everyday we come face to face with violence. Whether it is in the news or video games, we still see it. Although it is a stretch, uniforms could be one measure to help combat school violence. Before can jump to any conclusions like that, we need to truly understand school the violence that occurs in schools. The CDC put out a 2016 fact sheet on school violence. When it comes to violence or threats at school there are multiple risk factors according to the above article. Along with other suitable measures, uniforms can help the situation too. Long Beach, California is known for being the poorest zip code with a high crime rate. In 1995 Long Beach, CA passed a uniform policy in hopes to cut crime and help better the students lives.

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After passing the policy, school officials noticed remarkable changes. The crime rate had decreased tremendously. Norfolk, VA also implemented uniforms in 1995 and their report also showed decreases in bad behavior. "At Sparks Middle School, discipline and school police records were also studied. Compared to the year prior, discipline referrals were reduced by about 10 percent the first year the uniform policy was implemented. Additionally, school police data showed a 63 percent reduction in police log reports during the first year of implementation." (Wharton). At Sparks Middle School in Nevada, police records showed that discipline referrals reduced 10 percent and police reports decreased by 63 percent. All of this decrease followed the implementation of school uniforms. Clothes can make a difference in how we choose to behave and act. Long Beach is not the only town that agrees with this idea. This article says that parents are less likely to fight with their children over what to wear. Along with that schools no longer have to keep their dress code ahead of inventive/ innovative students. Other places all over the country have decided to incorporate uniforms into their schools because of the statistics from this policy. Having students dress alike not only cuts down crime but also can make them safer. It is easier t recognize a possible threat to the students because they would be dressed differently.

Just like anything else, the idea of uniforms gets a lot of backlash. Many people believe it promotes conformity and restricts students from expressing themselves. People like Rosa Parks and Susan B. Anthony made large impacts in our world. When they did these things though, they did not use clothing to express themselves. They used their voices. Going back to the days when I had to wear a uniform, because we all dressed the same we were encouraged to think differently. Wearing a uniform is not an act of suppressing ones creativity. It is rather an encouragement to think outside of the box. 

Not only can uniforms help foster creativity in other ways they can also decrease competitiveness and save money. The University of Nevada, Reno College Education had two researchers study opinions from three middle schools in the Washoe County District during the first year of the implemented school uniform policy. "Students' top-rated statements with responses of "Agree" and "Strongly Agree" were: I still have my identity when I wear a uniform (54 percent); My family likes that I wear a uniform to school (53 percent); I think uniforms save money on clothes (50 percent); I worry less about how others look (42 percent); and, There is less gang activity at school (41 percent)" (Wharton).  These statements were the top-rated among the students. During the first year of the implemented school uniforms students felt that the change was good. They still had their identity when they wore the uniform and also were able to worry less about how others dressed. Because of this, more focus was put on school rather than what everyone was wearing. Also, there was less of a financial burden after school uniforms were introduced. 
The cost of everything continues to go up. Those who are already financially burdened most likely dread when it is time to go back to school shopping. The latest designer trends that most people want are very expensive. Saving money could be very tricky when it comes to this. If a uniform program were to be implemented at a school, it would help families save money. "Families who attended schools with uniforms spent an average of $85 dollars less on clothes per year than families who went to non-uniform schools." (Pike). Chances are people will spend more money on expensive fashion season after season if there is no uniform plan at the school the student attends.  Overtime, families can anticipate noticeable dollar savings with uniforms. Uniforms being implemented in schools means less time worrying about what others are wearing and more time focusing on school. 
Uniforms do not increase a students intelligence, but evidence does suggest that they can help improve academic performance. "In an Albuquerque study, a researcher found that the percentage of students who made honor roll at one middle school jumped from 31 percent to over 43 percent" (Pike). Uniforms made a large impact among middle school students according to this study. Students were able to put a deeper focus on academics which led to better grades and the honor roll for some students. 
Parents and teachers both play important roles in a students life. A survey of parents and teachers was conducted regarding the implementation of school uniforms. Each surveyor was given the same questions each regarding a different subject matter that relates to uniforms. 

Survey Question	Parents	Teachers
Policy has hindered self expression and creativity	34 %	5 %
Policy has hindered individual student’s personal liberty	36 %	0 %
Has promoted a sense of security	41 %	86 %
Has increased school pride and has created a sense of community	42 %	80 %
The school uniform has been financially beneficial for my household	49 %	86 %
Has addressed the peer pressure issue of "fitting in" by wearing specific brands	47 %	90 %
Has promoted positive student behavior	37 %	95 %
Policy has minimized disruption and distractions	38 %	81 %
Has eliminated competition among students	36 %	52 %
School uniforms have improved the learning environment	35 %	81 %
The Board should extend the school uniform policy indefinitely	42 %	81 %

http://www.statisticbrain.com/school-uniform-statistics/

Both the teachers and parents either agreed or strongly agreed with the survey questions. The teachers had a higher percentage because more agreed or strongly agree with these questions. When it came to the two questions that asked about hindrance of expression and personal liberty either none or a low percentage of teachers agreed. Basically uniforms did not suppress the students self expression or personal liberty, the uniforms did however promote, improve, and increase many different aspects of the school environment.  The parents column had average percentages. This means that only some of the parents either agreed or strongly agreed with these questions. They believed that uniforms did help increase, improve, and promote different aspect of the school environment. This could be because the parents only see the children at home whereas the teachers interact with the students everyday and could see the change in their behavior at school. 

Opinions will always differ when it comes to the topic of school uniforms. The above statistics though, show how beneficial uniforms can be for students. Although it may not be the popular choice, it really could better the lives of students. School uniforms could be the answer to solving problems within the school environment.