Written by: Leslie Sanders
“according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, which also stated that ‘allowing students to choose their clothing is an empowering message from the schools that a student is a maturing person who is entitled to the most basic self-determination.’ ”
Why do we have uniforms in school? Are they really necessary? In my opinion, they aren’t. Whether we wear our uniforms or not, it shouldn’t affect our education. Whether we wear a hoodie or not, it shouldn’t affect us when learning math, science, social studies, or ela. It is just clothing, so why is there such a big fuss on the importance of wearing uniforms? Our teachers should be skilled enough to teach us to focus on what we are being taught. Uniforms are just a selection of colors and clothing to represent our school, make it easier for the teachers, and just make us look the same. So this isn’t necessary for our education. I know lots of students agree with me and here’s why.
There are many reasons why I think we shouldn’t or don’t need to wear uniforms. First, parents have to pay extra money for uniforms. Every year, parents have to go out and buy their children uniforms just so they won’t get in trouble at school even though their education is more important. Plus, that money can be used for other things like bills. Without uniforms, parents wouldn’t have to pay so much extra money for uniforms because their children already have other clothes they can wear. For example, if a family isn’t financially stable at the time but they want their kid to get a good education, they have to pay extra money for uniforms when it could be used for bills. Second, uniforms aren’t as comfortable as our own clothes. What we wear as uniforms are not what we wear on a daily basis so they won’t feel as comfortable. However we are forced to wear them for 8 hours and still try to focus on what we are learning instead. If we could wear our own clothes, we would be more comfortable and not have to focus on how uncomfortable we are, and we would be more enthusiastic to learn everyday. To add to this, our own clothes will keep us warmer during the winter and fall. Our khaki pants and collared shirts don’t keep us as warm as we need to be during these seasons as our own clothes could. For example, sweatpants, sweaters, and hoodies will keep us warmer but we can’t wear certain things because of the colors. Lastly, our uniforms don’t allow us to express ourselves. In school, they teach us to be creative like creating stories and art, and to express our opinions by asking questions in class. However, we can’t express our personality if we are forced to wear the same colors and types of clothes. We don’t get to show everyone our personality though our clothes.
I’ve actually had a couple of bad experiences with uniforms which also show why we don’t need uniforms. One of my bad experiences happened on the first day of 6th grade. I walked in with a really dark, navy blue shirt on but when my mom and I looked at it, it looked dark enough to be black. However, one of the counselors, actually the counselor that knew my family, noticed and stopped me. She told me about the color of my shirt and the colors we are allowed to wear and she brought me to the room with spare uniform shirts. She made me pick out a shirt and change but because I was in a rush, I just picked any shirt so I ended up going through the whole school day with a shirt that was too small for me. As a result, I was later to homeroom so I had less time to get ready for my first classes. This shows how having uniforms can waste the time that we have to learn. Also, on school-uniforms.procon.org (“Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms”) it states, “according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, which also stated that ‘allowing students to choose their clothing is an empowering message from the schools that a student is a maturing person who is entitled to the most basic self-determination.’ ” This further explains why we don’t need uniforms. They don’t allow us to mature by taking on more responsibility.
Some people might say, students might get bullied for what they wear. Of course it is hard to control what each and every student says to each other. However, this is where the school’s rules on bullying come into play. The school’s teachers, counselors, and principal are responsible for controlling the bullying. So if the school really emphasizes no bullying then we won’t have to worry about students getting bullied because of their clothes. Also, some might say, students will dress inappropriately. However, the school’s policies on dress code will have to be emphasized also. There will be a few students that will try to test the rules but the adults in the school will then have to show them what’s wrong with their outfit and discipline them. Specifically school staff members might say that the uniform colors represent our school and that students will worry too much about how they look if they pick their own clothes. First, whether we all wear the same colors for our school or not, it doesn’t affect our education. So if we don’t wear uniforms, it won’t change how well we perform in class. So that doesn’t really have any relation to our education. Second, teachers should have the skills and authority to make sure their students stay on task rather than fiddle with their clothes. Most teachers should be able to control their class and keep them busy. Lastly, a concern specifically from parents might be that it will take too long getting ready in the morning. However, this might be a problem for some students but lots of students know to plan out their outfit the night before.
In conclusion, I think that having uniforms in school is not necessary. There are many reasons why I think they aren’t necessary like, they aren’t comfortable, they don’t let us express ourselves, and they cost extra money. However, I do understand some reasons for why people may disagree with this. Some people might think students will get bullied for their clothes, students will dress inappropriately, or students will worry too much about their clothes. This might be true for some students but there are ways and things the schools can do to prevent these problems. With all the pros and cons, I still think we don’t need uniforms in school. It’s just clothes, so academically will it really affect us? I don’t think so. If you want students to focus more on their education and show their creativity, then the policy of uniforms should be taken away.