Why Do Students Wear School Uniforms?

Great Essays
As you walk down the halls of numerous high schools in America, one thing that may stand out to people is the diversity of clothing that students choose to wear. One student may choose to wear a fancy shirt with shiny shoes while another student may roll out of bed and throw on a comfortable t-shirt and worn out sneakers. Each student has their own unique and individual style, and they enjoy expressing themselves through their choice of apparel. The website Style Caster quotes American Fashion designer Rachel Zoe, "Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak." Everyday students can have the opportunity to reveal who they are simply by what they pull out from their closet. Multiple students would agree that they try on a few outfits during their typical morning routine to find the best way to express themselves for that particular day. …show more content…
In 2013 Lisa Flam, from the website Today, examined this topic closely to see what all the fuss was about. Here is what she found, "The number of public schools asking students to wear school uniforms is on the rise, with nearly one in five requiring them." Many people have a belief that kids expressing themselves through their clothing is of little importance. It is common for people to have this idea that school uniforms will unify the student body and eliminate people being judged by what they wear. They believe that clothing is just a vain distraction to students and while they are at school they should be unified and then when they are out of school they have freedom to do what they want. Despite these common beliefs, school uniforms are one thing that limits students from expressing who they are. In the years of high school expression through style is important to students and it helps them feel free to be themselves and makes them feel unique and

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    In the report Dress for Success: Public Schools Uniforms, it says that students should be forced to wear the same pair of clothes every day until they graduate from school and even in college. Three reasons why students shouldn’t wear school uniforms b/c personality, relaxation, and money. People all around the nation don’t want to wear school uniforms.…

    • 58 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    These students are our future, and if school uniforms can decrease the rates of bad experiences, and increase a more spirited school environment, then they might as well be incorporated. These younger students hold the key to our future and the use of school uniforms can influence these students into becoming stronger key…

    • 852 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    First, students in elementary and middle schools are more likely to adopt a school uniform policy. Secondly, these students are heavily under the influence of their parents; thus, they have limited choices and autonomy. Third, from a develop mentalist standpoint, students of elementary and middle school ages have yet to begin identity development ( in Eriksonian terms ) and are very limited to their understanding of and interactive role in society. Clothes have yet to fully develop their aesthetic meaning and symbolic representation of the self to these students, thereby contributing to the students' willingness to participate in such a program. Lastly, other internal administrative changes also occurred during the implementation of school uniforms.…

    • 1710 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Without school uniforms, enforcement of of a dress code is difficult and a burden on school staff. By dressing professionally, students receive more respect from teachers and peers alike. Students who wear uniforms are also more prepared for the rigors of various dress codes in adult life after their school years. According to a bullion from the National Association of Secondary School Principles, “When all students are wearing the same outfit, they are less concerned about how they look and how they fit in with their peers; thus they can concentrate on their…

    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mandatory Dress Codes

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Dress codes are created for varieties of different reasons. Some places should have them such as more professional work environments; but places such as casual work environments and schools should not. There shouldn't always be a dress code in tact, but places should always have boundaries on what is acceptable for people to wear. In my opinion, more professional jobs should require dress codes. Depending on the type of job, people should only have to follow a dress code if it is completely necessary.…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    We are either not provided with enough open mindedness to be ourselves, who we are isn’t socially acceptable for society, who we are doesn’t fit a certain look, or their are even rules about who we can be. If their are so little opportunities for students to feel like themselves why conform our youth in a place that many already find uncomfortable in the form of school uniforms? To make the school look more professional? Ask the question, if you take away one of the main of the options for self- expression, personality, and identification, what are they left with. Research shows that students who were forced to wear school uniforms were more likely to use makeup earlier than their peers, and later, to use more extreme accessories to alter their fashion such as; short skirts, mohawks, and piercings.…

    • 1320 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In college, it has become increasingly common for students to be lackadaisical when dressing themselves for class in the morning. The obvious lack of effort when it comes to one’s attire can reveal how serious they view their education, along with the amount of respect a person holds for his or her professor. The vast majority of universities do not require students to follow any type of dress code, leaving students a free range of opportunities when choosing what type of clothing they decide to wear to class. With this freedom, comes a responsibility to dress appropriately for class. Deciphering what “Dressing for Success” indicates is often difficult due to the dissimilarity of people’s opinions.…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Furthermore, if the students have to wear school uniforms how will they act when it’s time to dress in adulthood. In reference to SUPC, “Adults make their own clothing choices and have the freedom to express themselves through their appearance.” If the school systems debate on school uniforms is a success there are going to be more problems than they expected. “Adolescents see clothing choices as a means of identification, and seeking an identity is one of the critical stages of adolescence,” according to the late developmental psychologist Erik…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why should students be forced to hide their individuality? Each and every human being is unique, so they should be allowed to put their real selves on display, due to the fact that high school is a time when students have yet to fully explore the different aspects of their personality. Not only do school uniforms remove the opportunity for self-expression, but they could also pose a problem for low-income parents, considering that many schools make their uniforms costly. Looking back at Eastern Christian’s history, it would be safe to say that if the school plans to introduce uniforms to its students, the prices would not be cheap. Unfortunately to every student’s guardian, studies have shown that school uniforms provide little to no education benefits; said uniforms are only there to help the school make hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on how many students attend the school.…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Uniqueness is an aspect of life every human being should have the opportunity to feel, but no person can feel unique if he or she looks exactly like the person to his or her left or right. The debate of school uniforms is a problem that causes controversy between different people, groups, and organizations in the world. In “School Uniforms” published by Proscon.org it states the different issues the children and their parents have with uniforms. The uniforms causes different issues for a student and even the parents. The society as a whole also has a problem with the idea of uniforms being needed in school.…

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fashion Admissions Essay

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages

    I was required to wear a school uniform every day until I was 15. I was not allowed to wear nail polish, statement jewelry, handbags, or even sandals because of the strict uniform guidelines. Because I was never given the freedom to create looks of my own, I had no sense of personal style or even self-identity when I reached high school. So I began turning to fashion magazines for style inspiration. Every day after school, I flipped through countless issues of Teen Vogue, Nylon, Elle, and Glamour, carefully examining the well-crafted ensembles and thoughtful articles that graced their pages.…

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I think not! School uniforms help establish a safe community where the students can learn. School uniforms is that one touchy topic that majority of the students don’t agree with. The students believe that it limits their way of expressing themselves, but really it gives them a more sophisticated way to do so. According to the National Association of Secondary School Principals, a leading organization of middle and high school principals, when all students are wearing the same outfit “they are less concerned about how they look and how they fit…

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Some parents and students may never like the idea of school uniforms due to students not being able to express themselves through their clothing. However, there are many more positive outlooks than there are negative when it comes to uniforms being enforced in schools. With school uniforms, students can still express themselves through shoes, accessories and hair styles. The enforcement of school uniforms creates a level playing field amongst students, reducing peer pressure and bullying. It also helps diminish the separation of social classes, promotes unity, and helps save parents…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Uniforms give them the sense of being dressed up to go some place nice thus changing their attitude to be better and more focused on school work (Huss 36-37). Academics are important in life, and school uniforms help boost the children 's attitudes to focus more on them. In a study orchestrated to receive teachers ' opinions about school uniforms at their school, the teachers believe the uniforms were better for the students. One teacher stated, "An increase sense of responsibility by students" while another teacher stated, "A more effective use of instructional time, and greater participation in classroom activities"…

    • 1798 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    T-shirt or shirt, jean or pant, tie or no tie, these are among the hardest decisions to make. Some students tend to like being dressed up, despite the fact that they are just going to a regular school day. They ought to wear fancy clothes, colorful dresses, in which they need to check once or twice inside the closet until they have their preference, ending up being late to school. As the saying goes, rather than paying our time looking at our wardrobe, we can literally put on the school uniform to save time, dressed formally just like their peers. Indeed, in comparison to regular school uniform, those luxurious clothes are much more expensive.…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics