10 minutes read
June 30, 2022
Form Your Opinion on Uniforms in Schools: Pros and Cons
The prevalence of school uniforms, especially in public schools, is upward in the United States. Parents and school administrators want learning institutions to be safe environments. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 20% of public schools, 23% of elementary schools, 18% of all middle schools, and 10% of all high schools in the United States have approved and adopted a uniform mandate. At schools that have approved school uniforms, students can be monitored and identified easily when they wear school uniforms inside and outside a school compound which has reduced fights and muggings. Should uniforms be required in schools? Read further to find an answer to this question.
7 Pros of Uniforms
Many people continue to debate whether school uniforms should be made mandatory. The most frequently asked questions are: Do you have to wear uniforms in private schools? What are the rules concerning school uniforms in public schools and pros and cons? or Should uniforms be mandatory in schools? The following are the pros of uniforms in schools that can be confirmed by those who have not wasted time and enjoy the benefits of this approach in their schools:
1. Cohesion and Equality
When schools introduce school uniforms, all their students must wear the same clothing to ensure a level playing field. This approach eliminates any preconceived ideas among students on what to wear, resulting in improved group commonality and cohesion. The result is a clear message of equality among students.
Some schools have introduced trousers to be part of their girl’s uniforms. This is a crucial part of sensitizing equality that demonstrates to all students they are all equal regardless of their gender and cultural background.
2. Increased Safety
Another benefit of a school uniform is that it helps school administrators and teachers identify who is a student and who is not from within the school environment. This helps adults have an easy time keeping kids safe and far away from unauthorized designated areas. Staff and students can also tell who is an intruder within the school if the latter doesn’t have a uniform.
School uniforms also assist in ensuring safety during field trips or on-site learning situations. Teachers can identify their students easily and keep them on track even when the crown is large. Children will avoid wandering aimlessly because their teachers and fellow students may always spot them.
3. Safety and Practicality of Uniforms
When children are given free rein to pick what to wear to school, issues for their health and safety may arise. Some will pick clothes they consider fashionable but which may not be practical for a weather pattern of the day.
School uniform ensures that learners dress appropriately in attires that suit a learning process. The majority of school uniforms are simple. Therefore, students will avoid coming in baggy clothes, which may cause them to trip and get injured. They will also avoid attires with dipping long sleeves which will give them problems during science and art projects and tiny clothes that will cause them to freeze in the playground.
4. Preparation of Students for Professional Success
School uniforms help students understand the importance of dressing for success when they are still in school. Uniforms help kids develop positive attitudes and good behavior.
As children continue to interact with peers, they develop an association between learning and uniform, which helps them form the right mindset, work hard, be smart, and focus.
5. Benefits for Students’ Morning Preparation
Parents with children wearing school uniforms believe the uniforms are a godsend because they have an easy time preparing kids for school.
Parents can have a chaotic morning when they check and double-check what their kids are planning to wear to school. With school uniforms, they eliminate this problem, thus saving time.
6. Elimination of Distraction in Learning Environment
Children can be distracted during learning if they keep on looking at peers and their clothes. Some will worry as they try to keep up with the fashion trends and style stakes followed by their friends. As a result, when kids focus attention on fashion instead of education, the class progress could be impacted.
When parents and schools agree to introduce school uniforms, children will be able to channel their concentration on learning.
7. Reduction of Potential Cases of Bullying
One of the biggest advantages schools have enjoyed with the introduction of school uniforms is a significant drop in the number of cases of bullying.
Uniforms have created a sense of equality and community among students. The freedom to choose what to wear to school may create division and disparities. The choice of clothes can subject a kid to bullying as other students may take advantage and make fun of others’ appearance and even hurt them in extreme cases.
School uniforms help eliminate such cases of bullying by making all students equal as they wear the same clothes. Socioeconomic differences will also become difficult to notice when all kids look the same.
6 Cons of Uniforms
Before a school adopts a uniform policy for their students, they should review potential drawbacks and challenges. Here are some of the cons of uniforms in schools to worry about:
1. Absence of Individuality and Freedom of Expression
Most parents prefer to teach their children how to express themselves from an early age. Restricting students with school uniforms prevents kids from showing their individuality. Thus, they may feel oppressed and discouraged from developing their own personality.
Teens enjoy freedom outside their homes, and they express themselves better through fashion. When you force a child to wear a uniform, you place them under some limitations. For instance, most kids express their emotions through clothes, haircut, piercing, or the art they are pursuing. The way they dress helps them manage problems and cope with difficulties they face daily in school.
2. Undermining of Free Education
Buying an entire uniform set required by a school and another one for sports can be costly. Unless the government or school administrations cater to the cost of school uniforms, it will be the student’s family who will bear all the expenses. This approach contradicts the idea of free education, especially in public schools which are supposed to offer education at no cost to all parents.
3. Missed Educational Opportunities
When a school continues to send students home for violating their uniform policy, kids are likely to miss valuable lessons for that day.
Teachers, administrators, and staff will also be spending some quality time enforcing uniform policies to students to ensure that all of them are complying. The situation may lead to missed opportunities like focusing on teaching and other primary duties.
If parents are also called to come and pick up their children for violating a school uniform policy, they lose valuable time. On the other hand, children will start to feel they are under a lot of scrutiny, which may affect their self-esteem and in some cases affect their attitude towards school.
4. Additional Stress for Parents and Students
If children attend school five or six days per week, parents will be required to purchase at least 2-3 pairs of uniforms. Parents who can’t afford to buy some pairs are always stressed since they will have to wash their children’s uniforms every time kids get home. This can be tiresome and take time parents could have spent with their children helping them with homework or resting after a hard day.
5. Potential Resentment among Students
As children mature and begin to develop their own opinions, they will feel bad when they are told to do something they don’t like. Therefore, when students are forced to wear uniforms against their wishes, it can cause resentment toward parents and school.
6. Intolerance of Culture
When selecting a school uniform, concerned individuals may have a tough time deciding on a design that will represent all the participating cultures within a school.
Each group of students will want their input to be captured in the uniform before it is adopted. The failure to consider their views could lead to conflicts or even lawsuits.
Another issue that may cause a problem is how to handle LGBT students. It may not be easy to know which policy to apply to them, like whether to allow them to dress according to their internal or external gender or sexual orientation.
Conclusion
All in all, wearing a school uniform is a requirement in most schools. Before you take your child to a particular school, they should be ready to comply with the existing rules. Therefore, children must abide by their school policies and regulations concerning uniforms even if they detest them.
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