School Uniforms: An Unseen Wealth Of Benefits

5 Pages 1185 Words

In America, children from ages five to eighteen have one job, which is to go to school and eventually graduate to become productive citizens in society. Like any occupation, school has expectations: “students and professors will treat each other with courtesy, honesty, and respect …[to create an environment] of professional learning”(Arcadia 1). The education system promotes these values by enforcing a plethora of rules regarding attendance, classroom conduct, and most importantly attire. A student’s outward appearance can often times negatively affect one’s performance by creating additional distractions for his or her peers and teachers. Schools have attempted to eliminate these clothing issues by implementing school dress codes; however, most systems are flawed. School uniforms are a positive alternative to strict, authoritarian dress codes. Students should be required to wear school uniforms because of the numerous benefits they provide.
Recently there has been a surge in uniform enforcement; however, “This idea is not a new one. School uniforms have been mandatory in private schools for centuries”(White 1). Seeing the success of uniforms in supposed elite institutions has shown that more and more parents and administrators are beginning to understand the many advantages of required dress.
“The regulation khaki pants, shorts or skirts ‘of the appropriate size’ and [polo] shirts”(White 1), are simplifying parents’ lives by eliminating the morning drama of what to wear to school. Every parent knows the feeling of picky children going through numerous outfits trying to find the perfect combination of clothes, even though the children are running late. In addition to parents’ morning stress relieved, school uniforms reduce the anxiety that many low-income families face during back to school shopping. Spending hundreds of dollars and copious hours in the mall trying to find ideal clothes are a th...