Clone Clothes | Teen Ink

Clone Clothes

May 7, 2013
By Haley Washington BRONZE, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Haley Washington BRONZE, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Clone Clothes

Many students of public schools believe that school uniforms should not be worn because it is restraining people's freedom of expression and does not create diversity. "Without the outlet of expression in their clothes, students may turn to inappropriate hair styles, jewelry, or makeup" (Public School Uniforms). So by restricting students of their clothing choice, they will still find a way to show their personality in their hair, jewelry, and hairstyles. Individualism. Uniforms may not be comfortable for all students and they cannot wear their uniforms outside of school and with this, there is the double cost of both uniforms and casual wardrobe (Public School Uniforms). In school, if a child is trying to learn, but is not comfortable with the uniforms' fabric, it would be a very big distraction to that child’s learning.
Although a uniform can get boring with the same clothes and same color every day, uniforms have proven to lower physical violence in many schools. "Uniforms have reduced tardiness, skipped classes, suspensions, and discipline referrals" (Public School Uniforms). As confirmed by the Public School Review, in the Long Beach School District within one year of launching uniforms, fights and muggings had gone down by fifty percent. This is another reason why uniforms are good for school. Uniforms have also decreased violence in one school. If more schools were to follow in the same footsteps, the results could show by the end of the year.
Uniforms also help students concentrate on learning and not worrying what they are people think about them. Clothing distracts learning because kids care too much on how others see them. As stated by writer Kristin Holtz, "Students wear shirts that comment on reasons not to do homework, may be associated with gang colors and symbols or expose too much skin"( Holtz). Clothing is a way to express one's personality, but this could also influence others to make wrong choices. This evidence supports my topic because it gives an example
Uniforms will save families money because children will not have to try to keep up with the latest trends. As stated by writer Ozimek, Aleksandra “Children want and need new clothes on a regular basis. When kids have a uniform, they will need fewer clothes, only for after-school and for weekends or summer vacation. For example, instead of buying your child three pairs of jeans, five lululemon shirts and three pairs of shoes, you would buy a complete uniform and then a pair of jeans and a T-shirt for after school. The overall costs would most likely be the same or even lower.” (Ozimek). So having your child’s school have uniforms will benefit many people and they will also save money which they could spend on other materials.
Uniforms will make it easier to identify those who are not from the school and therefore increase the safety of the students. Sometimes students from other schools do go to other schools to cause trouble if they're in a t-shirt and baggy clothes they will stick out like a sore thumb. So from that respect the school will be protected from unruly outsiders.

School Uniforms also make the process of dressing for school faster, particularly for adolescent girls, potentially providing extra time for sleeping or studying. For example, at a school near Boston a high school senior remarks that “for some people it takes hours to get dressed. If we had a uniform it would take three minutes (Alspach, 2007).” This may not be the case for some people, some can get changed faster than others
School uniforms may reduce peer pressure with students; not having to worry about their looks, fitting in not longer becomes the main worry in kid's lives. A September 1999 study in "Psychology Today" showed a 91 percent reduction in crime, a 90 percent reduction in suspensions, a 70 percent reduction in drug abuse, and a 54 percent reduction in fights within the first years of a school uniform policy being adopted. Having School Uniforms could help most students not get peer pressured into anything bad.
School Uniforms can also help control and keep the dress code going. Schools without a school uniform policy still have rules on what clothing is and is not allowed in school. There are usually rules regarding modesty issues, visible logos, offensive text on clothing, gang colors and symbols and more. Teachers and administrative staff must monitor the students' attire. This is of course avoided when all students are in uniform. This evidence supports the topic because it proves that when schools have uniforms it less work for the teachers and staff to monitor what students wear.
Although uniforms sound wonderful in many different ways, they could also negatively affect student outcomes. One possibility is that the restrictiveness of uniforms induces students to become disruptive as a way to rebel against authority or increased conformity could make school boring. Meaning that trying to enforce students to wear uniforms every day of the year might be difficult and student may try to fight the power or protest against the school.
People can talk about uniforms by spreading the word that Uniforms help Students experience less pressure in deciding what to wear each morning, uniforms cost less overall, student attendance improves, uniforms promote a more studious environment, students take less time to get ready in the morning, children are free to concentrate on lessons, uniformity promotes a reduction of violence in schools, Social conflict is reduced as students are no longer judged by the "fashion police and uniforms can be reused and recycled


Some children believe schools are trying to control their freedom of speech by enforcing uniforms, but they have to remember that school is not a fashion show. You are at school to get educated, not make fun of he people that cannot afford to buy the latest trend. Think about it, if you had to wear uniforms would it really affect you life as much as you think?



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.