Uniforms In Public School
Quality education is critical to the future of
America’s children. However, we
cannot educate our children in schools where
weapons, gang violence, and drugs,
threaten their safety. Many local school
districts have made uniforms an
important part of an overall program to
improve school safety and discipline.
Students resort to violence and
theft simply to obtain designer clothes or name
brand shoes. This instills a
fear among the students and teachers. It is no
secret that violent behavior
has become a problem in public schools. For this
reason more and more public
schools are entertaining the idea of uniforms to get
the minds of their
students off of fashion and onto their education. Many
parents and students
support the uniform issue because they feel it makes all
the students equal
in the eyes of their peers and teachers. However, many
parents feel that just
like installing metal detectors, uniforms are a
simplistic solution to a far
greater problem. Some experts believe uniforms
promise to cut down crime and
reduce violence, but only if we take away that
students individuality and
freedom of expression. What does this promise?
Uniforms have been used in
an effort to try an reduce crime, and at the same
time, remove peer pressure
amongst students to try to "fit in" so they can
concentrate on their school
work. President William Clinton agrees with this
saying "If uniforms can help
deter school violence, promote discipline, and
foster a better learning
environment, then we should show strong support to the
parents that try
them".(21) By mandating uniforms in public school, school
officials hope to
see a reduction in crime and violence. According to
statistics, there are
notable decreases in school violence and illegal offenses
after the enactment
of a school uniform or standardized dress code policy.(Lewis)
Can
uniforms really help in deterring violence and crime? Many parents
and
teachers say yes. Supporters of uniforms say social and economic classes
would
no longer be revealed by students’ clothing and the school system will
have
more of a sense of community.(Nittel) Providing that a child’s clothes
does
make a difference in school violence, then uniforms are exactly what
our
children need. Some parents feel uniforms will put the students’ emphasis
on
schoolwork instead of dressing "cool", and they will help to lower
school
violence. Almost five years ago, the Long Beach School District made
headlines
when it became the first school district in the country to make
uniforms
mandatory for its elementary and middle school students. According
to Phoenix
school officials in Long Beach, California, attendance and test
scores improved,
incidents of students fighting decreased by 50%, student
crimes decreased by 36%
and student suspensions decreased by 32% after they
enacted a uniform
policy.(Will) Also other there were other steps to improve
student behavior.
Increasing the number of teachers patrolling the
hallways during class changes,
were also taken by the district around the
same time the uniform policy was
introduced. Dress codes were initiated in
private schools as a standard. As
violence, competition between students, and
distractions from the educational
system increased in public schools,
administrators began to consider uniforms as
a solution to the problem. In
Baltimore, Maryland, school administrators found a
44% drop in assault
and battery charges, a 50% reduction in assault with a
deadly weapon, a 41%
cut in occurrences of fighting and a 74% drop in sexual
offenses. They also
found drug abuse to be down by 89% and vandalism had dropped
by 8%.(Stacey)
These results and others caused many school districts to consider
uniforms
for their own schools. Uniforms seem to give students a sense
of
responsibility. It says that clothing is not that important. With
this
realization the students began to forget about their clothes and
refocused their
attention on education. Consequently their test scores and
attitudes improved.
One teacher stated that " I have never seen so many
children change their
overall attitude in the classroom in just a matter of a
few weeks." Studies
show school uniforms are more successful in elementary
schools, where students
are not so intent on their individuality.(Stover)
And, experts recommend placing
students in uniforms at a young age so they
become accustomed to a program. This
allows there to be no focus on material
items and the children’s focus remains
on education from the start.
Stover(1990) states that most supporters of
uniforms agree the program will
not succeed unless school officials gain the
support of a large majority of
parents from the beginning. President Bill
Clinton endorsed school
uniforms in his 1996 State of the Union Address, and
this endorsement was
followed by the distribution of a United States Department
of Education
Manual on School Uniforms to the nations’ 16,000 school
districts. This
manual is used as a guide to help schools incorporate uniform
policies and
standardized dress codes into their extensive safe school programs.
The
decision whether to adopt a uniform policy is made by states, local
school
districts, and schools. For uniforms to be a success, as with all
other school
programs, the parents and teachers must be involved. The
following information
from Time Magazine, provides parents, teachers, and
school leaders in whether to
adopt a school uniform policy. 1. Get parents
involved from the beginning. 2.
Protect students’ religious expression.
a. A school uniform policy must
accommodate students whose religious beliefs
are burdened by a uniform policy.
3. Protect students’ other rights of
expression. a. A uniform policy may not
prohibit students from wearing or
displaying expressive items, as long as they
do not disrupt the rights of
others. 4. Determine whether to have a voluntary or
mandatory uniform policy.
5. When a mandatory school uniform policy is adopted,
determine whether to
have an "opt-out" provision. a. This means parents give
their children the
consent to "opt out" of the school uniform requirements.
As a result of
this manual, many local communities are deciding to adopt school
uniform
policies. California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland,
New
York, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia have enacted school uniform
regulations
Many large public school systems -- including Baltimore,
Cincinnati, Dayton, Los
Angeles, Long Beach, Miami, Memphis, Milwaukee,
Nashville, New Orleans, Phoenix,
Seattle, and St. Louis -- have schools
with either voluntary or mandatory
uniform policies, mostly in elementary and
middle schools. Many educators say
that uniforms are more cost effective than
regular clothing (LaPoint). The
average cost of uniforms is $65-75 per year
for a set of three uniforms. They
can be purchased at discount stores,
department stores or uniform suppliers.
Besides saving parents hundreds
of dollars, school uniforms help to erase the
lines between social classes.
The uniforms help to create an equality between
the have and the have-nots.
However, there are a number of parents, teachers,
students, and agencies that
strongly oppose the concept of standardized dress
codes and uniforms.
Unnecessary disciplinary actions on students often become
counterproductive,
creating rejection and sometimes rebellion against school
officials. For
these and other reasons the American Civil Liberties Union have
sided with
parents and students in the fight against uniforms in public schools.
The
American Civil Liberties Union(ACLU) adamantly criticized Bill
Clinton’s
school uniform "experiment" because "it like virtually every other
uniform
policy in the country, applies only to elementary and middle school
students,
and not to teenagers (Siegel)". Their argument is that adolescence
is a time
when the student wants to express his or her individuality and
therefore
uniforms should not even be considered in the high school.
According to Loren
Siegel, Director of the Public Education Department,
and the American Civil
Liberties Union, " implementing mandatory school
uniforms is dangerous because
it gives the community a false sense of
security. It is like putting a small
bandage on an enormous wound, instead of
attempting to find ways to truly deal
with the bleeding." By instilling a
uniform policy, the ACLU feel that,
students will become agitated by the
uniforms and find other ways of expressing
their individuality. The Supreme
Court ruled in 1969 that clothing is a mode of
self-expression and as such,
protected under the First Amendment. Therefore, say
experts, public schools
must offer parents the right to decline to have their
children wear uniforms.
Those students that do not wear them cannot be punished.
"For a public
school uniform policy to be legal, it has to have an opt-out
provision
(Siegel)". This means that every child has the right to a public
school
education, and that right must not be unconditional without compromise of
a
school uniform policy of standardized dress code. Lack of group
identification
is considered one of the significant reasons opponents of the
school uniforms
and standardized dress codes use. Lewis(1996) argued that
"uniforms prevent
students from finding membership with other students with
similar identities."
Critics complain that the uniforms will lessen
children’s individualism and
creativity, which infringes on his or her
rights. If given a choice, it is hard
to imagine that most or even many
teenagers will opt to wear the uniforms. With
all the wonderful statistics
about how uniforms are helping to improve violence
, is there another side?
Yes, the American Civil Liberties Union of
Massachusetts reported that
due to the new release of uniforms in Laurence High
school, attendance of
students has dropped rapidly and 600 students have been
given detention and
200 suspended. This did exactly the opposite of what
uniforms are "suppose"
to accomplish. If policy makers are serious about
finding solutions to the
problem of school violence, maybe they should ask the
real experts: the
students themselves. The ACLU recently conducted a series of
focus groups
with high school students asking them what would help reduce
violence in
school. Uniforms did not make the list. Their suggestion: 1. Since
school
violence mimics that of society at large, schools should seriously
confront
and discuss issues of racism and cultural conflict. 2. School
entrances
should be secured. 3. More extracurricular activities and clubs
should be
established. 4. Open-mike assemblies should be held to give
students the
opportunity to express themselves. 5. Conflict resolution
programs should be
taught. 6. Programs to help students find part-time jobs
should be established.
7. "Safe corridor" programs should be supported to
protect the safety of
students as they go to and from school. Political
leaders seem to be adamantly
promoting uniforms. They are doing this while
there are crumbling school
buildings, overcrowded classrooms and decreasing
education funds. Attractive,
modern and safe school buildings, small class
sizes, schools with well stocked
libraries, new computers and an assortment
of elective courses like music,
drama, and art are the kinds of changes that
would produce long lasting and
dramatic improvements in student achievement.
But by doing this that would
require the government to get involved more than
they want. So they next
possible source is uniforms. The ACLU argues that the
government is trying to
find a "quick fix" to problems in the schools with
the use of uniforms. They
say that the solutions of the problems of school
violence, low morale and low
self-esteem, inappropriate appearance and more,
should be found with the
students themselves (Siegel). Also, by adding
increased police officers and
teachers patrolling the hallways, the students
would be better behaved.
Adolescence is a time when young people want to
express their uniqueness and
individuality in many different ways, the most
influential form of expression
for them is fashion. "While younger children
may be amenable to uniforms --
might even like them -- teenagers are
different." (Siegel) Norman Isaacs, the
principal of Millikan Middle School
in Sherman Oaks, California., has voiced
opposition to uniforms, saying that
"students need to learn to make choices
and decisions based on internal
values, rather than functioning with arbitrary
rules that set the limits for
them." Only then, he says, "can they learn to
think for themselves and
develop self-discipline." Others also argue that
student dress serves as a
"barometer" of what is going on with the student
and can signal problems such
as drugs, gang membership, or sexual abuse.
Uniforms would eliminate a
warning system that lets teachers and administrators
identify and rescue
students who need help. Lastly, a uniform policy penalizes
everyone instead
of focusing on the small percentage of kids causing the
problems. Most
reports on the uniform issue indicate that the elementary and
middle schools
are showing great improvement, however, by not using them in the
high
schools, where crime is worst, do uniforms help at all? There are
no
statistics on how uniforms are doing in high school. This is because no
one is
using them in public school. Townsend (1996, p?) explained that "the
older
students get the less they will like the uniforms." This is what kept
the
principal of Long Beach High and the board of education from
instituting
uniforms in the high school. "We feared it would be an invitation
to open
defiance and civil liberties." It’s well-known that adolescence is a
time
when young people want to express individuality. So the thought of
wearing
uniforms in high school is one to be avoided. Seigel(1990, p ?)
states that"of course as several political cartoonist have pungently observed,
teens are
already in uniform -- baggy pants, T-shirts and baseball caps worn
backward."
But these types of "uniforms" are clothes that the teens’
chose
themselves, and are not chosen for them. For these reason says Seigel,
(1990,
p?) school administrators and teachers know that teenagers will rebel
against
uniform policies; that is why they have been reluctant to put them in
the high
school level. Required uniforms present a real dilemma. If the
junior or senior
high school is a place that the students genuinely like--a
place where they are
respected, where they are proud of their achievements
and those of others, and
where they are consulted about the value of
uniforms, they may well accept them.
(Howe II) In the earlier years, little
children, who have not yet learned to
question adults, will almost certainly
accept them. But students in secondary
schools without are likely to find
ways to rebel against the enforcers of
required uniforms. Could uniforms work
in the high school? According to Kate
Dunnagan of Broughtan High this is
not true. According to Dunnagan "student
bodies are developing and changing
constantly. Students wear what is flattering
and comfortable. It could be
embarrassing to wear the same outfit as everyone
else and look bad in it. The
shape or design of a standard uniform may not be
right for every individual."
It appears the reasons for not implementing
uniform policies in the high
schools are simple. Teenagers will reject them. No
longer young enough to be
persuaded, teenagers express themselves on how they
feel, and to them
uniforms feel wrong. Adolescence is when they discover who
they really are,
and what styles they like. They can not discover this by
looking like each
other day in and day out. So what does this then say to the
elementary and
jr. high students? That once they reach high school they won’t
have to wear
uniforms, and they can go back to their old ways? How does this
help? It
doesn’t. With this attitude crime and violence will only get worse.
High
school will become a place of freedom of uniforms, instead of the
learning
environment that uniforms are suppose to provide. Conformity helps
students to
behave better, learn, and achieve more in and out of the
classroom (Forbes,
Malcolm, p26). The self esteem of a child is increased
when he or she learns and
feels equal to his peers. Little information was
found regarding the thoughts
and views of students themselves. However, last
year students at Briton Middle
school in New Jersey polled 5 senior classes,
asking them how the felt about
uniforms. One student responded saying " This
is just another tactic to try
and remove more of our privileges." (New Jersey
Times, p23) In addition to
parents, school officials and governments
authorities having input, so should
the students that will be wearing the
uniforms. Problems at home, at school, at
church, and public places occur
when attire worn by children become a
distraction and a disruption in their
environment. When this occurs other
methods must be devised to get the
student’s mind off of material things and
back to school work. These methods
must begin with the parents. If parents
monitor what their children wear then
they can solve many problems that may
occur. Are uniforms a good idea for
your district? According to Dr. Hilfer,
strict dress codes are not for
everybody " Some schools thrive on
permissiveness and individuality, while
others have to be more restrictive to
contain a restless student body".
Before making a uniform decision, he
suggests that schools carefully consider
their unique populations; what kind of
message they want to send to their
students; and whether or not the think their
children will go for it. Dr.
Hilfer warns, "By instituting a uniform policy,
schools are taking away kids’
individuality -- schools need to decide if that
sacrifice is really worth
making. It is apparent that no single program or
action alone, will solve the
problems facing public schools today. School
uniforms and standardized dress
codes must be a small part of a larger program
to eliminate violence,
competition, and distractions from education. Schools
must incorporate dress
codes along with other programs to help remove violence,
and at the same time
build self-esteem and school pride among the students and
teachers. Finally,
it will take the cooperation of parents, students, and school
officials to
make this program work. Ultimately, the goal for all us is to put
the minds
of students off of clothes and back on
education.
Bibliography
Polacheck, Karin, (1995, September 28).
Uniforms Help Solve Many School
Problems. Long Beach Press-Telegram,
(Online) 13 paragraphs.
Available:
http://www.lbusd.k12.ca.us/uniform/uniformp.htm. Stacey, Julie,
(1995, August
22). Today's Debate: Dressing For School. USA Today
(Online) 15 paragraphs.
Available:
http://www.lbusd.k12.ca.us/uniform.uniformg.htm. Siegel, Loren. Point
of
View: School Uniforms (Press release online). American Civil Liberties
Union
web page, http://www.aclu.org/issues/student/pres.html U.S Department
of
Education, (1996). Manual on School Uniforms. (Government document).
U.S. House
of Representatives. House Bill Number 2532 (Online). Available:
http://www.dos.state.fl.us/fgils/feds.html
(No date). Associated Press,
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