Matching shirts, hats, pants, and backpacks swarm the school hallways. Covered in their school’s logo, crowds of students march up stairs, sprint through corridors, and jump on playgrounds. Students grow, clothes shrink, and colors fade. Seams tear, shoes break, pants rip. Every movement they make costs their parents a fortune. Uniforms can be religiously offensive, sexist, uncomfortable, low-quality, and expensive. They can be irritating, insulting, and harmful to students’ self-images. School uniforms should be banned from schools.
Uniforms traditionally consist of matching hats, bookbags, shirts, skirts and pants, and even shoes. Schools take complete control over students’ outfits. This is unfair, and it violates students’ right to freedom of expression. In some cases, this control is religiously problematic. Golden Manufacturing says, “Some religions require specific dress codes, and school uniforms may not accommodate those requirements. For example, Muslim girls may wear a hijab, which is not typically part of a school uniform. Forcing students to choose between their religious beliefs and their education is unfair and can lead to feelings of exclusion and discrimination.” This is only one of the ways school uniforms cause problems.
Many solely focus on the advantages of school uniforms, because the benefits are all they can see. In reality, uniforms come with an extensive list of disadvantages. According to Britannica, “Students oppose school uniforms. Uniforms may have a detrimental effect on students’ self-image. Focusing on uniforms takes attention away from finding genuine solutions to problems in education. The push for school uniforms is driven by commercial interests rather than educational ones. Parents should be free to choose their children’s clothes without government interference.” These are merely a few of the downsides to school uniforms.
With these uniforms being such a burden to both students and families, it is hard to find a real reason to enforce them. The focal point of school uniforms is to make money for the school. ABC News, “If a school insists that each uniform item has the school logo, parents can be looking at a price of a couple of hundred dollars.” Hundreds of dollars that could be spent on something else, like college education.
Many cites would claim that they benefit students’ mental health, learning, or general success, but none of this has been scientifically proven. According to The New Yorker, “Many school leaders believe that uniforms help, although they can’t seem to agree on why. It’s student achievement, or ‘school pride,’ or a perceived reduction in fighting. When independent researchers have tried to quantify such claims, they have had mixed results.” With many claiming false benefits to such unnecessary and unwanted implementations, it can be hard to tell what is helpful, and what is not. In some places, the enforcement of school uniforms is illegal, such as Massachusetts. According to The 193rd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, “School officials shall not abridge the rights of students as to personal dress and appearance except if such officials determine that such personal dress and appearance violate reasonable standards of health, safety and cleanliness.” This also applies to uniforms.
In fact, very few schools enforce uniforms in America, and for good reasons. According to Medium, “It is estimated that nearly 20 percent of all public schools in the U.S. require students to wear uniforms.” No schools should force students to wear an uncomfortable, unnecessary uniform.
However, despite the many disadvantages that come with school uniforms, the benefits must be addressed. According to Britannica, “School uniforms may deter crime and increase student safety. School uniforms keep students focused on their education, not their clothes. School uniforms create a level playing field among students, reducing peer pressure and bullying. Wearing uniforms enhances school pride, unity, and community spirit.” Although there are advantages of school pride, there are many other ways one can uplift school spirit and community than forcing students to wear a uniform. The New Yorker says, “One typical section makes the argument that ‘school uniforms bring an image of success to students and teachers.’ But that depends how one defines success… today, the most successful people wear what they want, especially in the more creative industries.”
Although school uniforms have their benefits, their disadvantages cannot be hidden for long. School uniforms are unnecessary, unhelpful, and unpleasant. Most of all, they are expensive. School uniforms should be banned from schools.
