School Uniforms
by dena schreiber
1. Diminish self confidence
1.1. Believe: Not being able to wear your own clothes takes away a sense of pride. When you spend time on your outfit and feel confident, you are more able to focus on school
1.2. Doubt: There are other ways to get a sense of confidence such as good grades, great relationships, or even something fashion related like a new necklace.
2. Decrease bullying and blur the lines of social classes
2.1. Believe: Students with more money are able to come to school with nicer clothes. When these students see their less fortunate peers not wearing the latest trends or the newest brands, they can feel a sense of superiority. That sense can cause bullying. With uniforms, everyone dresses the same and their is a sense that everyone is equal.
2.2. Doubt: There are still ways to tell if someone comes from money. The car they drive, the shoes they wear, and even the foods they eat. Wearing a uniform does not blur lines. Also, even if uniforms did blur the lines, after school day is over, these students are exposed to environments in which the lines are no blurred, in other words, the real world. In a way, uniforms cushion and shelter students from the reality of life outside of school.
3. Do not allow for self expression
3.1. Believe: Uniforms can feel to kids like jail uniforms, like they totally diminish individuality. An outfit is a way for students to reflect how they feel on the inside and to make them unique. At a time when adolescents are discovering themselves, why would we want to take away an element of their uniqueness?
3.2. If anything, uniforms inspire creativity because they create a challenge fro students to find new ways to express themselves in other ways than their clothes. Maybe its their amazing backpack or their beautiful hand adorned shoes. It is almost as if uniforms put students in a box, and the student has to find a way to think outside the box o express their individuality.
4. Create more focus on schoolwork
4.1. Believe: Spending less time on outfits frees up more time to be spent on schoolwork. School is not a runway, it is about academics.
4.1.1. Cause/effect
4.1.1.1. Do they cause unfocused students to focus?
4.1.1.2. Do school uniforms distract from Learning?
4.1.1.3. Do they really stop bullying?
4.1.1.4. Do they make students feel disinvestedd in their work because they feel like they have no input in their academics?
4.1.1.5. Do they allow for individuality?
4.1.1.6. Do they improve grades?