Dress Codes Essay, Research Paper

School Dress Codes a Plus

Do schools really need a dress code? Just ask parents of kids who have to wear them and they will probably say yes. With the dress code policy parents would be able o save money on clothes for their children(Dress 1). This would be a big help for children with poor families who cant afford the proper clothes for them to wear. In addition, with uniforms these kids wont are looked at any different than everyone else because they will have the same dress attire. While I was attending high school there were no school uniforms and there were always trouble surrounding it. People would get made fun of for wearing clothes that people felt weren’t appropriate. Some of the people would wear black dresses and paint their fingernails and wear lipstick. Others would just dress nicely. These different groups didn’t like each other just by the way each of them dressed. They would use names such as freaks nerds jocks and devil worshipers to describe each other. No one knows if they were just expressing them selves or what but with uniforms these problems wouldn’t

occur. These students would have probably gotten along a lot better if it weren’t for their clothes and maybe they would have even become friends.

Students these days feel clothing are how they express themselves and we have to wonder if it is going to far. Kids don’t even think of how stupid some clothing makes them look. One kid, who was charged with breaking and entering, went to court wearing a shirt with the grim reaper and a naked girl on it(Revisiting 1). Now how stupid is that? In another court case a girl was caught for driving under the influence. When she appeared for court she was wearing a Budweiser shirt(Revisiting 1). Another smart move by our kids! What has the world come to when our kids have no more respect for authority than this? Is it really that hard for teenagers these days?

Schools need a dress code for several reasons. Students should be able to learn easier without all the stress of wondering what type of clothes everyone has on(Revisiting 1). Schools would also be more safer if uniforms were required. Students wouldn’t be able to wear baggy clothes thus weapons and drugs couldn’t be smuggled inside as easy. Students would also have better self-confidence with dress codes(K.L. 1). They wouldn’t have to worry about being picked on for not wearing name brands

and would feel more equal all around. Uniforms would also remind kids that they are in school and should be a reminder that they are there for a

reason and it is to learn.

One area where school uniforms have been a big payoff is the California Long Beach Unified School District. Since they started requiring uniforms in 1994 the violence in the school has decreased by seventy six percent. During the same period the attendance of these students reached the greatest ever reported(School 1). The reason for this decrease in violence would have to do with the competition over clothes. The teenagers wont beat up the kids for their clothes if they only have their uniforms on(Schools 1). Even though the students may not like the uniforms they mostly agree that they will be safer. One of these students said, “Uniforms make the school safer but I don’t like them”(Schools 1).

The number of people against school uniforms is still high and they stand behind their beliefs. Most cases against school dress codes are headed by the first amendment. The first amendment states the right to free speech(Revisiting 1). Most students and parents feel they should be able to decide what they want to wear to school and however they want to wear it. They use clothing and how they dress as a way to express their own feelings

and beliefs. If they wear uniforms the students feel they look like everyone else and they have no chance to be different(K F 1). Another problem that isn’t often brought up is the problems with violence after the dress code has been installed. If the kids really want to rebel they will find another way. The students may cut their sleeves out or leave them undocked while others may roll their pant legs up. Parents who disagree with dress codes have their own reasons for doing so. The uniforms may be more expensive than they first seemed. The uniforms do not last very long and new ones must be bought to replace them. If your rip a hole in the knee you have to buy new ones where as if they were blue jeans they could have been patched(K F2). These clothes must also be well taken care of. While with blue jeans and shirts you can throw them in the washer but these uniforms need more care. They must always be kept clean so the student would have to spend time ironing and cleaning his clothes(K F1). Kids just don’t really want or feel like putting in the extra time to handle these responsibilities and feel that uniforms are pointless.

The most highly regarded reason for uniforms is gang violence(sociological 4). Gangs often identify each other by certain colors or certain clothes they wear. Uniforms would lower the number of gangs

Alternatively, make them less important without their “colors”. Some schools have specific dress codes where you cant wear certain things. The wearing of sports clothing was banned in one school where officials thought the gangs were associated with these clothes(Revisiting 4-5).