Preview

No School Uniforms

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1056 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
No School Uniforms
No School Uniforms
Constructive Speech

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin Franklin once said this, and I think It applies well to the proposed implementations of a uniform.
Today, my worthy opponents try to persuade us to change our school dress code to involve a uniform. We must realize that this would not be a solution to our schools' problems in Tazewell County, but perhaps another problem that we as students have to worry about. In 2002, Adolfo Santos did a study to see how school uniforms really affected students' behaviors in Huston, Texas. He calculated the percentages of in school and out of school suspension rates for before and after the uniforms were implemented. His statistics showed that in school suspension rates were dropping greatly before the uniforms were assigned. They dropped from 40% two years prior, to 30% the year before the students began wearing uniforms. Amazingly, that year the punishments rose back up to 49%. The out of school suspensions also rose 10% in the first year after uniforms, and 13% in the second. Since percentages are a bit confusing in this case, here is how Santos obtained them, "The suspension rates are a function of the number of times the school reported in-school suspensions and out-of-school suspensions divided by the total number of students in the school. For example, a school that has 1,000 students and reports 100 in-school suspensions would have an in-school suspension rate of 10 percent." In another study conducted in 1998 by David L. Brunsma, from the University of Alabama, and Kerry A. Rockquemore, from Notre Dame states that, "Tenth grade data from The National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 was used to test empirically the claims made by uniform advocates. The findings indicate that student uniforms have no direct effect on substance use, behavioral problems, or attendance. Contrary to current

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    All around the United States more and more schools and switching to the idea of school uniforms. Schools think that this uniform policy will help bring down crime rates, gangs, improve the schools over all academic achievement, and level out social discriminations among students. Although this theory may become true to someone who wants it to be true, other skeptics looking into this are finding that these positive influences from uniforms are merely misconceptions. Schools’ academic achievements are not influenced by the clothes that students have on their backs. Neither is the crime rate in that school. There were theories that gang members could sneak into schools by wearing that schools uniform and blending in with everyone. Some students are even saying that uniforms will not stop them from discriminating other kids since they still know who is rich and who is poor. Although our society thinks that forcing students to wear uniforms to school will cure all problems, they better think twice. School uniforms should not be allowed in public schools because they are not cost effective, they deprive students’ rights to express themselves, and lastly, they do not increase the status of the school who adopted the uniform policy.…

    • 1388 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imposing school uniforms acts upon the interests of the immense majority which is to improve the education system. In the article titled "Pros and Cons of School Uniforms", the author states that a "study done in 1998 by Notre Dame…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bowen is a mother of two young daughters and a school media specialist in Buford, Georgia. Throughout the article, Bowen tries to answer the question “do school uniforms help curb violence, foster a better learning environment or promote discipline in students?” People have many different thoughts about school uniforms and if they should be required or not. “Many schools have jumped on the bandwagon despite students’ expressed concerns about their freedom of speech” (Bowen).…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The 2012 study conducted by the University of Nevada found that ninety percent of seventh and eighth graders did not like wearing school uniforms. In a 2007 poll done in Maryland, parents and instructors said yes to uniforms. Eighty-eight percent of students voted no in the same poll. If students are forced to do something they personally do not enjoy, efforts will drop and often, the children may act rebellious. In Long Beach, the first district in the United States to mandate school uniforms, seventy-six percent of the middle school students stated that the uniforms did not help them academically. Eighty-one percent of the same students said the uniforms did not reduce fights, countering the fifty percent of reduced fights reported in the same study by the…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dress Codes

    • 394 Words
    • 2 Pages

    When students wear uniforms in schools there are positive effects on safety and it raises the esteem of the educational surroundings. Dressing alike in schools deters the wearing of certain colors that can be interpreted as gang colors. Being allowed to wear baggy pants in schools makes it easy to carry weapons onto school grounds. School “uniforms are contributes to decreasing behavior problems by: increasing attendance, lowering suspension rates, and decreasing substance abuse among students” (Million, June 1996). Students have an increase in spirit, self-esteem, and a feeling of being a part of a group when uniforms are worn in schools (Krystyniak, Frank 2001, June).…

    • 394 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dress Codes

    • 1436 Words
    • 6 Pages

    "It's an issue of school safety, helps with school truancy." The House passed the bill 102-8 in March 27, but we were curious about whether requiring students to dress the same really did improve school safety and truancy records. Turns out the research is anything but uniform. One researcher, we spoke with said a big part of uniform policies is the perception that they make schools safer. Janet Sanchez, a research assistant professor at the University of Nevada at Reno, said surveys she gave students at three middle schools showed the kids felt like uniforms curbed violence, although that feeling dropped in the second year students were asked. (Adkins' office directed us to this study as proof of her statement, but said she used a couple of others, as well. "Generally, students do respond honestly to such things - particularly considering that the majority indicated they didn't like wearing uniforms, even though they actually agreed or strongly agreed with their various benefits," she said. "There are conflicting reports on whether a uniform policy can curb violence and truancy."(Gillian, Joshua.p.b. 1). Whether the practice makes students safer or fosters better attendance really comes down to what study you read. Those results could be because the students got used to wearing uniforms. Or it…

    • 1436 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    School Uniform

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages

    No one has to worry about who has the new $100 jeans because they are not allowed.…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A school uniform is a specific design for clothing designated to be worn while attending academic classes at a school. The school context comprises grades one through twelve of public and private schools in the United States. Different schools and different grades within schools may have different uniforms, as determined by parents and school administration. In today’s society all public schools should require student uniform. These generations of school kids are more worried about how your hair looks, what name brand clothes you have on, and also what kind of shoes are on your feet. These kids are worried about all the wrong things. Instead of worrying about their peer’s attire they should be into their books. Worrying about all the wrong things can be distracting. When ones focus is on something other than what’s important can cause sidetracking. "We are under no illusions that it's a silver bullet that is going to make kids smarter," school board President Pedro A. Ramos said last week. "We do think it will improve school climate. It removes a lot of anxiety and stress from lives of our students and parents," (Johnston). To understand why this is an issue, let us look at the problem, why the problem is significant, whom the problem affects, why others’ attempts have failed, and how I propose to solve the problem. This is an everlasting debate that whether school uniforms should be worn or casual clothing is as good. And like most of the popular debate in the world it has no concrete answer, it totally depends on a person’s beliefs actually. For some it is a benefit for others a disadvantage. I believe public schools should require students to wear uniforms. First wearing school uniforms promotes good discipline. Second it reduces distractions. Thirdly it is a far less expensive to buy school uniforms than many other clothes.…

    • 1332 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dress Codes

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Dress codes and uniforms have significantly helped reduce the potential for conflict by reducing ways in which gang members can identify themselves, which eliminates fear and intimidation. The foremost of arguments is that it reduces a good amount of social conflicts in schools. Often, bullying in schools may be a result of how a person dresses. Students who are unable to follow the latest fashion trends are easy targets for bullies in school, causing them to have many insecurities about themselves. The efficacy of uniforms, in improving academic performance and student attitudes, is often debated. A study published in The Journal of Education Research by David L. Brunsma,…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    School Uniforms Panacea

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “ …...public schools throughout the United States are adopting uniform dress policies.” The writer of “School Uniforms: Panacea or Band-Aid?” from Education World wrote this sentence in order to show that even if parents and students dislike or like uniforms, no matter what schools are increasing the policies for them. Many people argue the importance of school uniforms but in reality, there are many downsides to them. They don’t make students feel special, it costs parents more money, and can cause bullying in many schools.…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    They say that by using the uniforms it basically prevents all of the bad things that happen in schools from happening, but that’s just not possible. David L. Brunsma, a researcher at the University of Missouri-Columbia, has been studying the use of school uniforms since the year of 1996. His main conclusion of the whole study is that…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Have you ever attended a school where school uniforms were mandatory? The answer is probably yes, as during the 2013-2014 school year, one-fifth of public schools in the United States had to do so. As for me, from Kindergarten until 5th grade I had to wear a school uniform. But once 6th grade rolled around and I changed schools, uniforms were not enforced. I’ve seen both sides to this story, and believe that school uniforms are a controversial subject which can be easily contrasted. Some may think that school uniforms can help students succeed, while others think that they don’t alter the success of a student at all. No matter if a school enforces uniforms or opposes them, the education of the student is most important.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Support School Uniforms

    • 1419 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The issue of implementing a school uniform policy has both strong supporters and opposition. This is a controversial and lingering subject facing many of our public school systems throughout the nation. This issue is so hot and controversial that when the school board of Polk County, Fl voted into effect a school uniform policy, 154 families filed a lawsuit in attempt to defend their rights ( Anderson,n.d). Yet when former President Clinton Expressed his support for school uniforms in a March 1996 speech, he was applauded by thousands (Atkins, 1996). Those in favor of uniforms claim there are many advantages to instituting them such as, a cost savings by eliminating name brand clothing, student security,…

    • 1419 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Uniforms are not only supported by respected people in school districts, but in behavior studies. For four year, scientists studied thirty students from a school that enforces uniforms and another thirty students from a school with a limited dress code. Over the long period of time the school with uniforms had fourteen percent more students enroll into their school and had a significant increase in the attendance everyday. During this course eight-six percent of crime stopped, including a drop of ninety-three percent of sex offenses. Outside of criminal cases involving school…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    School Uniforms

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The issue of school uniforms dates all the way back to the 1980s when public schools were getting looked down upon for not having uniforms. Many argue against them saying they take away from children’s individuality and ultimately don’t save parents money. With all the facts at hand I am prepared to stand up and speak my opinion about the benefits school uniforms and dress codes have. (Wilde, Kakoulas and Modenbach)…

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays