Should uniform be banned?

Argument For School Uniform

School uniform is an integral part of school life. School uniform should not be banned, because of finances. Our financial circumstances can have great affect, and more often than not, those with less money and therefore less desirable clothes are frequently subjected to various forms of prejudice and discrimination, exclusion and even ostracism, especially in schools.

Wearing less expensive less fashionable clothes, different clothing from everyone else creates division, which school uniform can avoid. To be set apart and look different, in any way from everybody else almost certainly makes people targets for bullying, especially in schools. Young children who do not know the effect of bullying will always pick on the child who does not look the same as them, which could be very traumatic for the child who is on the receiving end.

Exclusion is just one result of wearing different clothes and therefore looking different. Having a school uniform will mean that everyone looks the same, and as a result it will prevent all of the aforementioned possibilities from happening.

In addition, a sense of common identity is very important to any type of organisation, and the fact that this is especially true in schools cannot be stressed enough. It creates a better, happier working atmosphere and working environment, and introduces harmony into a group. Looking the same by wearing a uniform and thus gaining a feeling of belonging to a set 'society', encourages better relationships and friendships.

Without uniform, a large split can occur between groups of people who look different from each other. Not having a uniform would mean that some people are noticeably "not in" the group but are "outsiders". People use uniform as a way of showing everyone else that they are a formed group, separate from another group. A uniform for everyone would avoid this.

Furthermore, school uniform is important for identifying the school, either for criticism or for praise. Praise will show how well the school is doing in many different aspects and will allow teachers to see their success. Criticism too is just as important and necessary as praise because it allows things to improve. Constructive criticism is helpful in improving matters in most situations.

Also, because school uniform allows you to easily identify someone as a student of a specific school, if someone from another school physically or verbally abuses you, you would be able to take the situation into your own hands if you knew where to find them, and contact the headmaster or mistress of the school and inform them of their pupils' behaviour.

Similarly, another point is safety on school trips. Since school uniform is a practical method of identification it is good for safety on school trips. If a student goes missing on a school trip, their uniform would guarantee they could be easily seen as a pupil who attends their particular school and found.

In conclusion, I feel that school uniform should not be banned, no matter what. Although there are many arguments and opposing views that are of the opinion that school uniform is not a good idea, they are definitely not strong enough to convince me so that I alter my opinion. Uniform not only avoids unnecessary and sometimes harmful situations from happening (such as bullying and discrimination), but also encourages smartness so that pupils do not turn up at school wearing inappropriate clothing. It is an extremely important part of school.