Uniforms: purpose, design, and social impact

School Uniforms

"If it means that the schoolrooms will be more orderly and more disciplined, and that our young people will learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside instead of what they're wearing on the outside, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear uniforms." -- President William Clinton (McDermott, 2009)

The debate over school uniforms is not likely one that will go away quickly. There are many pros and cons to each side of the argument. On one hand it promotes uniformity, discipline, and can even improve attendance. However, on the other hand it discourages individualism, can be prohibitively costly, and may lessen the child's level of comfort as opposed to wearing clothes that they pick out themselves. Currently about a quarter of the schools in the United States require uniforms and in some districts, such as in New Orleans, having a school uniform is almost universal across the school district.

One of the advantages is that it gets rid of the groups in schools that wear expensive designer clothing while other students are dressed in more meager attire. This can create a sense of division between classes in a school and separate the divide between the rich and poor kids. One mom favors the use of uniforms and says that "Uniforms? I love them. The key word being uniform. It gives kids a level playing field and gets them away from one-upmanship on designer labels. It also gets kids used to taking care of their clothes. Getting rid of status symbols prevents children from being teased because they aren't wearing $150 jeans (McDermott, 2009)."

Many educators are in favor of uniforms as well. In one poll, 95% of teachers believed that school uniforms promote a positive learning environment and improved behavior in students (McDermott, 2009). Sharing the same dress can create a sense of cohesiveness in the class and be one less distraction that takes away from their learning experience. If everyone in a class dresses the same day in and day out, students will not focus any of their attention on what the other kids are wearing and the worry about being trendy is completely abolished. Therefore, there is a greater emphasis on education rather than subsidiary issues such as fashion.

Yet, the expensive of school uniforms can definitely burden some families. The estimate for a child to wear a uniform during the school year is roughly two hundred fifty dollars per year (McDermott, 2009). Either parents must pay this cost or it is passed on to the tax payers depending on the funding options available to that particular district. However, compared to a wardrobe of regular clothes the price tag is generally considered to be relatively cheaper for most families.