Are School Uniforms Necessary

Since the creation of schools, there have always been those that require uniforms. No matter the reason or the purpose of the uniforms, students and parents alike have been fighting against them for over a decade. The belief is that school uniforms improve school safety and academic discipline, although many disagree. It was back in the 80s when school uniforms really became popular. “In the 1980s, public schools were often compared unfavorably to Catholic schools. Noting the perceived benefit that uniforms conferred upon Catholic schools, some public schools decided to adopt a school uniform policy.” According to the schools that require uniforms, they are helpful in preventing “gangs” of students forming, stressing discipline, helps students to prevent the pressure to buy popular or “trendy” clothes, helping to identify unwanted people that may be in the school, preventing poor students from getting bullied for what they wear, and improving school attendance. The opposition side says that when students are forced to wear uniforms to school, it violates their right to freedom of expression, they make students more likely to get bullied by children of other schools, the uniforms are typically expensive and a problem for poor families to purchase, and they are difficult to make mandatory in a public school environment. When asked if school uniforms were necessary, Monroe Township High School student Nikhil Reddy had this to say, “School uniforms can be necessary, but they are not entirely needed for discipline, schools can just have clothes regulation, but I don’t think that uniforms are important for a school. Clothing should not matter too much, and I think other things like organization is way more important.” Personally, I think that there should be somewhat of a restriction on. What students wear but I think school uniforms are a but too much. I believe that a well enforced dress code can do the job of a school uniform better because it will not be a financial burden and students can be allowed to express themselves in public environments. However, there are some people that do not believe there should be any restriction whatsoever on hat students wear to school. Such as Emery Kratchman, another student at Monroe Township High School who said, “School uniforms are so unnecessary, they are too expensive and not needed in a school environment. I think students should be able to express themselves however they chose and if the school wants to enforce discipline they should just have stricter rules or get better teachers.”