Are Uniforms a Good Way to Improve Students Discipline and Motivation?

Are Uniforms a Good Way to Improve Students Discipline and Motivation?
AED 200
February 3, 2013
Kymmberly Corbin

Are Uniforms a Good Way to Improve Students Discipline and Motivation?
Some people believe that your attitude can change just based off of how you are dressed. For example, if someone is in a sweat shirt and sweat pants they are more likely to be relaxed and not want to do anything. Now if some is in a nice shirt and slacks they are more likely to behave and act classy. As much as some people do not believe that clothes can change a person’s mood, there are a lot a people that would beg to differ. Uniforms or even a dress code is a good way to improve a student’s discipline and motivation.
In school, students try to show their personality through what they wear, but what if students were not allowed to wear anything they wanted, what if each school had a cretin dress code or uniform that had to be followed? It has been shown that students perform academically better depending on their clothing attire. Most schools today have a dress code that consist of wearing a collar shirt, that is tucked in, a belt with any pants that have belt loops, and no backless shoes. Schools get more in-depth with the dress code but it all consists of the same rules. Students do not like having to wear a collar shirt everyday to school, if you were to take a poll most students would say they like having the option of wearing anything they want to school. With that being said if students were allowed to wear whatever they wanted to school, who knows what students would show up to school wearing. Some students would be showing up in jeans in a t-shirt or even just pajama pants and a raggedy shirt, but when it comes to problems with what students wear, I think it comes mostly from middle and high school students because they have come to the age where they want to rebel and stand out.
Being in school I hated having a dress code, I did not want to be told what I could or could not wear or when something was appropriate or not appropriate, I wanted to wear what I wanted; I wanted to express myself the way I wanted. Most middle and high school students think the same way I did when I was in high school. It was not till after I graduated high school and volunteering in a first grade classroom that I noticed that someone’s clothing can affect the way they act. So what is so wrong with trying to set students on a good path? If teachers have to have a dress code why should students not have one?
We all understand that students at any age likes expressing themselves and their personality, but when they are at school, they are at school to learn not to be a walking advertisement for Hollister or American Eagle. Some of the younger students in elementary school feel left out because their parents cannot afford the expensive high end clothes. It is not right that a student should feel left out or different all because of what kind of clothes they are wearing.
Having a uniform and a dress code can help discipline and motivate a student in many ways. A perfect example is private school, and non state funded school, all have their own uniform for their students. It has even been said that in the 1990s state schools in the USA began to adopt uniforms (Debatepedia, 2011). Some private schools are known for having the best well rounded students; they have students that excel in academics as well as socially. Having students dress in uniforms help give them some sort of discipline that they know they need to follow, along with motivation of knowing that they can succeed.
Have you noticed in the school that let their students wear whatever they want, that the students tend to walk all over the teachers and staff? In schools with no dress code, the students tend to have more of a discipline problem, for example, there are more fights or more students that are sent out of a classroom, now compared to schools with a dress code or uniform, there are not many discipline problems. You rarely hear about schools that have a uniform having fights during lunch or in the halls between classes, and you rarely hear about the school having any kind of disciple problem. In Wilder’s debate it was mention that President Clinton even said in his 1996 State of the Union speech, "If it means teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms."
There are always pros and cons to every side. In Wilder’s debate about uniforms for students, it lists some of the pros and some cons. Some of the pros that were mentioned were that uniforms would “help prevent gangs from forming on campus, encourage discipline, help students resist peer pressure to buy trendy clothes, help identify intruders in the school, diminish economic and social barriers between students, increase a sense of belonging and school pride, and to improve attendance.” Some of the cons Wilder mentions to having a school uniform for students are “Violate a student 's right to freedom of expression, are simply a Band-Aid on the issue of school violence, make students a target for bullies from other schools, are a financial burden for poor families, are an unfair additional expense for parents who pay taxes for a free public education, are difficult to enforce in public schools.”
With having every student wear the same uniform and all looking alike, there is not much of a distraction and every student is able to concentrate on their education and not have to worry about it they are wearing the new shirt or if they are wearing last season’s clothes. Clothing can become a big distraction in school, because students rather focus on who is wearing what and if they look good or not rather than focusing on their education. Guys will be focusing on the girl with all the skin showing that just walked into the classroom then to the teacher who is teaching the lesson. Clothing can be a big distraction because it can be flashy and in your face or just because there is not much clothing on a student’s body and there is a lot of skin showing.
In Tarshis interviews she interviewed Sam Gebicki, who has been wearing school uniforms for four years, said “but it is nice to just get up and get dressed without worrying.” Many students get up an hour or two before they even have to leave for school all because they have to figure out what they are wearing to and whether or not they like it or think it is cute enough to wear to school. Now with school uniforms it is one less thing students have to worry about, all they have to do is get up and get dressed; students no longer have to worry about what they or their friends are wearing or if someone is going to think it is cute or not.

Sometimes students have trouble feeling motivated to do something or even motivated to succeed, but when a student feels confident and well presented, not feeling motivated can change. Changing a student’s motivation can be difficult, but if a student is dressed for success and feels well presented and that he or she can succeed, their motivation can change in a blink of an eye. Motivation for s student not only comes from the help of teachers and peers but it also comes from their own confidence, and if they feel confident in what they are wearing then they will have confident and motivation to succeed and follow their dreams to do amazing things.
Having school uniforms not only can help with discipline and motivation, but it can also help with keeping students safe. For example, when taking field trips, it is nice to be able to point out your students easily because of the uniform and as a teacher you know what to look for instead of having to guess or try and remember what each student has on, you just look for the school uniform. Another good example of keeping the students safe with uniforms is, you will be able to know if an intruder comes on to the school campus because he or she will not have the school uniform on. As much as some students do not like the idea of school uniforms, school uniforms can help keep them safe in more ways than they realize.
School uniforms not only can help discipline, motivate and keep students safe, but uniforms also give the students the idea of how the real world is going to be. In most careers there is a uniform that is to be followed, and if students cannot follow one is school how are they going to be able to follow one when they graduate high school and sent out into the real world. A boss will not put up with the attitude and let you come to work not in uniform, if you come to work not in the right uniform, your boss will send you home. Teachers and staff members are supposed to be getting their students ready for the real world, so if we just let them walk on to campus out of uniform or dress code then we are not doing our job; we need to send them home just like their boss would if they went to work out of uniform.
School is not about the way you look, it is about the way the students perform. With that being said, uniforms are a good way to improve students discipline and motivation. Uniforms improve students discipline by having them follow rules and not having any fights over clothing or how someone looks different. Uniforms helps motivate students to dress to succeed and stay focused in school. Uniforms can help keep students, teachers and staff safe in many ways. Uniforms also keep the students from worrying about what they should or should not wear to school. Uniforms in school is something that will help the students in the long run, because remember it is not about what the student looks like, it is about how they perform.

References
Debatepedia. (2011). Retrieved from http://dbp.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:School_Uniform_(JUNIOR)
Tarshis, L. (2011). School Uniforms-Awesome or Awful? Retrieved from http://www.meridianschools.org/EMS/Staff/LP/Lewis/AssignmentsInformation/School%20Uniforms%20Awesome%20or%20Awful.pdf
Wilde, M. (2012). Greatschools. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org/find-a-school/defining-your-ideal/121-school-uniforms.gs

References: Debatepedia. (2011). Retrieved from http://dbp.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:School_Uniform_(JUNIOR) Tarshis, L. (2011). School Uniforms-Awesome or Awful? Retrieved from http://www.meridianschools.org/EMS/Staff/LP/Lewis/AssignmentsInformation/School%20Uniforms%20Awesome%20or%20Awful.pdf Wilde, M. (2012). Greatschools. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org/find-a-school/defining-your-ideal/121-school-uniforms.gs