Black Armbands: Mandatory School Uniforms

In 1969 students John F. Tinker, Mary Beth Tinker, Hope Tinker, Paul Tinker and Christopher Eckhardt went to school wearing black armbands. The armbands were to symbolize their protest against the Vietnam War. The principal of their school heard of their plan and immediately created a policy stating any student wearing the armbands would be asked to remove them. If any students violated the policy they would be suspended until they agree to comply. The students violated the policy and were suspended. A law suit by the children’s’ families was filed against the school for violated the children’s first Amendment right. This created the question- is creating a dress code or mandating school uniforms a violation of a child’s freedom of speech
“The four largest school expenses- across both primary and secondary school-are school meals, trips, uniform and PE kit expenses” (Farthing, 2010, p.242). Families also find it a burden to be able to afford the newest and most fashionable school uniforms. An argument could be that parents are not forced to purchase the most expensive uniforms since schools also offer cheaper versions. “Anxious parents often spend a week’s wages on uniform costs to ensure their children are not bullied or disciplined” (Farthing, 2010, p.244). Bullying is not a new concept in school, and even by mandating uniforms, it will not fix the issue when even the uniforms are different for low income families. Making school uniforms mandatory only sounds like a sound idea on paper. The fact is that by making school uniforms mandatory cuts down on creative thinking, has no effect on bullying and is a serious financial burden for students and school administrations. This topic will be a controversial debate for many years, it is up to each individual school to determine what is right for their