Is Having School Uniforms a Good Idea?

The years that we are in primary school is the time that we as teenagers start discovering ourselves and realize our uniqueness. With this natural fact, it is not surprising that practically every teenager nowadays attempts to stand out in the crowd as much as possible. Our appearance, clothes and style is one of best and easiest ways to express ourselves, and it definitely helps people reach an understanding of who we really are, and why. However, there has been an ongoing debate on whether school uniforms should be completely abolished in all schools, both private and public, or, on the contrary, uniforms should become a compulsory addition to all middle-level educational institutions. Despite the friction between the pros and cons, I personally stick to the idea that school uniforms should be introduced in all public and private schools, as wearing school uniforms does not make unfair comparisons between student’s incomes in terms of clothing and that it aids students in developing their inner qualities instead of focusing on the outer aspects of themselves in the crucial earlier years of their lives.

There are certainly many factors that should be taken into account when discussing the issue of the school uniform. While most private schools already have established a particular school uniform to be worn within the institution at all times by students, public schools mostly remain more liberal and only have a more-or-less strict dress code. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge that public schools tend to have a more widespread student population and there are students of different backgrounds. Some students have parents with rather high incomes who can afford to buy fashionable and costly clothes for their children. But there are also those teens who are forced to buy low-cost outfits at discount retail stores. So, from this viewpoint, if all students wear identical clothes, no one will be hurt or humiliated by the comparison.

Another point to consider is, of course, the way teenagers try to express their feelings. There are so many teens wearing fancy or strange and colorful clothes. Some of them, at the age of 16-17, already have piercings or tattoos. If from an early age children get used to paying too much attention to the way people dress and look instead of enriching their inner being, acquiring new skills and knacks, we should expect a materialistic and emotionally restrained society in the nearest future and even in the present. Wearing a uniform would help in having people pay more attention to one’s personality, rather than looks. The main idea is to help a child understand that they should develop their inner beauty and not get involved with unsavory company and fake friends.

Having a nationwide implementation of school uniforms is a great solution to the turmoil that many students face when being ridiculed for their looks instead of how bright their personality is. Wearing the same clothes as your classmates can help us to feel more involved into the educational community and integrate groups of children of the same age. Another benefit of school uniforms is that it teaches children a certain discipline and conformity – qualities that they need to imbibe later in life when they have to abide by complex governmental laws and a plethora of social norms.