School Uniform

School Uniform

The debate of whether or not to wear a uniform to school has been going on in the United States for decades. Some support it; others do not. It is mainly the adults who support it and the rebellious children and teens that do not. It began in the 1990’s for state schools. A uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of a certain profession, rank, team, area, school, etc. It is often mandatory, and without it is sort of the unthinkable. There are uniforms for almost everything from school to sports teams. A uniform helps distinguish a person, so uniforms are very important for many reasons. Someone would not be confused to be someone who he or she is not. It would be chaos in a sports events, war, jail, etc. if there were no uniform. Uniforms are very practical. I think uniforms should be worn to school.
Firstly, wearing uniforms will help the consumer save money. Uniform pants go for around $15 at stores, while designer and the best jeans (the ones students will choose to wear since it is popular and they are usually not paying). It is cheaper to buy uniform than letting the children choose what to wear. You will only have to buy the more expensive clothes for weekends or when you are not at school. Everyone is dressed the same so you cannot tell from the rich children and the poor ones based on clothing. It puts less pressure on parents having to scrap out sums of money for their children’s latest fashion craze and on designer labels. Young people feel that wearing the same outfit often or not wearing what everybody else is wearing is embarrassing. Because the students are all wearing the same thing, they experience less peer pressure. Who would know that more about wearing school uniform in the eyes of students than students at school that require uniform? Students have no problem wearing the same thing over again (if washed), but it makes them seem poor to rich and popular students (the ones who usually make fun of and do not get made off of) who can afford to wear a new designer outfit every day. They also do not like to be wearing something different from what other people and mainly what the popular students are wearing. In fact school children think of uniform as “dorky”, “homo”, “nerdy”, and many other not so nice things. School is not a place for people to show off their clothing or money, but is a place to learn.
Secondly, wearing uniform saves time and increases concentration because students wear almost the same thing everyday. There are only several combinations to randomly choose from. Students do not have to waste time thinking about what to wear at the start of each school day. Who does not like to sleep a little extra? Time is saved and can be spent on other more important matters. For example, every Sunday Christian families go to church. Some people always war the first things they find in their closet. It takes them about 35 seconds to get dressed and be ready for breakfast. Other people however, go through her whole closet and handpick everything. It takes them around 10 minutes to get past the time-consuming ordeal. Also, without the distraction of checking out what the other students are wearing or how much skin they themselves and their classmates are showing, concentration is greatly improved. The students might not also think about what to wear the next day, the next, next day and so on. Schools that require uniform reported better educational results and behavior, as explained in the next paragraph.
Lastly, wearing a uniform creates a sense of unity and belonging because everybody is wearing the same thing. If people had to march off to war, they would feel safer if everyone was wearing the same clothing as them than if they were all separately wearing different colors and patterns. They would also feel proud to wear that uniform (if we won the war of course). The same thing applies to wearing the uniforms of other things (like a champion football team). Uniform makes all the children at a school equal no matter what their family background or income. If students were to choose their own clothes, then the students would wear the most expensive items of clothing their parents would allow them to buy. Rich children would compete to show off their expensive designer labels. Children from poorer families would get picked on for not being able to afford the fashionable pricey outfits. Actually, uniforms do not make you “ugly” since when everybody becomes “uglier”, the standard of being good-looking decreases. Schools in the United States have used uniform to demolish the problem of gang colors and/or styles. Clothes with particular colors, symbols, or markings distinguished rival street gangs. This often led to fighting inside and outside the school.
In conclusion, uniform should be worn to school for many reasons. Some include that uniforms saves money, time, increases concentration, and creates a sense of togetherness and school spirit. I live in the United States and have to wear a uniform to school. At first I did not like it because I wanted to wear my own clothes, but I came to appreciate it. It saves my parents money, my time, and cuts out most of the bullying at school because of clothing. If there was not a uniform policy at school, I would be tormented because I do not really know what is “in” and what is “dorky” and “out”. Of course some people still get made fun of, but there would be more bullying if there were no uniform policies. Of course, nothing is perfect. Some say that uniform “violates the rights of American citizens” and does no “allow people to be creative and express themselves”, but those are just feeble excuses by rebellious people desperate to “jump ahead of the competition”, to create disorder, and for popularity. It has a good side and a not too bad, bad side. The good outweighs the bad. There are more than enough reasons supporting school uniform.