How do uniforms affect students in public schools...help or hinder Essay

How do uniforms affect students in public schools...help or hinder - Essay Example Students benefit by a reduction in the amount of concerns they generally deal with at school, freeing their attention to concentrate more on the scholarly issues which is what they should be doing in class. There is a lengthy history uniform use in schools, mostly from the private sector until expanding more so into the public arena relatively recently. All of these factors clearly demonstrate the benefits of uniforms. The majority of the public school uniform policies include relatively common restrictions, such as khaki or navy pants and solid colored shirts with collars with the school insignia patch only, no brand name or symbol allowed. Despite the benefits of uniforms and somewhat relaxed standard of dress there remains great opposition to uniform policies by parents who misguidedly insist that uniform policies somehow limit a child’s ability to express themselves. The proposition of requiring K-12 students to wear uniforms is not a new idea. It has been utilized for mor e than a century to help promote a sense of scholastic endeavors along with respect for oneself and others within the school setting. When President Clinton said â€Å"I believe we should give strong support to school districts that decide to require young students to wear school uniforms†, his opinion was based on a history of school uniforms conveying a calming effect on students (cited in Weitzel, 2004: 10). Schools in England have employed school uniforms for years for two reasons, to keep the children of lower class households from being distinguishable from upper class children and as a badge of honor to for academic achievement. â€Å"As can be seen in the history of the school uniform, such requirements of standardized dress also include a symbolic rhetoric of legitimate authority, a reservoir of institutional and organizational values of the school, and a method of social and cultural control over cohorts of students moving through the system. Those without a unifor m would feel left out† (Brunsma, 2004: 6). By including students in a particular social group as a member of a singular identifiable student body, uniforms help to build a sense of cooperation and community among children who may not otherwise get along. Students who outgrow their uniforms can donate them to students who can’t afford them. Uniforms reduce clothing costs for all parents and are especially helpful to families on a strict budget. Studies into self-expression and fashion have shown that a direct link exists between the kind of clothing we wear and the way we feel about ourselves. â€Å"With fashion and dress adapting to represent the ever-changing self, fashion therefore serves as a vehicle for establishing identity and self-concept† (Weitzel, 2004: 12). Therefore, regardless of the kind of cloths we wear, we are making a announcement about how we wished to be perceived and what we want to be associated with. Parents often disagree with the idea of s tudent uniforms because they think this requirement prevents students from expressing themselves. It must be acknowledged that there many types of occupations that also require a uniform. â€Å"Police officers, firemen, airline employees, nurses, doctors, lawyers and all branches of the military have some form of required dress. Most of our blue collar workers are also required to wear a uniform in the performing of their jobs †¦ It makes them a part of a team that performs a certain job in a certain manner and provides for a more cohesive