How many of you were given dress code guidelines while in elementary and high school? Were you allowed to wear hats, hooded sweat shirts, or any shirt that had suggestive writing on it?
It seems as though many schools are concerned with what their students are wearing and are looking into whether or not this affects their learning. I went to a private school and wore a uniform for 7 years then changed to public school and was able to wear almost anything I wanted. Except one day I wore a hooded sweatshirt to school and was told I had to take it off or that I would be asked to go to the office. I was shocked that I was not able to wear it, and learned that it was because several students in the past were putting things in their hoods that weren't allowed in school.
Dress codes and uniforms can help reduce the potential for conflict by;
1. Reducing conflict stemming from socio-economic status, i.e., conflicts stemming from comments and personal attacks about who has better clothing and so on.
2. Reducing ways in which gang members can identify themselves which, in essence, is a form of intimidation and creates fear.
3. Reduces the risk of students being robbed to and from school, or for that matter in school, of expensive clothing, jewelry, etc.
4. In the case of uniforms, could help school administrators identify non-students, trespassers, and other visitors in the hallways who stand out in the crowd.
To go along with the above excerpt, I think that it is agreeable to have a separation in clothing between the staff and students at any school. However are teachers wearing the ripped jeans and tees that students wear to class in high school? The last time I checked I don't think they were. Teachers have always been noticeably and differently dressed than their students. The next valid point this article seemed to have was in reaction to violence in schools. If schools adhere to strict dress codes or have uniforms than they are able to control many factors in a students life; at least while in their school. At my school- the "no hoods" policy was in reaction to contraband material being brought into school. And in research of uniforms, and while looking for any statistic that would lead me to believe that uniforms did help with eliminating violence, I found this: In Long Beach California they instituted uniforms in 1994 and have seen attendance sky rocket and gang crimes at school drop 76%.
So given this information about why dress codes/ uniforms do make schools better, do you think that it is a wise decision for all schools to consider making this into their own policy, or not?
