Rough Draft–

Should Schools have dress codes?

Whether or not to have dress codes and uniforms has been an ongoing struggle and debate within schools around the nation for years now. There are many different opinions on this topic, and solid evidence to back up both sides. Teachers, parents, and students alike all have their own opinions and ideas as to what is the right and wrong way to handle this situation is. When dealing with this subject, the idea of dress codes, uniforms, and free dress all come into play. However, in the end, it comes down to one simple question, should schools have dress codes?

Being a product of private Catholic school from fifth grade all the way through high school, I can honestly say that wearing a uniform was one of the best parts of going to a private school. Obviously in middle school and high school, teenagers are going to show off their new clothes and talk about the latest styles, but in my case, we did not have that distraction and I truly feel that it made a positive difference in my education. By wearing a uniform, there was never any issue of kids being bullied because of what they were or were not wearing.

According to Lynne A. Isaacson, of the University of Oregon, in the year 1998 nearly 25 percent of the country’s public elementary through junior high schools had some sort of required dress code (Isaacson). Although this accounts for one fourth of all public elementary and junior high schools, it still leaves 75 percent of the children to wear whatever they want to school. There are many different arguments both for and against the requirement of dress codes for schools. However, the most popular and repeated arguments seem to have to do with the students’ safety inside the school and overall academic success.

Kerry White, author of the article Do School Uniforms Fit? points out that “In the wake of school shootings, communities and schools are much more willing to embrace uniforms as well as a number of other strategies to enhance student safety”. In 1995, a public school district in Long Beach, California decided to try a required uniform for all students as a way to decrease gangs and crimes amongst their students. After a year, the school district came out and reported that they had had notable results with the required school uniform (Firmin, 144). Kerry White paraphrases Dick Van Der Laan, the spokesperson for the school district in Long Beach, when he says, “the district’s test scores are up across the board and absenteeism and suspensions are the lowest they’ve been for more than a decade” (White). This school district is just one example of how requiring students to wear a uniform can have a powerful and positive effect.

While school uniforms seem to have an overall productive result on the students, a less drastic approach is that of a simple dress code. Dress codes are different from uniforms because instead of requiring a student to wear a certain article of clothing, dress codes focus more or less on what the students cannot wear to school, or in other words, what the students are limited to wearing. Dress codes are a lot more flexible than uniforms. In addition, they can be specifically designed to alleviate each school’s individual problem or problems. This is useful because not all schools have the same issues; a school in one neighborhood may have completely different problem areas than a school in another neighborhood.

Dress codes also allow for school’s to create their very own dress codes that address their specific needs and issues. For example, Joan Pedzich writes that a school dress code “may mandate a specific outfit or seek to limit or ban such regalia as bandannas, hats, jewelry, religious symbols, team jackets, and immodest clothing”. She goes on to say that “These items can be associated with gang membership or generally represent a distraction in the learning environment. Authorities believe their presence leads to an unhealthy school atmosphere, disruption, intimidation, and violence” (Pedzich, 41).

For example, one school might have a serious problem with students wearing inappropriate t-shirts. They could be religious, racial, or anything else that is viewed as inappropriate. That school could easily enforce a dress code that prohibits students from wearing clothing with words or phrases on them, and that problem could easily be solved.  Another school just a neighborhood away could be having a problem with girls wearing short shorts, or boys wearing baggy pants. That is also an easy fix, as long as the school is willing to enforce a dress code.

Although there are many reasons why schools should require dress codes or uniforms, there are also reasons why some might think otherwise. The main argument against dress codes is that they “infringe upon students’ First Amendment rights to freedom of expression” (Isaacson). The idea that students are forced to wear certain types of clothing or not allowed to wear items that they want to school is the center of the debate. Marian Wilde lists a number of pros and cons to school uniforms in her article “Do Uniforms Make Schools Better?” The list of cons includes: Violates a students’ right to freedom of expression, are simply a band-aid on the issue of school violence, make students a target for bullies from other schools, are a financial burden for poor families, are difficult to enforce in public schools, and are an unfair additional expense for parents who pay taxes for a free education.

Although some of the points made on Marian Wilde’s list of cons seem to be reasonable, there are a few that are easily debatable. For instance, if every school requires a dress code or uniform, then it would not make anyone a target, because everyone would be equal. As far as money goes, some may argue that it is cheaper to buy a couple pairs of khaki shorts and a few polo’s (or whatever is needed to fulfill the school’s requirements), rather than buying new outfits every year to keep up with the latest trends.

I interviewed two teachers to get a better understanding as to what effect, if any, they think dress codes have in the classroom. I asked both teachers the same question: If it were up to you, would your students have a dress code? Carol Duval, an elementary school teacher at St. John Bosco, a Catholic school in Phoenix, AZ with required uniforms said, “Yes, I would have a dress code and enforce it.  Students look more professional and act as such.  Also in this sexually explicit society, teacher’ and/or students don’t have to deal with that in the classroom”. Carol Duval has been teaching for over 38 years, and has taught at both public and private schools. She has witnessed first hand what role uniforms and dress codes play in a student’s education.

When asked the same question, Julie Hemer, a recently retired elementary school teacher of 29 years, who taught at a public school in Wisconsin for her entire career, answered,

I am a little on the fence when it comes to dress codes in school.  It is often difficult to come up with an appropriate set of rules for this; what is appropriate for some may not be for others.  Times change, and with that seems to come more of a permissive attitude towards acceptable clothing in our schools, especially our high schools… I don’t think there will ever be a single “solution” to the problem of dress codes and whether or not they should be in existence.  If I had to give an opinion, I would have to say that uniforms might be the best answer.  That way, at least everyone is at a level playing field when it comes to what they wear.

Both teachers have very different experiences with teaching and the schools in which they taught, however, it is interesting that they both give similar answers; if it were up to them, they say that they would have a required uniform for their students.

For me personally, there were a lot of things I liked about wearing a uniform. I loved that everyone was dressed the same and how easy it made getting ready for school in the morning, and I loved the way it made me feel. Sure there were a lot of people that had negative views or misconceptions towards a private “preppy” school, but more often than not people would comment on how nice we all looked in our matching uniforms or say something positive about the school we attended. Wearing uniforms allowed us students to focus more on our class work, and less on what we were wearing. I can see how for some students, not being able to express themselves through their clothing could be a struggle. Growing up, kids are constantly trying to find themselves, and being deprived of expressing oneself through a t-shirt or new outfit is something that takes getting used to.

There is a lot of proof that shows how constructive dress codes or uniforms can be for a student. Just take the school district in Long Beach, California for example. Just a year after they required all of their students to wear uniforms, they noted prominent changes (Firmin, 144). Linda Lumsden says it best when she claims that, “when well conceived and coupled with other appropriate interventions, uniforms or strict dress-code policies may have a positive impact on school climate, student behavior, and academic success.” In the end, it is simple; schools should have some sort of required dress code because of the positive impact it has on the students’ education, safety, and overall well-being.

Works Cited

Duvall, Carol. Email interview. January 20, 2010.

Firmin, Michael, Suzanne Smith, and Lynsey Perry. “School Uniforms: A Qualitative Analysis of Aims and Accomplishments at Two Christian Schools.” Journal of Research on Christian Education 15.2 (2006): 143-168. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 3 Feb. 2010.

Hemer, Julie. Email interview. January 20, 2010.

Isaacson, Lynne A. Student Dress Codes. Clearinghouse on Educational Policy and Management. 1998. College of Education, University of Oregon. 3 Feb 2010.             <http://eric.uoregon.edu/publications/digests/digest117.html&gt;.

Lumsden, Linda. Uniforms and Dress-Code Policies. Eric Digest. 2004. 3 Feb 2010.             <http://www.ericdigests.org/2002-1/uniforms.html&gt;.

Pedzich, Joan. “Student Dress Codes in Public Schools: A Selective Annotated Bibliography”.             Virginia State Department of Education. 2002. 3 Feb 2010.

White, Kerry A. “Do School Uniforms Fit?” The School Administrator 57, 2 (February 2000):             36-40. 3 Feb 2010. <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSD/is_2_57/ai_77382140/&gt;.

Wilde, Marian. “Do Uniforms Make Schools Better?”. Great Schools. 2010 Greatschools Inc. 3 February 2010. < http://www.greatschools.org/find-a-school/defining-your- ideal/school-uniforms.gs?content=121>.

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