Persuasive Essay
School Uniforms are Necessary
“I do not want to wear that hideous, scratchy, and uncomfortable uniform another day,” these are the words that emanated from the Yudkowsky home every morning at seven o’clock. Mrs. Kelly Yudkowsky recalls the daily conversation she had with her children regarding the importance and benefits of having school uniforms. However, Mrs. Yudkowsky does not stand alone in her opinion, over the past decade the adoption of school dress codes and uniforms in American public schools has expanded tremendously. According to the U.S. Department of Education statistics, in 2010 nearly 1 in 5 public schools required a school uniform, up from just 1 in 8 a decade earlier. That is a huge growth in uniform requirements in American state schools (qtd. in Bennett). A school uniform is an outfit that is picked out by the school’s administration that every student who chooses to go to that school must wear. Although there are some critics who argue that a school uniform violates a students’ right to freedom of expression and can cause a financial burden on poor families, school uniforms should be mandatory for everyone in primary and secondary school, because it increases students’ self-esteem and school unity, it helps promote school safety, and it helps students resist the peer pressure to buy trendy clothing. Some critics say that by enforcing a school uniform on students it consequently infringes on the student’s right to express himself. While it may be true that preteens and teenagers like to express themselves through the clothes that they wear, educational psychologist and Today contributor, Michele Borba, explains, “a new mindset is needed, it’s not the stuff that you wear, it’s the stuff on the inside” (Flam). Students can learn to express themselves in other ways, such as, their thoughts, their words, and their deeds. By using these avenues of expression, it will inevitably lead to added positive attention and higher self-esteem. Another
“I do not want to wear that hideous, scratchy, and uncomfortable uniform another day,” these are the words that emanated from the Yudkowsky home every morning at seven o’clock. Mrs. Kelly Yudkowsky recalls the daily conversation she had with her children regarding the importance and benefits of having school uniforms. However, Mrs. Yudkowsky does not stand alone in her opinion, over the past decade the adoption of school dress codes and uniforms in American public schools has expanded tremendously. According to the U.S. Department of Education statistics, in 2010 nearly 1 in 5 public schools required a school uniform, up from just 1 in 8 a decade earlier. That is a huge growth in uniform requirements in American state schools (qtd. in Bennett). A school uniform is an outfit that is picked out by the school’s administration that every student who chooses to go to that school must wear. Although there are some critics who argue that a school uniform violates a students’ right to freedom of expression and can cause a financial burden on poor families, school uniforms should be mandatory for everyone in primary and secondary school, because it increases students’ self-esteem and school unity, it helps promote school safety, and it helps students resist the peer pressure to buy trendy clothing. Some critics say that by enforcing a school uniform on students it consequently infringes on the student’s right to express himself. While it may be true that preteens and teenagers like to express themselves through the clothes that they wear, educational psychologist and Today contributor, Michele Borba, explains, “a new mindset is needed, it’s not the stuff that you wear, it’s the stuff on the inside” (Flam). Students can learn to express themselves in other ways, such as, their thoughts, their words, and their deeds. By using these avenues of expression, it will inevitably lead to added positive attention and higher self-esteem. Another