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The Classroom | Empowering Students in Their College Journey

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While some kids and parents believe students should be free to dress the way they want as an expression of free speech, most schools still have a say in how students dress. Schools might have a dress code that gives guidelines for appropriate clothing or it might require students to wear uniforms. Schools with a uniform policy usually have good reasons for implementing it and some cite research to back their guidelines.

Varying Uniform Styles

Uniforms vary widely by school. Some are quite formal requiring dress shirts and ties for boys and jumpers or dresses for girls. Others are little more than a sweat shirt emblazoned with the school's logo. Some schools offer a wide range of options and colors for uniforms like khaki or navy dress slacks easily found at most department or big box stores. Other schools require students purchase clothing from an official school store or uniform supplier. It's not just private schools that require uniforms. Many public schools also require them from kindergarten through grade 12.

Five Social Reasons to Wear Uniforms

A safe, encouraging school environment is a much better place to learn than a school full of conflict and discipline problems. In the school uniforms debate, proponents believe school uniforms can help make the school environment more student friendly.

School uniforms level the playing field. When all students have to wear the same thing, none of them can brag about wearing the latest, most expensive fashions. Whether they're from the upper, middle or lower class, all students dress the same.

School uniforms can also increase student safety. Students cannot wear gang-affiliated clothing or colors if specific uniforms are required. Individual style, in this case, is sacrificed for a safer learning environment. Even something as simple as a teacher being easily able to spot her students on a field trip or spot an intruder in the school is another important benefit of school uniforms.

School uniforms make it easier on families to shop for school clothes. Uniforms are usually cheaper than other clothing and not having to decide what to wear saves time.

Within the pros and cons of school uniforms, increasing self-confidence when students don't feel pressured to wear certain types of clothing is an intrinsic value of a uniform policy. Uniforms also make it almost harder for students to be bullied over clothing choices. Studies have shown that middle school students often felt safer and more confident when wearing uniforms.

School uniforms can foster school spirit. When students are wearing their uniforms, they are also representing their schools. This school unity can be increased with activities such as logo design contests and votes on any uniform changes.

Five Academic Reasons to Wear Uniforms

As part of reasons why students should wear school uniforms, the academic aspect is at the top of the list.

Uniforms save teachers and administrators valuable time. Schools that have dress codes in place rather than uniform policies often struggle with gray areas: How short is too short? Is a girl's shirt cut too low? Does that t-shirt cross a line? Instead of dealing with academic issues, administrators are left making judgment calls and often subsequent calls home to parents to bring a change of clothing.

School uniforms lessen distractions in the classroom. No one is sidetracked by someone's T-shirt message or where a friend got their specific leggings. Instead, students are concentrating on their classroom work.

School uniform policies have been shown to reduce tardiness and absences and increase graduation rates.

Schools that implement school uniform policies tend to experience a reduction in discipline referrals, although the reason for this is not clear. Some assert that it's because students are respected more by teachers when they are in uniforms rather than baggy pants and baseball caps. Others think the reasons are more complicated than that.

Some studies have even shown an increase in academic test scores in schools that have implemented uniform policies.

School Uniforms Articles

Experts disagree on whether school uniform policies make a significant positive impact on student behavior and academic performance. Some studies and school uniforms articles show positive results while others don't support the idea. Professor David Brunsma of the University of Missouri published a book compiling research on whether uniforms really do improve behavior and academic performance.

In his book The School Uniform Movement and What It Tells Us About American Education, Brunsma concluded that there is no strong empirical data to support those claims. It doesn't mean that uniform policies aren't beneficial, only that those benefits are difficult to prove. Anecdotal data from teachers, administrators, students and parents often indicates the opposite side in the school uniforms debate.

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Ten Reasons Why Children Should Wear Uniforms

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Should students have freedom in clothes option as free speech expressions? The pros and cons of school uniforms is a debate in many communities. Most schools have some form of a dress code or a say in how students dress. Schools with uniform requirements may cite research to support the decision.

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Although many schools across the country require that their student body come dressed in a uniform, others do not require that children adhere to a predetermined policy. Allowing students to make their own determinations regarding dress code teaches them to make their own decisions and allows them to express their unique personal styles.

Expensive

Uniforms, especially those that have color and style requirements for every part of the outfit, are not easy for many parents to afford. Adults who have elementary aged children in school are especially prone to financial difficulties, as younger students participate in excessive physical play and are not always careful to protect their clothing. Additionally, young people of all ages change their styles on a regular basis and grow rapidly, resulting in the abandonment of old clothing and requiring the purchase of new accessories.

Uncreative

Students of all ages, especially those who are making the transition from childhood to adolescence, are naturally creative and yearn to express themselves in everything they do. Requiring that children wear uniforms on a daily basis stifles their ability to display their artistic talent and forces them to conform to standards that are purely subjective.

Misleading

Although student bodies of schools with uniform requirements may appear orderly and controlled, they are not protected from the formation of cliques and gangs. Children who are exposed early to styles that are not exactly like theirs learn to withhold judgment on the basis of outward appearances.

Demeaning

Most students who are required to wear uniforms consistently express strong distaste for them. Although many adults have overcome self-consciousness and are indifferent to criticism, young people are especially prone to the onset of insecurity and low self-esteem. Allowing students to wear what makes them feel the most comfortable will prevent them from feeling embarrassed and enable them to place confidence in their unique personal identity.

Creatas/Creatas/Getty Images

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3 Mains Reasons Why Kids Shouldn't Have to Wear School Uniforms | Synonym

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Although many schools across the country require that their student body come dressed in a uniform, others do not require that children adhere to a predetermined policy. Allowing students to make their own determinations regarding dress code teaches them to make their own decisions and allows them to express their unique personal styles.

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Are your kids dressing for school this fall in standard khakis and polo shirts or are they getting decked out in the latest skinnies and cool graphic T-shirts?

The number of public schools asking students to wear school uniforms is on the rise, with nearly one in five requiring them, so TODAY held a mini-debate Monday on the virtue of mandatory school uniforms.

Educational psychologist and TODAY contributor Michele Borba thinks uniforms are a good idea because they create "emotional safety at a school, which is pivotal to learning."

Having kids wear uniforms will reduce bullying because kids won't pick on each other for how they're dressed, she said, and in urban settings, gang affiliation through dress will go down as well. The uniforms also reduce distractions, Borba said.

"It gets down to, 'Let's focus on the thing we're supposed to be doing, called learning,'" she said.

But child and teen development specialist Robyn Silverman said uniforms aren't always the answer.

"At a time where teens and preteens want to express themselves, clothes provide a vehicle, a benign vehicle, to allow them to express themselves and say, 'I'm different,' without having to approach more risky ways of saying the same thing," she said.

Should adults stifle kids' individuality? TODAY's Savannah Guthrie asked Borba.

While she said she loves individuality, Borba said a new mindset is needed.

"It's not the stuff you wear, it's the stuff on the inside," she told Guthrie on the TODAY show plaza. "Let's start getting kids to be expressive in terms of their thoughts, their words, their deeds.

"They have 50,000 activities they're signed up for, for heaven's sake, they can be expressive there," Borba added. "When you walk into school, let's be dressed for success and be prepared to learn."

Silverman noted that uniforms can have an unintended consequence, where kids compare how they each look in the same outfit, much like magazines ask readers to judge celebrities in "who wore it best" photo spreads.

"As a body image expert, I hear from students all the time that they feel it allows for a lot of comparison," Silverman said.

"So if you have a body that's a plus-size body, a curvier body, a very tall body, a very short body, those girls often feel that they don't look their best," she said, and that can be detrimental to learning.

Nineteen percent of public school principals reported requiring uniforms in the 2009-2010 school year, up from 12 percent a decade earlier, according to TODAY. The percentage of public schools whose principals reported enforcement of a strict dress code rose from 47 percent to 57 percent during the decade.

What do you think? Let us know on the TODAY Moms Facebook page.

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Are school uniforms helping or hindering?

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Are your kids dressing for school this fall in standard khakis and polo shirts or are they getting decked out in the latest skinnies and cool graphic T-shirts?The number of public schools asking students to wear school uniforms is on the rise, with nearly one in five requiring them, so TODAY held a mini-debate Monday on the virtue of mandatory school uniforms.Educational psychologist and TOD

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Here are some of the most important advantages: 1) A dress code promotes a more serious school atmosphere which emphasizes academics and promotes good behavior. 2) Dress codes have proven to increase student achievement by encouraging students to concentrate more on their studies and less on their wardrobe.

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A school uniform is an attire worn by students mostly while going for studies. Most common school uniforms are characterised by white button-downs and ties for boys, and pleated skirts for girls, with both wearing blazers. A uniform can even be as simple as requiring collared shirts, or restricting colour choices and limiting items students are allowed to wear, among other features.

"Every time I look at the way we are smart, unique, and presentable at school, it gives great pride in our school uniform. No doubt it greatly contributes to our everyday learning process at school," says Aline Mutoni, a 12-year-old Primary Five pupil at George Fox Kagarama Primary School.

The school uniform to many pupils is a basis of their friendship, discipline and equality. Putting on the same uniform makes them feel equal regardless of where they come from.

On the other hand, pupils say having a school uniform helps them not to worry about how they look when they go to school because everyone looks similar.

Teachers say that putting on the same uniform helps learners to concentrate on their studies more than their physical looks. They urgue that students would be distracted by what their colleagues are puting on, how cheap or expensive their clothes are, and this eventually would shift their focus from their academics to other things.

For parents, it is certain that students puting on a school uniform comes with an advantage financially.

"I usual buy my children a school uniform once or twice in a year, unlike normal clothes that you buy every month. This has helped me to save for other pressing needs," says Alice Uwineza, a mother of three.

Most importantly, learners say the school uniform gives them a sense of belonging and pride in their respective schools. When students go outside the school, they go with pride and always keep in mind that they are the ambassadors of their schools to the public because of what they are wearing. In other words their dress code portrays the image of the school.

Children Times' Dennis Agaba brings you some moments of pupils in their respective school uniforms.

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the importance of a school uniform | newtimes

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A school uniform is an attire worn by students mostly while going for studies. Most common school uniforms are characterised by white button-downs and ties for boys, and pleated skirts for girls, with both wearing blazers. A uniform can even be as simple as requiring collared shirts, or restricting colour choices and limiting items students are allowed to wear, among other features.

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A school uniform teaches students to dress smartly and take pride in their appearance... Perhaps most importantly, auniform means students don't have to worry about peer pressure when it comes to their clothes. When everyone is dressed the same, worrying about what you look like isn't so important.Jan 30, 2017

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School Uniforms: Why Students Should Wear Them

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Learn why students should wear school uniforms. If your school district is discussing a school uniform policy, French Toast is available to assist.

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Draa’s study concluded that those schools with uniform policies improved in attendance, graduation and suspension rates. She was unable to connect uniforms with academic improvement because of such complicating factors as changing instructional methods and curriculum.

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According to proponents, school uniforms:

• Help prevent gangs from forming on campus
• Encourage discipline
• Help students resist peer pressure to buy trendy clothes
• Help identify intruders in the school
• Diminish economic and social barriers between students
• Increase a sense of belonging and school pride
• Improve attendance

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Benefits of School Uniforms

School uniforms have a positive effect on students AND teachers! ...

School uniforms boost school spirit! ...

School uniforms promote a safe, healthy learning environment! ...

School uniforms make mornings easier! ...

School uniforms are cost-effective. ...

School uniforms encourage individual self-expression.