“School Uniforms should be banned.
”
Who likes wearing school uniforms these days? School uniforms are
nowadays viewed as old-fashioned and outdated. Traditionally, dating as far back as
the 13th century, schools and universities had mandated the use of a uniform, as it
signaled elegance and discipline. However, now, there are other ways of fostering
school pride and discipline without the use of a uniform. Indeed, school uniforms
should be banned as they are uncomfortable, restrict student’s freedom to express
themselves in a creative manner and are more costly than regular clothes.
To begin with, uniforms are very uncomfortable and a nuisance to wear.
Students throughout the day find it “suffocating” to have to wear a uniform which is
most often a shirt, pants, shoes, and socks. Mobility in uniforms, especially during
recreation periods, is much more difficult than if children wore more “loose-fitting,
comfortable clothing”. One Australian study shows that boys had reported of the
school tie being hazardous when moving about, and the long pants had no stretch, to
allow flexibility in moving about. Think about having to be in a very hot
environment while wearing a jersey, shirt, and blazer? Even more, combined with
that, you must wear a non-stretch long plants, thick socks, and black shoes for 7-8
hours a day. Indeed, this is clearly discomforting to the child. Therefore, uniforms
act as a nuisance and should be banned.
Secondly, uniforms are more expensive than everyday clothes. A study shows
that 95% of parents think that uniforms cost too much, and that it is cheaper to buy,
regular clothes. The process of keeping uniforms clean, as most shirts are white, and
children tend to get them dirty throughout the day, costs more than simply cleaning
coloured, regular clothing. Selas, a messy student, always dirties up his school shirt,
and his mother has to go through the process of using bleach, to scrub it, soak it in
detergent, then wash it in the machine. Wouldn’t it be cheaper, to simply just throw
in a dirty red jersey, in the machine for the rinse cycle, while having to go use more
detergent and bleach just to scruab off a stain? While these may seem insignificant,
you save an estimated minimum of 20% more a month on detergent and bleach.
Admittedly, students may abuse the privilege of not having a school uniform,
by wearing things that are inappropriate or relay negative messages, however, that
can be fixed by simply having a concise dress code, which explicitly shows the DO’s
and DON’T’s of wearing casual clothes to school. It is also true that, a school
uniform fosters elegance in a school body, however there are still creative waves in
which students can bring elegance to the school, by wearing casual clothing. An
example of this may be, where students wear different colours for different days and
occasions or where students can still be mandated to pin on the school logo to their
casual clothing. Students should be able to express their emotions, and creativity in
their clothing, once it is appropriate. A uniform should not define how elegant a
school is, as there are new and modern ways of doing this. Students should be able
to learn and do things while still having the freedom to choose their clothing. This
will help them in the long run, when they have to make even more decisions and
judgements.
In conclusion, school uniforms should be banned because they are unpleasant
to wear, overpriced in comparison to regular clothes, and mitigate a child’s freedom
to convey themselves in a fun and creative way. School uniforms were once a “thing
of the past” and now are outdated due to the fact that there are now different ways
of accomplishing the same goals as a uniform serves to accomplish. There is no
evidence to show that wearing regular clothing, affects a student’s learning ability
but in fact, based on studies, enhance their learning ability in a unique way. To deny
a student’s choice to choose their clothing for school can be deemed as negative and
holding back their creativity, which will undeniably affect them in the long run.
