Why do schools have uniforms

Do All Schools have Uniforms?

Before any argument is placed either for or against the topic, it should first be mentioned that most schools in the US and in Canada do not have mandatory uniforms for their students. The reason as to why they do not have uniforms is primarily because they believe in the freedom of expression and thus a student is allowed to wear what he/she likes or feels represents him/her better. This however is not the case in most other countries around the world; school students in England usually have to wear a uniform and the same is true for most other schools around the world as well. The reason as to why one must wear a uniform in these schools is because the authorities believe it creates a sense of discipline and unity. Both of these point of views have valid points and will be elaborated below.

The Varying Arguments

Uniforms make it safe from outsiders – It has been found that young people often get into schools in which they do not study, just in order to cause problems due to personal reasons or may be just for fun. In a school that has hundreds of students, it would indeed be difficult to spot the outsiders, especially if everybody is wearing regular clothes. On the contrary, it would be quite an ordeal to find the typical school uniforms and get into a particular school; something that will in most cases, deter outside menace.

Uniforms may help parents to save money on clothing – The point here is that if uniforms are mandatory, then students would not hassle their parents into buying fashionable clothes in order to stand out in school. It would also save money as the same dress code means there is no need or possibility of changing or buying new clothes every now and then. One may still opt to go for multiple pairs, but that is not likely and would ultimately be pointless.

Uniforms might create a sense of uniformity, prevent the formation of cliques and may even lessen the instances of mental and physical bullying – Although this does not seem to have had much effect on the psyche of young students, the theory behind this school of thinking is that wearing uniforms somewhat eliminates the difference in height, weight and looks among students. Ideally, this should also prevent the formation of gossip groups, ridiculing and bullying of students who look different from the rest of the batch. This does not however, seem to be effective as students wearing the same uniform will still look different, talk different and behave differently. One’s clothes can only do so much.

An idea that actually counters this very thought is the fact that by dressing all kids in the same outfits are we not trying to hide the slightly different student out? Instead, should students not be taught by their parents and their teachers to accept the different kid, rather than to try and hide him/her in clothes? In fact, expert psychologists are also of the opinion that this may create an inability in the minds of the young students to accept those that are different from the majority.