Essay on Mandatory Uniforms in Public Schools

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Mandatory Uniforms in Public Schools

Do you want equality among students in your child's school? Do you want less violence within your child's school? Would you like your daughter to concentrate more on her schoolwork and less on what name brand jeans she is wearing? All this is possible with mandatory uniform policies in public school districts. School uniforms may seem outdated for some people, but in many cases they can improve school spirit, attendance and student behavior. According to The Humanist magazine, former President Bill Clinton's 1996 State of the Union Address called for all 16,000 school districts in the country to adopt a uniform policy. The President stated, "If it means that teenagers will stop killing each
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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also argues that "mandatory uniforms violate students free expression right" (King, screen 3). When wearing uniforms children feel like they have limits on their personal expression. To illustrate, Students perceive their clothing as a way to explicit their emotions, show their creative abilities, express their opinions, and display individualism; if they have to wear uniforms to school the students opportunity to reveal their personality is eliminated. Newsweek reports that some teachers and principals sympathize with the students. A principal at a middle school in Sherman Oaks, California, Norman Isaacs believes that with a students clothing a teacher can get insights on what is going on in the students personal life. He states, "our counselors and teachers monitor the way kids are dressed if we see a big change in the way a student dresses, that sends a signal and tells us we need to address that person" (qtd in "Uniforms Rule", screen 2). Students feel that uniforms at school create a military environment. An environment where everyone is dressed the same and in that same manner must act alike, exhibit the same personalities, and have the same opinions.
Parents also do not want to pay the added
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