The Issue of Dress Codes in Schools

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Solution to tProblem In everyday life I, along with others, hear or say comments pertaining to our peers. Most of these comments are made towards a person's wardrobe choice. "Wow, that girl looks like she is wearing underwear instead of shorts,” or “Why are his pants sagging so low?” The way that today's youth dresses comes as a complete shock for those of us who are more conservative. Some schools have begun to try and fix the problem by putting a dress code in schools.

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As a former student at a strict high school, it became clear to me that the dress code is in obvious need of readjusting. There are countless problems with students being sent to the office because of their clothes that day, or because of the attitude they have when they are in trouble. I propose that this school require students to wear uniforms because having them would help solve this problem. Uniforms would help ensure that all students would be treated fairly, those who could not afford nice clothes would not be ridiculed, and the rules would be sensible.

Not all the students under the dress code system are treated fairly. At my high school, when one child would be punished for his or her choice of clothing, he or she would begin to throw a fit and blurt out many excuses about why they should not be sent to the office. One of the most common excuses was that athletes get treated differently than other students.

This was somewhat true. Although not all athletes received special treatment, some did. The uniform system that I am proposing that the school would implement would prevent students from feeling this way. For example, if the new dress code states that every student has to wear a collared shirt with khaki pants, the athletes would not be excused from the rule. All the students and student athletes would be wearing the same clothing. If students tried to find a loophole in the rules, they would be obvious and the student would be rightly punished. Therefore, students would not try to sneak around the rules because if they wore something they were not allowed to, the teachers would notice.

Another problem that students and teachers are having to deal with is bullying. When bullying first comes to mind, most people do not immediately think that clothes have anything to do with it. Although this is true in some cases, it is not always true. In my experience, most of the time, when people were being bullied it was over their clothing choice. If some of the popular kids do not like the shirt or jeans a student is wearing they will ridicule him or her for it. Not only is this a problem for the students, but also for the teachers. Teachers are constantly roaming the halls and watching out for potential problems. Many fights in the hallways occur because of bullying incidents. Hopefully, putting uniforms in the policy will prevent the root of the problem in many situations for students and teachers.

Teachers that roam the halls are often calling students out to send them to the office. The most common violation is girls wearing skirts or shorts that are too short by the standards of the dress code. In the current dress code, a rule states that shorts and skirts must be fingertip length. The "fingertip length” rule states that a student's fingertip must reach to the bottom of the shorts or skirt. I have a huge problem with this rule because I am 5'5, and being tall usually means you have long arms. For example, the tip of my fingers reaches almost to my knee. Where the rule becomes unfair to all students, including myself, is when the girls that are shorter, have fingers that come above their hips. So according to this rule, if a student wanted, she could wear underwear to school if it was to the end of her finger. This is where the rule is flawed; short armed girls can dress inappropriately and long-armed girls cannot wear any type of shorts. Uniforms would greatly influence the dress code. In most schools that adopt uniforms, shorts are not permitted at all. This would be the same at this school.

While the points I make may be very helpful, there might be someone who opposes this idea because of the impact on the students. Most students think that they will not agree with it, but studies show that most students normally do not have a problem with a uniform after uniform policies are put in effect. Also, some might say that not letting students pick their outfits takes away their creativity and individuality. The fact of the matter is that today's society is mainly based on looks. The students that rely on clothing to represent themselves will be forced to show their inner-self through meeting people and showing their personality. Lastly, the biggest objection that most people would have is the money issue that comes with buying uniforms. My rebuttal to that is that instead of parents buying fall, winter, spring, and summer clothes, they would just buy a few pairs of khaki pants, different collared shirts, and a jacket if needed. The student would wear those same clothes all year. Therefore, in the end, the uniforms would be financially affordable.

Having uniforms will most likely end positively in making students better people. As a former student, I wish that when I attended high school that the school would have gotten uniforms. The high school experience would be much better if it would do away with the current dress code and get uniforms. By this school requiring students to wear uniforms, it would help ensure students are treated fairly, be more financially affordable, and the rules would be more sensible.