Uniforms for public schools, are they a good idea.

UNIFORMS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

March 2007

Since the mid 1990s an increasing number of public schools nationwide have been implementing policies aimed at restricting the dress code of students . Uniforms are not a completely new phenomenon to American society . Traditionally most private schools have adopted strict uniform policies for its students . Within the American public school system however , this trend is quite new and as Wilson suggests , it has not been examined fully at the legislative level . Today an average of 25 of American public school students is wearing uniforms but

there is considerable debate as to the merits or possible benefits that could be gained from such a practice . Furthermore opponents of a uniform policy in schools are numerous and quite vocal in presenting their position School administrators have to examine carefully the research into the effects of implementation of school uniforms thus far as well as take council on how best to approach the introduction of uniform policies

History and Development of School Uniforms

Many people are shocked when it is pointed out that school uniforms have existed in American schools for decades . People probably assume that given the American way of diversity and individualism , that school uniforms have never before figured in the American school setting . This is indeed a misconception . Throughout the history of the United States there have been uniform policies , not only in private schools , but in public schools as well . Uniforms were used for two distinct purposes The first is related to disciplining or taming the unruly or uncivilized who were considered unable to do such disciplining themselves . This was the view adopted in insisting , since colonial times that certain minority groups such as blacks , Indians , the poor , immigrants and infants were regulated in the type of clothing they wore . This practice was particularly manifested during the early 19th and 20th centuries where strict regulations governed particularly blacks and Native Americans with regards to what they wore in the schools . In Federal Indian Boarding schools uniforms were introduced to prevent the wearing of tribal apparel . Uniforms ensured that these individuals conformed to western , supposedly civilized , forms of dress

As the structure of the society changed and more rights were granted to minorities the use of uniforms began to symbolize something else Uniforms now became a way of distinguishing a special group of individuals . In the case of the American school system white , socially affluent students who were attending exclusive private schools were set apart by means of their uniform from those who did not possess the requisite status and who attended regular public schools

Uniforms have therefore been compulsory for students attending most private schools within America . As a result uniforms came to represent social status and affluence . Correspondingly uniforms in this context often communicates to society that true learning occurs within the school environments that they represent

In the context of the public school the Long Beach Unified School District has been noted to be the first district to have implemented a...