Schoolchildren should have a uniform dress code

Interesting argument" I"m going to go ahead and structure my argument for this round the same way for simplicity"s sake. The purpose of schools is not only to educate our children but also to teach them to think for themselves so the children may thrive and bring about changes to our society in the future. I believe we would all agree that the world would not be moving forward if everyone"s thinking the same way. The first step to promoting individualized thinking would be promoting individuality. To promote individuality among children it is best if they are allowed to express themselves through their actions, such as a free dress code policy. A school with no dress code will have an easier time raising creative kids. Just the simple task of showing up at school requires the thought of "How should I dress today?". It is already an indirect homework assignment "assigned" by the school to have the children think every day. Not only is this assignment never ending but it is a creative thinking training. The creative thinking method Brainstorming is the process in which people start with an idea and think of as many possibilities as possible and try to find solutions among those possibilities. A free dress code policy is like brainstorming, the children can think of endless possibilities to dress themselves with and be as creative as possible. If children cannot even have the freedom to dress themselves how can you expect them to be creative in the future? Start young! A free dress code is the best way to exercise the first amendment to its fullest. Now, whether you"re from the United States or not, the freedom of speech and religion is a basic right of U.S. citizens. With the schools becoming more and more diversified every day, it"s an interesting way to see whether the U.S. is really abiding by its ideals. The freedom to dress and represent your culture, heritage, and religion should not be hindered by any person or any rules. As we can see with the protest in Hong Kong that is happening as we speak, the freedom to choose and not be oppressed is the basis of a successful country. For the children to learn well in school, comfort is an important factor. In a study done by Holliday & Said, it has been shown that learning associated with comfort will greatly enhance the learning experience. It will reduce nervousness and reduce pulse and therefore allows more attention to be placed into learning. Just as when a performer gets stage fright, there is just no way for him/her to perform well. Moving on to the disadvantages of a dress code policy" The education system we have today is like having a tree and telling different types of animal (student) to climb that tree (fishes, monkey, dog, etc.) You can"t expect everyone to do well on the same system, for everyone is unique in his/her own way. A dress code is a further extension of that system. Not only are you using the same education system for all the kids you are also extending that system on to the students in the form of cloth. I think it"s safe to say in order to better the education system we need to start with understanding the students' needs instead of applying the old methods. That change should start with the dress code. Dress codes often do require parents to buy the standard outfit for their children in order to attend school, but education should be cheap, if not free. It has been noted that some parents do face financial issues and cannot hope to get new clothes for their children. It will greatly reduce the financial burden on the parents to have a free dress code policy, especially for parents who have more than one child. According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2013 there are 45.3 million people in poverty and that number has not gone down for three consecutive years. To top it off, the 2013 poverty rate was 2.0% higher than in 2007. Schools should not only be looking out for the well-being of the environment of the children but also take into consideration of the families of the children. Certain school uniforms will embed gender stereotypes. Of course not all school uniforms do this but as with there are different schools started with different beliefs, as will the uniforms. As most of us will remember, the typical school uniform for little boys will consist of upper body clothing and lower body clothing, which will be pants. But for little girls that lower body piece is usually skirts. This reinforces the gender stereotypes that so many people are working so hard to remove today. One may argue that all the uniforms can be changed to all pants, but looking at it from another prospective, why not all skirts? Why can"t boys wear skirts but girls can wear pants? To effectively make changes and attain equality between the two genders the freedom of expression is not to be restricted. To wrap up the argument, a dress code policy might create a short term success for the school but not for society"s growth as a whole. Looking at the bigger picture and aiding the growth of children in a restriction free way will contribute to a more competitive country with much more possibilities. References -Holliday, T., & Said, S. (2008). Psycho physiological Measures of Learning Comfort: Study Groups" Learning Styles and Pulse Changes. TLAR, 13(1), 7-16. -DeNavas-Walt, C., & Proctor, B. D. (2014, September). Income and Poverty in the United States: 2013. United States Census Bureau, 0, 60-249.