User:Chriscross135/sandbox
{{}} There are many elements that make you who you are. The things that make you unique are the most important things to you such as: your family, your friends, your personalities/ emotions you frequently show, the foods you like, your favorite subject, your favorite sports team, etc.. But one of the most important things to a teen is what they wear. Absolutely no else has your opinion, personality, or sense of style.
What are the benefits of having a uniform you feel like you’re part of a team. You aren’t humiliated because of your fashion choice. You don’t have to worry about what you’re going to wear the next day. It helps to stay disciplined in terms of what you wear. But, we like to express our own sense of style. We all have a unique and personal opinion of what is comfortable. We are happier when we choose what to wear instead of being told what to wear. I’m sure some of us would be willing to give up some of our privileges (not that we have that many to begin with, because of mistakes that were made in the past that made us unable to have these privileges anymore). On no uniform days most of us are willing to pay the $3 fee to have freedom and flexibility to wear what we please. We want to be able to stand out from the usual crowd sometimes. School uniforms bring the attention away from “what sneakers he has” and the “why is she so ugly”. They present a standard that is easy to follow and makes you feel included. If there is a child who doesn’t belong in school he can be easily identified and removed before there is trouble and danger. It encourages the students to find a way to express themselves that isn’t through clothes. The problem is, people, especially teens, use their outfits to display their personalities and feelings. And uniforms are the prison that prohibits them from expressing their feeling, personalities, and sense of style. Teens tend to suffer with self-image issues, so in the issue of uniforms, it is a two sided coin. There are some disadvantages and some benefits. Teens might think they look weird because they wear something “ugly”, or they don’t have that trending outfit. The child will be wearing the same thing as all the other children, so what is there to compare. But the bad part about uniforms the child might think that when their friends see them in their school uniform they might think that the uniform makes them look unappealing. Uniforms help to increase school spirit. Uniforms form like some sort of bond that links every student together and helps them love their school even more. But if you are ashamed of your school for whatever reason, you would be ashamed to wearing the uniform of your school. Uniforms are similar to the shirts & slacks dress code that you can find in most places of business where you work in a business. If your job is more hands-on, the uniform would be more suited towards your field of work. So if you are a nurse, you wear scrubs. Business-casual uniforms allow you to choose what shirt, slacks, tie, and jacket/dress/ shirt and skirt. And you don’t have to necessarily wear a blazer/jacket, you can wear a sweater or vest. With a school uniform it is always the same blazer, shirt, tie, khakis/skirts, and shoes. Some school uniform policies allow you to alter certain parts in your outfit. E.g. you can change the Oxford button-down shirt from blue to white in our school. Besides that you have no options. The school week is 5 days straight wearing similar outfits? Variety is one of the main reasons why teens like being able to choose what they wear. But, all school uniforms are lacking this. Why? They lack this so that, everyone is the same and you are not different because of your clothes but because of you’re: character, skills, and virtues. But what are some stats on uniform policies. 23% percent of public and private schools have uniform policies. The following is from http://www.statisticbrain.com/school-uniform-statistics/[1] (on separate page). This data shows that parents and teachers cannot even come near to an agreement on this topic. It seems as if teachers are finding that uniform are having the effect that they are supposed to but, parents are seeing a more negative effect on their children. Many people would think that the teachers would no better than the parents since the teachers are with the student s all day. This is wrong because, parents know their children a lot better than their teachers. Children do not verbally complain to their teachers about how they feel. The children would run to their parents and complain about what is going on in school. But why? Teachers sometimes seem more unwelcoming and forced into your life. Parents are the ones we open up to because they let us. The following is a survey of Parents and Teachers regarding the implemented use of school uniforms. The percent represents those who marked "Agree" or "Strongly Agree" Survey Question Parents Teachers
1.Policy has hindered self-expression and creativity 34 % 5 %
2.Policy has hindered individual student’s personal liberty 36 % 0 %
3.Has promoted a sense of security 41 % 86 %
4.Has increased school pride and has created a sense of community 42 % 80 %
5.The school uniform has been financially beneficial for my household 49 % 86 %
6.Has addressed the peer pressure issue of "fitting in" by wearing specific brands 47 % 90 %
7.Has promoted positive student behavior 37 % 95 %
8.Policy has minimized disruption and distractions 38 % 81 %
9.Has eliminated competition among students 36 % 52 %
10.School uniforms have improved the learning environment 35 % 81 %
11.The Board should extend the school uniform policy indefinitely 42 % 81 %
This information should still be looked at as the facts but not the primary facts, because the surveyors did not survey the most important people in all of this. The students are the ones that really know what is going on. The parents and teachers might assume what their child is showing on the outside they don’t know what is happening on the inside. The children (if they are being honest) will give you the real facts. Another thing is that the children are all different. Some are rich and others poor. So, the rich would say no to “5” but the poor would say yes. Children have different levels of creativity, so creativity might not be hindered. Some people intentionally wear the same thing every day. Some students “e.g. me” don’t necessarily rely on fitting in. Some kids are more disruptive than others. I can go on about this for a while. The one that really matter are: 2, 3,4,5,7,8,10, and 11. One of the things expected of you is to be responsible and disciplined so one way to do that is to show up to school wearing the correct uniform. If you do not then privileges might be taken away and there will be many consequences. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.” Luke 16:10. Even though we always see uniforms as a tremendous burden it is not. The teachers will only what they think is right, so they are not doing this to punish you. They have an intention behind everything that they do. Fitting in is one of the pressures of having no uniform. But, in a small school it is almost impossible to not fit in because the classes is so small it is very easy for them to bond. They put aside their differences and just socialize with each other. One of the main concerns of parents is the price for having a school uniform. It is like purchasing a school wardrobe. If the school has no uniform policy, then you only need one wardrobe. As most teen can say it is very important for us to be able to express ourselves. Explaining why we like what we like and arguing on why it is alright to be whom you are boosts your self-confidence and your ability to stand up for yourself. With all these facts it is hard to discern whether uniforms are good or not. Sure the uniform is uncomfortable, ugly, and itchy to some, but the uniform bonds us as a school. I will our opinions might differ but I think that we can all agree that these facts are mostly if not all true.