Maus

The Necessity for School Uniforms in Public Schools
Today’s youth are faced with many challenges, from getting a date to the school dance or mending a broken friendship. Being a teenager is a difficult stage in ones life because it is a time of trials and tribulations when comfort and safety are highly necessary. Unfortunately, in today’s world it is very hard for children to grow and learn in a safe environment. School, a place meant for the acquirement of knowledge has become a violent and competitive place in which students do not feel safe. One of the main factors contributing to violence in schools is clothing. Students use clothing as a way to attack their peers emotionally and physically. This pain would be minimized if public schools implemented school uniforms. By enforcing uniforms, schools will decrease violence, teasing, social stratification, and competition among peers while also saving the parents of student’s money.
The increasingly violent environment of today’s public school would be minimized through the implementation of school uniforms. The statistics for students who carry weapons to school are staggering. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, “in 2009 8 percent of males carried a weapon on school property, compared to 3 percent of females” (Indicators of School Crime and Safety). Even though these percentages might seem low, they are still too high because even if 1 percent of students carried a weapon, another student’s life could be endangered. Clearly, weapons are a serious threat to students and schools can minimize the threat of these weapons by implementing a dress code that will make it impossible for students to carry or hide weapons in their clothing (such as under their baggy shirts or pants). Mr. Wider, Ed.D states that “Some schools even require students to have the belt line exposed at all times for fear of guns concealed under clothing.”(Wilder and Key) Therefore, through strict dress codes the...