Steven King Biography

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School Uniform Debate A new student in a new neighborhood leaves his home for the first day of school. He is wearing a brand new "hip" Nike T-shirt, and new Air Jordan sneakers. He returns home later that day with none of these. School Uniforms: Somewhat of a good Idea.

A group of third-graders sit in their classroom, working on a math problem. They laugh and smile in their black pants and dresses, navy-blue shirts, and black ties. All of a sudden, the windy day outside turns into a storm. A tornado touches down, lifting the small classroom forty feet in the air, throwing school children left and right, killing most instantly. When the grief-stricken parents go down to the morgue to identify their beloved children, all they see are rows of disfigurements, all in black slacks and dresses, navy-blue shirts, and black ties. School Uniforms: In this unlikely situation, a very bad idea.

In recent years, the school uniform debate has become a very two-sided issue. The opinions are split almost in half. Some people believe that school uniforms are the answer to the reform of student violence, thievery, and the rapidly lowering academic status. I, however agree otherwise. I believe that school uniforms should not be instated. It goes against our first amendment rights, and , in my opinion, is a mediocre approach to quick fix the real problem, the students causing the kind of behavior that makes people think that school uniforms are warranted.

One of the main arguments for school uniforms is that it will improve the personality and academic status of the student. These people believe that by wearing a uniform, a student will automatically become friendly, honest, and mature, and his grades will start to rise. I don't understand this train of thinking. If you take a convicted murderer out of a prison, dressed him up in a nice suit and tie, and let him loose on society, what do you think will happen. He will be back in prison in a month. Why then, do these people think that by putting on this "magic" uniform, a students personality will just instantly become loving and kind, and their grades will skyrocket? I believe that to change the students, we should do just that. Change the students. Teach them values and morals. I realize that it's the parents' job to provide these life lessons to their children, but some parents aren't living up to their responsibility. I'm not saying that all morals and opinions should be taught in school, but I don't see how a little, "Do unto others..." and "It's not right to kill and steal." would hurt the students.

Another argument is money. Some people believe that uniforms would be cheaper than having to buy many types of clothing for school. Research shows this is not true. The average school uniform can cost between $55 to $75, depending on age, size, and gender. This already costs more because most of the clothes the students already own are fit for public appearance. A school uniform would also have to be washed every day, adding to the cost of Laundromats for people who don't own a washing machine. This, however, can be avoided by buying yet another uniform, so you only have to wash it every other day. Also, students would want clothing for weekends and summers, so you would have to buy a uniform, and the clothing the student already wanted. So a uniform would just add one more thing to buy on top of everything else.

Some people also say that by having school uniforms, it will keep poorer families from the embarrassment of not being able to buy brand name clothing. You don't see rich, business executives giving up their condos and Cameros because some people can't afford them? This is America, land of the free. What you earn depends on how hard you work. Therefore, why can't students wear name brand clothing if they can afford it? And, if a family is so strapped for money, what happens if that family can't afford a uniform? They will face the same embarrassment. Once again, I believe that this problem would be more efficiently solved by teaching students not to tease.

Many superintendents have argued that school uniforms would be great for school recognition. Schools already have T-shirts, sweats, sweaters, hats, buttons, and so on and so forth. Do we really need any more recognition? And lastly, some people believe that school uniforms would save arguments at home about clothing. Personally, I have been in many arguments with my parents. But none of them have been about what I am wearing. And if parents really do have problems with the way their child dresses, that problem belongs to the parents, not the school. If a students clothing already fits the dress code, already instated by their school board, and the parents still have complaints, I don't think that the school needs to get involved. The school's job is to educate, it's the parent's job to raise the children.

In conclusion, there are some good reasons for having school uniforms, but they call all be argued by better reasons for not having school uniforms. Uniforms are great in the military, but not in school. If the school wants better behaved students, and better educated students, they should work on changing the student, not the appearance.