School Uniforms-Pro

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorCollege, Undergraduate February 2008

download word file, 2 pages 3.0

Less than a decade ago, fifteen people were killed at Columbine High School because they had rejected two of their peers. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were two teenagers who dealt day in and day out with the harsh reality that they were different and they paid the price for it. All over our nation, children are acting out in response to the cruel nature of their peers. They skip classes, use drugs and alcohol, commit crimes, and bully other students as a result. Children are outcast, teased, and even beaten if they do not look like everyone else or if they do not fit in. One way of bonding our children is school uniforms.

For years private and parochial schools have required that children wear school uniforms. However, in the past ten years, more and more public school systems have begun to require school uniforms. The Long Beach, California, school system started requiring school uniforms in 1994.

There was a dramatic decline in crime within these schools. According to district officials in Long Beach, fights decreased some 51% and assault and battery offenses decreased 34%. (US Dept. of Education) The most dramatic decrease was in sexual offenses with an overwhelming 74% decrease, and this was only after the first year(US Dept. of Education).

According to several school accounts, school uniforms have been shown to help increase attendance and test scores due to fewer distractions within the classroom.(US Dept. of Education) When everyone is dressed the same there is less room to judge a student based on their appearance. School uniforms also reduce the amount of distractions caused by immodestly dressed females.

It is true that schools have dress codes, but as times change, these dress codes are constantly having to be evaluated and...