Many educators say that clothes can affect your grades and behavior in school, and so many schools choose a school dress code because of that.
My school at Cleveland Early College has a dress code and you must wear it to school every day. However, school dress code should not be a rule in all schools nationwide. There are three big reasons why. Dress codes causes families to waste additional money buying extra clothes. Dress codes can make kids late for school and hurt their grades. Lastly, uniform school clothes can be uncomfortable and make it so students cannot focus. School dress code should be eliminated from schools because it prevents students from being successful in the classroom.
Requiring dress codes forces families to waste money buying clothing that they do not need. School clothes are not cheap. For example, one shirt can cost roughly $10-$35 dollars or more, and pants can cost between $30-$50 dollars or more. This is not good for families that do not have this money. This suggests flaws in school dress codes. Schools should help students and families, rather than hurt them. Students will not wear these clothing items outside of school, so families should not be forced to spend more money for school clothes. Students should be allowed to wear the clothing of their choosing.
School dress codes can cause lots of other problems. One way it is problematic is that it can make people late for school. An example is when students cannot find shirts or pants. This has happened to me once when I was in middle school. Students are losing educational time over clothing. In addition, students get in trouble for coming to school without school clothes. They may have to serve detentions, be put into in-school suspension rooms, or even face suspension. It’s a lose-lose situation for students.
Plus, dress codes can lead to unnecessary confrontation between students and staff. A press release from the school district in Elkhart, Indiana earlier this year reported that a teacher confronted a student about a hoodie worn to class at Jimtown High School. The teacher allegedly physically assaulted the student. School officials said the student suffered visible injuries and required immediate medical attention, and the teacher was fired for it, and may face criminal charges.
Some students may find school clothes uncomfortable. It can distract them from learning and can hurt their grade. For example, in Catholic schools, girls are often required to wear skirts, even in the wintertime, leaving them too cold to concentrate on school work. There is no reason you should hurt someone’s grade over clothes. If students could wear what they wanted, they would feel comfortable and concentrate better. Schools should help students instead of hurting them and give students the freedom to choose.
I interviewed a student named Ahmad Black who goes to Ginn Academy, who said he wasn’t a fan of dress codes.
“My mom isn't in a good state right now, but she still has to set a lot of money aside because she needs to buy school clothes cause I changed shirt and pants sizes a lot,” he said.
Some argue that a school dress code is needed. They say that people will wear non-school appropriate attire if given a choice. This can be solved by having a light dress code.
Another reason people think dress code is needed is because, they argue, having every student wearing street clothes means people will get distracted, and could even encourage violence between students. According to the Bonneville Academy charter school website in Utah, “Having a dress code at school encourages a more optimistic educational atmosphere […] These guidelines aim to eliminate any type of violence that can be caused due to socioeconomic variances.”
However, there is no proof that how people dress affects how violent they are. Do jeans make children violent? Or do jogging pants make someone commit a murder? That is stereotyping. In other words, how people dress will not distract anyone because people are mature enough to not make fun of one another or hurt one another over clothing. There may be reasons why someone would want a dress code, but the benefits of having a school dress code do not outweigh its weaknesses.
School dress code should not be a rule. Dress code wastes money that poor families may need for basic survival. The lack of comfort from uniforms can cause students to lose focus as they struggle to stay warm in winter or cool in the summer. Many students also lose educational time waiting for parents to buy uniforms or because they don’t have clean uniforms. There are simply more pros than cons to removing the dress code rule. Call your local school board and demand the elimination of dress codes today. It is our duty to stop a rule that can harm the education and grades of students across the country.
