Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, and a study in Britain found that at least half of the suicides are related to bullying. So why am I sharing this with you? Because there isnt a way to completely get rid of bullying but there are things we can do to make it less of an problem. I believe that the use of enforcing school uniform or a school dress code, would help not only decrease bullying but also unite people together and make this learning environment, where you spend most of your day, a better place to be.
Usually most people think of school uniforms as a private school thing but recently many more public schools are joining the minority. The first public school to have a school uniform was Cherry Hill Elementary School in Baltimore in 1987. This was a big deal and since then more cities have adapted to having a uniform finding the effects extraordinary. In Long Beach, California, the overall crime rate, school suspensions, vandalism, and offenses, all dropped down about 90% making a huge behavioral change.
School uniforms are overall mostly a benefit. I believe that everyone wearing the same colors and same articles of clothing help both educationally and behaviorally. First of all, the uniform symbolizes unity and how we all go to the same school for the same reason which is to learn but to also make friends and have fun. Many educators believe that students become quite distracted by the “ latest fashion trends” and “ status symbol clothing” so dressing the same as others makes you feel more professional and more focused on education. Secondly, there would be less bullying and less dress- identified cliques because with everyone wearing the same thing, you can’t really tell the difference between someone if their either rich or poor, or what their status is, everyone can be looked at equally. Some other benefits of school uniforms are that they don’t cost as much as wearing a different outfit every day of the week. School uniforms improve students attendance by decreasing dress time in the morning for some, and also enforcing discipline. They bring a sense of belonging and make you feel like you’re a part of the school.
President Clinton