Are uniforms a good way to improve student discipline and motivation?

NEA Today, Apr 2002 by Morse-McNeely, Pat, Oland, Dave

DEBATE

yes

In the late 1950s, South Houston Middle School instituted a very detailed dress code, although not exactly uniforms.

The kids could not come to school in their usual personal style. Girls wore dark skirts and light blouses. Hose and high heels were banned, as were extreme hairstyles like the beehives that were then becoming the big thing. Make-up was out except for light lipstick. Earrings had to be small and inconspicuous.

Boys wore dark pants and white shirts tucked in neatly, with loafers or lace-up shoes. No sneakers. No jewelry. Nothing to distract or compete for attention at the school.

Discipline improved drastically-- fewer fights. Kids were not worrying about how they looked. They were on task 90 percent of the time. By the end of that year, the student body as a whole had jumped two grades, from Cs to As, Ds to Bs.

Since that time, I have read a lot of research both in favor of and against uniforms, and it appears to me that the preponderance of evidence is in favor. Catholic and other parochial schools have long used uniforms with success.

Parents find that buying two or three uniforms is ultimately cheaper than buying clothes to follow the fads, and it stops arguments at home about what Johnny or Mary will wear to school on this day or that. Uniforms "level" the student body because one cannot tell the "haves" from the "have nots."

While kids say they hate uniforms, they can hardly wait to join some school group that wears one: ROTC, spirit club, band. They seek pins, necklaces, sashes, jackets-all uniforms-that state something about the person and identify them as "belonging to...."

Uniforms build school spirit because they foster this sense of belonging. They enhance school loyalty and pride since the students are recognized wherever they go in the uniform as belonging to that particular school. They represent their whole student body.

In fact, I don't think it would hurt anybody if teachers were also required to wear uniforms! That would cut down on teachers' expenses and make them clearly identifiable to the student body.

Individualism does not depend on your hairdo or your dress, but upon your spirit, your personality, and your self-discipline. We are in real trouble if we depend on our mode of dress to express our individuality.

The only real freedom is freedom of thought. Conformity lives in rules and laws and all the other demands of living in large groups. Without conformity, there would be chaos.

When we adopt uniforms, we send a clear message: School is for learning, not showing off.

no

The American spirit is not about conformity. It is about allowing individuals the opportunity to think outside the box. The ingenuity of individual thought has made this country great, and public education has fostered this type of thinking.

As we work to change our schools, we must focus on real issues like building relationships with parents, students, and colleagues while improving the quality of instruction. Let's not resort to quick fixes and band-aids like uniforms. We want to encourage our students to develop better attitudes on life, society, their future, and themselves. Let's engage them in a dialogue about what clothing is appropriate for school, rather than regulating what they must wear. Are we afraid to do the real work of changing the culture of our schools?

As our students come to the metal detectors in the morning, let's not greet them with, "Good morning. Do you have your uniform? No? Well, go home then. No education for you today."

Last year, our principal asked a committee to research this issue. We found no hard evidence that uniforms had any significant impact on improving achievement, only scattered anecdotes. In all the educational conferences we have attended over the years, we have never seen one session touting the power of school transformation through uniforms.

We support our district's general clothing guidelines. But creating and maintaining a new uniform policy would reduce the time spent on instructional improvement and increase divisiveness, both among staff and between staff and students.

Do we choose to run our public schools in the manner of prisons, boot camps, and parochial schools? Should we in public education place such a premium on forced conformity? We should celebrate our students' individuality, which gives us the opportunity to open a significant port of entry into their lives and build deeper, more authentic relationships with them.

Since redesigning our school into "Small Learning Communities" four years ago, we have had fewer fights and discipline problems, higher scores, and a much higher graduation rate. We didn't need uniforms to accomplish this.

Some say it is more economical for families to buy uniforms. But kids who want nice clothes will want them regardless of a uniform policy, so parents may need to buy both uniforms and the clothes kids really want to wear.

Do we want to risk alienating kids who may already be on the edge? Are we okay with losing even one child who may quit school if uniforms are mandated?