QUEZON City, Philippines (October 20) – Should they be worn by the students?
An organization in the United States who aims to let people understand the pros and cons of wearing school uniform, ProCon.org, says that, traditionally favored by private and parochial institutions, school uniforms are being adopted by US public schools in increasing numbers. Almost one in five US public schools required students to wear uniforms during the 2011-2012 school years, up from one in eight in 2003-2004. Mandatory uniform policies in public schools are found more commonly in high-poverty areas.
Proponents say that school uniforms make schools safer for students, create a “level playing field” that reduces socioeconomic disparities, and encourage children to focus on their studies rather than their clothes.
Opponents say school uniforms infringe upon students’ right to express their individuality, have no positive effect on behavior and academic achievement, and emphasize the socioeconomic disparities they are intended to disguise.
The first recorded use of standardized dress in education may have been in England in 1222, when the Archbishop of Canterbury mandated that students wear a robe-like outfit called the “cappa clausa.” The origin of the modern school uniform can be traced to 16th Century England, when the impoverished “charity children” attending the Christ’s Hospital boarding school wore blue cloaks reminiscent of the cassocks worn by clergy, along with yellow stockings. As of September 2014, students at Christ’s Hospital were still wearing the same uniform, and according to the school it is the oldest school uniform still in use. When Christ’s Hospital surveyed its students in 2011, 95% voted to keep the traditional uniforms.
In later centuries, school uniforms became associated with the upper class. At one of England’s most prestigious schools, Eton, students were required to wear black top hats and tails on and off campus until 1972, when the dress codes began to be relaxed.
School uniforms in the United States followed the traditional use of uniforms established in England and were generally limited to private and parochial schools. One exception was found in government-run boarding schools for Native American children, first established in the late 1800s, where the children, who had been removed from their families, were dressed in military-style uniforms.
Did you know that?
- The first school district in the United States to require all K-8 students to wear uniforms was Long Beach, CA, in Jan. 1994.
- Americans spend around $1 billion per year on school uniforms.
- Students at Eton, one of England’s most prestigious schools, were required to wear black top hats and tails on and off campus until 1972.
- US schools with a minority student population of 50% or more are four times as likely to require uniforms than schools with a minority population of 20-49%, and 24 times more likely than schools with minority populations of 5%-19%.
- As of 2008, 22 US states specifically authorized schools to institute dress codes or uniform policies.
Uniforms were also adapted in the Philippines. In my own opinion, I agree that wearing a school uniform is okay. It simply makes people recognize who the students are or not. The uniformity of a group is also pleasing to the eyes and that the distinctiveness of an individual can also be seen.
So now we’ve come to the question: why do we have to wear school uniforms?
A writer in frenchtoast.com has the answer!
- Uniforms take the competition out of dress
- School Uniforms keep the focus on learning, not clothing
- Uniforms have a helpful leveling effect in school systems where there is economic diversity.
- Uniforms are cost effective. They are less expensive. Uniforms create a feeling of oneness and belonging.
- With School Uniforms everyone fits in with their school
- Whether it’s music, art, sports, or academics, uniforms allow students to express and define themselves beyond their labels and fashion styles.
- Uniforms do not suppress individuality, they enhance it
- Uniforms add measures of safety in identical dress. Gang identification is obscured. Group violence and theft are dissipated.
- School Uniforms bring safety back to the school halls
- Uniforms have resulted in declining truancy and increased attendance
- One major reason is given: The student who felt uncomfortable going to school because others made fun of the way he looked and dressed feels more at ease.
- Uniforms raise both student and teacher expectations.
- School Uniforms bring an image of success to students and teachers
Backed by studies, it can be seen that implementing a school uniform policy in the United States have resulted in a lot of positive outcome which can of course be duplicated here in the Philippines. So, if you are the one to be asked, what do you want? With or without uniform?
(written by Joana Joyce Tan Marcaida, edited by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Vince Alvin Villarin)
