SCHOOL UNIFORMS Does What Students Wear Really.DOCVIP

SCHOOL UNIFORMS: Does What Students Wear Really Make A Difference? Russell E. Eppinger Are school uniforms a false remedy for serious underlying issues in public schools? Are we making an attempt to return to the 1950’s, when boys’ hair was not permitted to touch their collars and girls wore knee-length skirts? This paper will explore the various aspects of the incorporation of a school uniform policy in public schools. This study will also examine the positive and negative assumptions that are involved in the school uniform controversy. The last forty years in public education has seen many changes in school dress. Students are generally permitted in most present day public schools to choose what to wear to school with limited restraints. At the same time, as most school districts allow students all this freedom, schools are viewed by the public as a panacea for the ills of society. Schools are expected to solve all of America’s social, economic, and political problems (Perkinson, 1995.) Yet with this freedom, schools are also expected to operate a well-disciplined, structured environment that is conducive to learning. The overwhelming majority of students wear jeans and sneakers in present day public schools. On warm days, many female students wear clothes that are immodest and provocative. Many students wear pierced jewelry virtually everywhere — from their eyebrows to their navels. It is not unusual for students to dye their hair pink or green or multi-colored. The disaster at Columbine High School in Colorado a year ago revealed a dress code where students were permitted to wear trench coats, excessive jewelry and make-up, and eccentric hair styles and clothing. The Columbine incident alone stimulates argument that the lack of a dress code may affect the level of safety in a school. If students were not permitted to wear coats, it would be more difficult to conceal weapons. However, a statement could also be made that the incident at Columbine High would h