Dress Code Regulations: Are They Necessary For a Good Education?

Education helps form productive members of society. It’s good for the economy which brings more money back into communities and boosts employment rates. Yet, in some African lands it’s difficult to obtain a good education because families do not have the means to obtain proper clothing or uniforms for children to go to school. Is this reasonable?

Dress and the Less Fortunate

Why is it that schools are demanding children wear uniforms in places where it’s hard enough for families to get food for the day? Water is by far the most important nutrient needed for the human body to survive. Water in some countries is not even suitable for drinking. Priority is food and water; clothing is an afterthought.

In some areas of the United States, low income families have to buy children uniforms every year or every few months depending on the individual growth of a child. This can be costly. Government assistance is available in the U.S. for single parents with children but what about those who are living right above the poverty level where sometimes assistance is needed but isn’t granted?

Parents are put in a position to sacrifice a small piece of their child’s potential excitement for a cool new outfit by replacing worn out school uniforms that have had their run. In the process, school uniforms also become their primary wardrobe even when the child isn’t attending school. Are school uniforms necessary?

The Effect of Dress

The government pumps more money into schools that are thriving academically. School is for learning. If the child doesn’t learn, he/she can not help the economy in the long run. Statistics show that when people dress well they perform well. So dressing a child to improve self-esteem can bring positive results. How so?

When children are teased or bullied at school for the way they dress, this lowers their self esteem, can inadvertently make them become introverted, and isolate themselves from others. This can cause them to feel lonely, sad and afraid. They may even become physically ill at times and start having problems with their homework.

Since children can be distracted from learning because of being bullied for their dress, their education can suffer if their clothes are not ‘approved’ by their schoolmates. Parents do not want their children verbally or physically abused for any matter, especially for their wardrobe. Why? Because this may be an attainable adjustment that can help their child feel and perform better at school.

Safety in Dress First

Many supporters of regulated dress believe that if everyone at school dresses similarly, there will be less school violence. They maintain that there is a definite connection between clothing styles and violence. For many students, an image-or sometimes stigma-is attached to certain styles, most notably gang-style clothing. Students have become targets of intentional or unintentional violence simply for wearing a particular type of shirt or cap or color combination affiliated with a particular gang.

A child’s hunger to be fashionable brings another dimension to the connection between clothing styles and school violence. Children may envy other kids’ clothing and lack the financial resources to purchase similar styles. Subsequently, children have been violently injured or even murdered for their designer clothes, sneakers, or professional sport-team paraphernalia. School uniforms may reduce these occurrences.

Students who feel safe, secure, and free from threats of violence naturally perform better academically. Enhancing academic performance is another argument in favor of adopting dress codes or uniform policies. Proponents believe that dress codes in general and uniforms in particular help students focus on their schoolwork, instead of on what they and others are wearing. Clearinghouse on Educational Policy and Management College of Education University of Oregon

Benefits of Dress Code Regulation

Although dress code regulation isn’t necessary for good education, the benefits of such are undeniable. Parents are less stressed because the standard dress code regulation relieves them of purchasing expensive garments for each individual child. Instead of worrying so much about what the next guy/girl is wearing, children can focus more on schoolwork, homework, extracurricular activities, community inspired projects, and more.

Supporters of dress code regulation polices have compiled a list of four basic benefits:

1. Enhanced school safety
2. Improved learning climate
3. Higher self-esteem for students
4. Less stress on the family