Counterpoint: School Dress Codes Improve the Learning Environment
Authors:
Wilson, Brian
McMahon, Maureen
Source:
Points of View: School Uniforms. 2013, p3-3. 1p.
Document Type:
Article
Subjects:
DRESS codes
SCHOOL discipline -- United States
SCHOOL uniforms
SCHOOL environment -- United States
SCHOOL violence -- United States – Prevention
Geographic Terms:
UNITED States Report Available
Abstract:
The article presents an argument in favor of having school uniforms in public schools in the U.S. It claims that implementing strict dress codes or uniforms will help encourage a school environment that is conducive to learning. The article notes that sexually suggestive clothing, gang-related dress and other inappropriate clothing can distract students in the classroom, and may also affect their emotions and academic performance.
Lexile:
1170
Full Text Word Count:
1710
ISBN:
9781429815956
Accession Number:
12462115
HTML Full Text
Counterpoint: School Dress Codes Improve the Learning Environment
Thesis: With school violence still a problem in the United States, even after the 1999 shooting at Colorado's Columbine HighSchool and the 2007 attack at Virginia Tech, there is definitely a need for a school environment more conducive to learning.
Summary: There is no guarantee of free speech or expression in the classroom. Students must do what school policy mandates or face the consequences. Schools are charged with maintaining an environment conducive to learning, and strict dress codes or uniforms help encourage this. Placing restrictions on what students wear will certainly not solve the problems of under-achieving schools. Only the hard work of teachers, students and administrators will accomplish this goal. At the same time, sexually suggestive clothing, gang related dress, clothes that can hide weapons or drugs, or inappropriate clothing (baggy pants hung low to show underwear, tee shirts displaying profanity, etc.) in the classroom is a distraction that could end up hurting students both emotionally and academically.
Justifying Dress Codes
Uniforms and dress codes vary only slightly in principle most school districts additionally, both seem to elicit the same fervor during discussions of their adoption. In 2002, Cleburne (Texas) Middle School - which already had a dress code in place - took on months of public discussions because the school's administration wanted the dress code changed to make it more heavily enforced. The new requirement was created to eliminate wardrobe as a source of competition among students.
Parents and students on both sides of the issue presented well-reasoned arguments to school administrators and trustees, leading to a few modifications to the original plan. The new dress code requires students to wear solid-colored shirts with collars and jeans or slacks. Similar policies are being enacted in small and large school systems across the country. While many Cleburne school trustees endured much criticism from parents unhappy with the new dress code, the requirements were more lenient than in many areas.
Arguments against the changes at Cleburne Middle School ranged from the inability of some parents to afford new wardrobes for their children to the view that restricting what students wear unfairly limits their expression. While the first concern is legitimate, the second is not.
Requiring a parent with a limited income to buy several new school outfits could put the family in an uncomfortable position. However, to claim that solid-colored shirts and slacks will hamper the creativity of seventh- and eighth-grade students is to assume the children have a full compliment of constitutional rights in school. There is no guarantee of free speech or expression in the classroom. Although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent Community School(1969) that students' freedom of expression should be respected in most cases, clothing has become so risqué that it affects the behavior of students, and thus disrupts the learning environment.
Order in the Classroom
Students must do what school policy mandates or face the consequences. Schools are charged with maintaining an environment conducive to learning, and strict dress codes or uniforms help encourage this.
Larry Wilder, Ed.D., spent 19 years at the Fresno County Office of Education, and retired as the assistant superintendent. Wilder currently directs the administrative services program in the Fresno Pacific University School of Education, and he strongly believes that school dress codes are an effective method of encouraging a positive school environment. According to Wilder,
"The National School Board Association estimates that approximately 135,000 guns are brought to America's 85,000 public schools each day. This is one reason school districts use to implement dress codes. Some schools even require students to have the belt line exposed at all times for fear of guns concealed under clothing. Additionally, educators report a decrease in violence, a reduction of fights in schools and improved student achievement when dress codes have been implemented."
In the wake of events at Columbine and Virginia Tech, it seems that whatever is necessary to keep students safe is a school's priority. Regardless of the Tinker ruling, students (and their parents) need to understand that free speech should never outweigh safety.
Common Sense Rules
During hearings to help board members craft a dress code, Cleburne teachers told them of the difficulty they faced enforcing the old rules. Middle school girls wore tight-fitting clothing and shirts with writing across the chest. For young girls to dress this way only reinforces the idea that sexuality is crucial to success. Young girls who dress this way do so only to attract the attention of boys, and boys in middle and high school don't need any reasons to view girls as objects.
While requiring students to wear certain types of clothing should be permitted, the rules must be reasonable and enforced with common sense. In the Dallas suburb of Duncanville, Texas, this is not happening. In the first weeks of the 2003-04 school year, students at Duncanville High School were suspended by the hundreds, sometimes just for wearing an un-tucked shirt.
Duncanville Independent School District suspended 24 students a day through the beginning of October 2003. By insisting on "zero tolerance" enforcement, Duncanville administrators have fostered resentment toward those in authority. The failure to show leniency toward students who are adapting to new rules defies logic, an important element of any set of regulations meant to maintain order.
The zero-tolerance policies regarding weapons and other prohibited items in schools have caused problems because they make no consideration for intent. Legally, intent is essential in determining an appropriate punishment for one's actions. For this reason, a drunk driver who kills someone while behind the wheel is often convicted of manslaughter rather than murder.
Any school-uniform rule should allow administrators to use common sense when enforcing it. Before making drastic decisions such as suspending students who otherwise have always followed the rules, administrators should consider intent.
Conclusion
Placing restrictions on what students wear will certainly not solve the problems of under-achieving schools. Only the hard work of teachers, students and administrators will accomplish this goal. At the same time, sexually suggestive, inappropriate, or potentially violent clothing in the classroom is clearly a distraction that could end up hurting students both emotionally and academically.