Schools Around the United States

Many schools around the United States enforce dress codes in an effort to filter out distractions and make school a better learning environment for the students. However, do other students really have a problem with a hole in someone's pants or a the color of someone's hair? Most students want to express themselves and show off exactly who they are. School uniforms and dress codes aim to make everyone look the same, eliminating the ability for students express themselves. In today's society it is more possible than ever to be exactly who someone wants to be. However, schools are painting an unrealistic picture for their students by forcing them to abide by rules that have them being exactly what the school wants them to be. Dress codes keep students from being able to express their personality through clothing and accessories. What a student wears has little to no effect on their ability to succeed in school, which is why dress codes have a negative impact on our school systems.

Many schools throughout the world have dress codes and/or uniforms that force students to be the same, which prevents them from being able to express themselves. Students of all ages are being affected by these rules that don't really have a purpose in school systems. A student named Luca Sinno, a third-grader entered his school on his picture day with a nice fashionable suit and bright blue dyed hair. Luca was pulled from class and sent to the principal's

office, unable to take his third-grade picture because his hair was out of dress code. Luca said my hair color doesn't affect what I'm learning. These unnecessary dress code rules don't make a school have a better learning environment. If someone chooses to wear a certain shirt or color their hair a certain way, it is their choice. Students just want to express who they are and don't purposely mean to break the rules.
Most college campuses have no dress codes. People are still able to learn and be successful regardless of the clothing choices of their peers. This is interesting since the argument for dress codes in grade schools is to eliminate distractions. Why is this not an issue in college? Sure, people are more mature and paying for the classes, but do schools really distrust students ability to function in a school system without dress codes? A few years ago in the New Braunfels Independent School District, boys could not wear shorts and were required to wear some type of long pants such as jeans or sweatpants.

Thankfully this is no longer the case, but for many years it was, even when temperatures outside were up to 100 degrees. The students and parents petitioned for months and were finally successful in getting the dress code changed. The problem is relatively the same for girls, such as not having any holes in their pants even though it could by popular and the latest fashion. At New Braunfels High School, they recently put a rule in place that made girls unable to wear nose piercings, however, students don't get distracted by a small piece of metal in someone's nose. Although, that is what most staff and principals think at the school. Since then, there have been no changes in the learning environment. There are no extra distractions or issues now that boys are allowed to wear shorts. Cases like this illuminate the unrealistic requirements schools have when it comes to dress codes.

Since schools enforce dress code and some require specific uniforms, students can get sent home or even suspended for having holes in jeans, colorful hair, or multiple piercings in their ears. These minor broken rules are taken way too seriously. As a result, students don't learn as much and have low attendance rates. Is someone's style choice really more important than their education? Schools are punishing kids for trying to express themselves.

Students are kept from class while waiting in the principal's office for their parents to bring them a new pair of jeans. The administration doesn't even give the students and parents a say in the dress code. They act as if the school's a monarchy government that set the guidelines for everything they think is right. The clothing students wear should not be the reason they miss class. The values of these school districts are not what they should be, when it is more important to have a kid put on new clothes, than it is for them to attend their english class. Overall, dress code and school uniform rules should be terminated due to the negative effects on students' ability to express themselves and learn.

Works cited

Buckley, William F., Jr. "School uniforms?!" National Review, 26 Feb. 1996, p. 71. General OneFile,https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A18020730/GPS?u=j046901&sid=GPS&xid=563775f0. Accessed 21 Oct. 2018.
Culligan, Tricia. "What (Not) to Wear: Should students have the right to wear what they want to school?" Scholastic News/Weekly Reader Edition 5/6, 14 May 2018, p. 4+. General OneFile, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A539647640/GPS?u=j046901&sid=GPS&xid=14f5f630. Accessed 22 Oct. 2018.

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