Does Wearing A School Uniform Improve Student Behavior

In-Class Essay In the December 2015 article Does wearing a school uniform improve student behavior, Todd DeMitchell discusses a very contentious issue. Apparently, there are quite a number of school districts which expect their students to wear uniforms. Uniforms, they say, help to decrease the risk of violence and theft, instill discipline and help school officials recognize intruders who come to the school. The above points are indeed sensible, but Todd explicitly says that he does not believe in the reasons provided. One of the reasons why he is skeptical of the claims being made by the US Department of Education is because research on school uniforms is still mixed and therefore, cannot be used to effect change. Despite there being mixed results in research, some schools like the Bossier Parish School in Louisiana went ahead and enacted a uniform policy in 2001 while claiming that it is to help increase their students’ test scores as well as reduce disciplinary problems. While these policies seem to make sense to the teachers and the school boards, they never do to the students who DeMitchell notes often respond with free speech violations. Students believe these policies are unconstitutional and also limit their freedom of expression. DeMitchell seems to believe that there is a bigger problem than uniforms and teachers need to face the real issue than institute policies which only lead to contempt and rifts between them and the students. Response Basing actions on evidence which has not been proven often leads to dissatisfaction and outcries from other stakeholders. Even though teachers and t...