School Uniforms

“Kids go to school wearing unsuitable clothing” many say. But this is not just a question of uniforms or not, there are other factors to be considered. It is true that many teenagers worry more about their clothes than schoolwork and others suffer from low self-esteem because they don’t wear the right apparel. This can be a source of anxiety for them. Clothes are a symbol of one’s individuality. Clothing can represent one’s ethnicity, political consciousness, maybe even a sense of humor, or a number of other reasons including comfort. Some see uniforms as a means of making students believe that education must be taken seriously. In reality, however, uniforms are more of a way of surrendering the individual to the system. Prisoners don’t wear uniforms for pride but because the warden wants to make the experience as miserable and humiliating as possible. Therefore, the implementation of a school uniform policy may in fact contribute to an increase of anxiety and lowe...