Popularity of School Uniforms Growing in USA

Tuesday 17th of April 2012 03:23:20 PM

The popularity of school uniforms continues to grow in the USA. Unlike European schools, uniforms have mostly been standard dress in the USA in private schools for many years. Increasingly public schools are adopting school uniforms as a way to control the type of clothing worn by children in addition to conveying proper standards of behavior. Around the world, school uniforms have been worn by public school children for decades, but this is a recently growing trend in the USA. As children, especially teens, push proper standards of dress, schools are tackling the problem by adopting uniforms.

For example, the Board of Education in Bridgeport, Connecticut voted to adopt the wearing of uniforms as a requirement for public school children in their district. This was enthusiastically endorsed by the parents who have been pushing for such a policy for a long time. One parent, Jeanette Estrella said, “I truly feel this bold positive change is what we need at these challenging times. Uniforms will prepare our students for the real world. When they dress accordingly they will act accordingly.”

Children have worn promotional clothing to athletic events in order to show team support. But school uniforms have a much more serious intent in mind. Parents and school officials believe that school uniforms will increase school respect, create a less distracting classroom environment, and increase safety. In addition, uniforms put an end to students showing up wearing baggy jeans, tight shirts, and sexy styles. As for safety, any student not wearing a uniform will be easily identifiable as not belonging in the school.

This trend towards the use of uniforms to instill more order and discipline in the schools is expected to grow. The uniforms normally consist of plain shirts and navy or tan pants but some schools simply limit the clothing to a specific set of styles. For example, a school may require a logo shirt but allow jeans or slacks. Schools adopting uniforms require a school logo to be imprinted on the shirt. The policy was not only approved by parents, but by students also. Wearing uniforms reduces the interest young people have in out-doing each other by wearing inappropriate and trendy clothing. As many students have already discovered, mornings are much simpler to handle when you know exactly what you will be wearing that day.

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