Avery+Bentley

=//** School Uniforms: Creativity v. Conformity **//=

Source Citation
"High School Uniforms." //Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context//. Detroit: Gale, 2010. //Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context//. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. Townsend, Joseph. //Google Images//. Digital image. //Google Images//. N.p., 30 Oct. 2004. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. .

__** Guiding Research Question **:__ Do school uniforms oppress students 1st Amendment Rights? __** Brief Summary: **__ I am researching the pros and cons of school uniforms. While school uniforms can bring many good things to school I believe it oppresses the rights of students and discourages individuality which is necessary for students. Many people say that the pros outwway the cons but whenever someone's rights are taken away there is not sufficient compensation for that. __** Other Questions: **__ Do school uniforms oppress individuality? Do school uniforms oppress free speech? How do schools enforce their dress code policy? What are the benefits of having school uniforms?

I chose this topic because I am interested in finding out if students still obtain their 1st Amendment Rights within schools. Whenever one's rights are in question there should be further investigation to understand the situation more. I hope my followers will learn how far their rights extend too. money to invest in them. || a uniform || require uniforms ||< Uniforms can lead to a state of mind where students think conformity is more important than creativity. || be able to identify a certain student. || character and less their economic status. || "School Uniforms Debate." Web log post. //Http://www.youdebate.com/DEBATES/school_uniforms.HTM//. N.p., n.d. Web.
 * < __Support For School Uniforms__ ||< __Refutes Against School Uniforms__ ||
 * < Uniforms increase test scores in schools ||< Uniforms don't allow students to freely express themselves. ||
 * < Uniforms decrease violence and bad behavior in schools ||< Uniforms can be costly and some students do not have the time or
 * < Self esteem is boosted when everyone can look the same ||< Some students won't be able to handle the responsibility to keep up with
 * < Students won't be discriminated against for how they dress ||< Uniforms provide no diversity in a school ||
 * < Uniforms provide real world experience because most workplaces
 * < Uniforms require a certain amount of maturity from the students ||< School Uniforms have no use outside of school ||
 * < Some gangs use certain colored clothing to represent their gangs ||< In case of a disaster in school (hurricane, earthquake, shooting) no one would
 * Kids social standing would be based more on individual
 * < In some cases the uniforms would save the parents money ||<  ||

__**Court Cases**__: -Tinker v. Des Moines. The issue being resolved in this case is the question of does a prohibition against the wearing of armbands in public school, as a form of symbolic protest, violate the First Amendment's freedom of speech protections? The court ruled that the wearing of the armbands did not cause a disruption and that the punishment by the school was unconstitutional therefore the students could continue to wear them. -Melton v. Young. The issue being resolved in this case is whether school officials could suspend a student for wearing Confederate flag clothing to school when racial tensions existed at the school the previous year. By a 2-1 vote by the court, they ruled that the school had the right to suspend the student because they could predict that disruption would follow the wearing of the Confederate symbol. -Barber v. Dearborn Public Schools. The issue being resolved in this case is whether a student has the right to wear a T-shirt with a picture of President George W. Bush's face and the caption International Terrorist on school grounds. The court ruled that the school did not provide sufficient evidence to show that the shirt worn would produce disruption in the school. The court stated that the suspension was merely based on the authorities' disapproval of the shirt therefore the punishment by the school was unjust and unconstitutional.

=__What I Think: __= Overall, I think the requirement of wearing uniforms in public school is unconstitutional. I believe that creativity along with diversity is a better recipe than conformity. The phrase “dare to be different” has been taught so aggressively in school that I cannot see how school uniforms would exercise this belief. During my research I was met with very flimsy arguments from the opposition. School violence, grades, and self-esteem were of them. As mentioned, uniforms are not the way to decrease school violence. That is the parents, school officials, and law officers job to do. I also think that the way you dress does not correlate to how well you test and neither is there any mathematical evidence that supports it. Thirdly, the improvement in self-esteem does exist in schools I think. However, school uniforms should not have to do that job because it is unconstitutional to force uniforms upon a group of people who might not want them. I also believe that a key issue in schools today is the lack of responsibility. Uniforms are said to increase the accountability of students too. I believe however, that one should account for their responsibilities because they have to not because they have to wear something.  Works Cited Tinker v. Des Moines 393 U.S. 503 Supreme Court of the US 1969. //Boston College.// Melton v. Young 465 F.2d 1332 (6th Cir. 1972) of the US 1972.//First Amendment Center// Barber v. Dearborn Public Schools 286 F.Supp.2d 847United States District Court. //Google Scholar.// Haynes, Charles. "School Dress Codes Limit Students' Freedom of Expression."//Students' Rights//.Ed.Jamuna Carroll. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints.Rpt.from "T-Shirt Rebellion in the Land of the Free."//First Amendment Center//. 2004. //Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context//. Web. 28 Nov. 2012 Daniels, Stephen. "School Dress Codes Are Necessary and Constitutional." //Students' Rights//.Ed.Jamuna Carroll. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Student Dress Policies: The Success of School Uniforms and Dress Codes." //Findings// (May 2001). //Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context//. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. "School Uniforms; 'Dressed for Success? The Effect of School Uniforms on Student Achievement and Behavior'."//Education Week// 31 Aug. 2011: 4. //Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context//. Web. 28 Nov. 2012 "Fast Facts."//FastFacts//.N.p.,n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. "Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School Dist." //Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School Dist.// Cornell, 12 Nov. 1968.Web. 11 Dec. 2012. "SPLC."//Mich. Court Rules Student's Anti-Bush Shirt Is Protected Speech//. Student Press Law Center, 5 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. Daniels, Stephen. "School Dress Codes Are Necessary and Constitutional." //Students' Rights//.Ed. Jamuna Carroll. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Student Dress Policies: The Success of School Uniforms and Dress Codes." //Findings// (May 2001). //Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context//. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.