by Patrick Dunn
February 10, 2016
There comes a time in the lives of many children when… they are required to wear school uniforms.
The requirement of school uniforms starts in kindergarten and continues on through high school. This requirement is not beneficial to our young ones. School uniforms take away children’s sense of independence and push them towards conformity.
In schools, kids are taught that everyone is unique, and uniforms certainly do not support this.
They are taught to blend in with the crowd, and school uniforms do not allow students to express themselves. The ability of students to decide their own outfits is one of the few ways that students can demonstrate their unique personalities.
What you choose to wear definitely makes a statement about you, which is why most people carefully consider what they wear each day.
Would you want to be required to wear the same polo shirt to work everyday as an adult? No way.
Looking upon a sea of other children wearing the exact same thing as you is unexciting. There is a reason why teachers are not required to wear a uniform, and it is a privilege that is taken away from students.
Children attending school should be able to decide what they prefer to wear as it is part of the process of becoming an adult. Children have to be able to make choices so that they can develop preferences and figure out what they like.
Let’s let students put the best image of themselves out there.
The children should be able to dress in whatever they are most comfortable with. This is one of the most compelling reasons to implement free dress at all schools.
Comfort is key to learning and the majority of students are against school uniforms. Let’s give the students what they want so that they can take full advantage of their opportunity to learn in this country.
The clothes that children wear to school should not be dictated by the government. It is a violation of the first amendment, and is definitely not acceptable under normal circumstances.
And not at school either.
According to the Supreme Court ruling in the case Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent Community School District, as long as the clothing does not cause significant distraction to the learning environment, students can wear what they please when they attend school.
Students should be able to make a statement with what they wear as long as it does not interrupt the learning process, allowing them to be comfortable in their learning environment.
School uniforms transform schools into a regulatory environment. The lack of free dress takes away from the atmosphere of comfort that is present at schools as administrators must be constantly looking out for students who rebel against the dress code to maintain a state of order.
Constantly checking whether students are following the dress code detracts from the learning environment more than any potential distraction due to free dress.
Instead of checking whether skirts go past the knee to enforce arbitrary rules, focus should be placed on improving the education of students.
Some people say that school uniforms are all about safety. This is simply not the case. Bullying still occurs in schools regardless of whether all students are wearing the same clothing because uniforms turn into a contest of “who wore it better?”
Schools are highly volatile areas in this country whether there are uniforms or not. Mass shootings occur regularly and we cannot seem to find a way to stop them.
School uniforms are not cost effective either as children without school uniforms can choose to buy and wear almost anything they want to for school. They are not solely limited to buying multiple sets of the same clothes.
School uniforms require students to go out of their way to buy clothes that they would otherwise not wear in their free time.
Why go out and buy new clothes just to follow the uniform code when I already have clothes that I like to wear?
The amount of schools requiring uniforms has been steadily increasing over the past decade. Perhaps it is worth the time of school administrators to reconsider how uniforms affect their schools.
patdunn 
1. What are the specific strengths of the op-ed argument and why?
This was a very logical and thoughtful argument because there was plenty of data to convince the reader why uniforms enforce conformity and the relation between what it teaches students about their personality and identity and how that is not applicable after high school.
2. Which evidence best supports the argument? Why?
When the idea of how uniforms enforce conformity because for someone who had to wear uniforms in middle school, it’s very applicable to anyone who had to experience showing up to school and looking just like everyone else. Also, for people who don’t understand what it is like to wear a uniform to school, it gives them a general idea of how people feel about it.
3. Tone and op-ed style: how effectively does the author use the title and first few sentences to “hook” the reader? Why?
The title makes it seem like it’s limiting to a child to wear a uniform so it sets the tone immediately and the first sentence ties in with the title as well, creating a similar feel.
4. Where does the author use “snap and sizzle” in the diction and how effectively do they do so? Provide a specific example.
“Comfort is key and most students are against school uniforms. Let’s give the students what they want so that they can take full advantage of their opportunity to learn in this country.” This makes the reader think of two things. The first, is it made me think back to your title and how uniforms are physically limiting to a child, and aren’t the most comfortable. The second is, even though everyone in this country has a right to wear what they want to wear, schools are taking that away because they feel as if some kids dress choices are distracting.
5. Op Ed Style: Where does the author vary the length of their sentences and paragraphs to emphasize key points and to control the pace of op-ed – for example, by using a one sentence paragraph, or a sentence fragment? How effective is it? If all the paragraphs and sentences are about the same length, offer some suggestions where they can employ a short paragraph or sentence.
There are a few one sentence paragraphs, but I think some paragraphs could be broken down a little more just to make sure the reader is still interested in the topic, and understanding what you are arguing.
6. Which visual best supports the argument? Which link? And why? Which ones could be better integrated?
The graph that shows the increase in number of schools that prefer school uniforms and how that is increasing shows that it is a trend in all schools across the US. Also, the Tinker v. Des Moines article is very credible and helps elevate your argument.
7. What should they work on when they revise?
The only thing I would recommend is thinking about the counter argument that people prefer school uniforms because it disguises money that people do or don’t have, so it’s not intimidating to other students. Also, breaking down some of you paragraphs to create multiple shorter paragraphs will hold the reader’s attention a little longer. Overall, really great op-ed, and I really enjoyed the topic you wrote about.
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1. What are the specific strengths of the op-ed argument and why?
The strongest one is that schools teach children to be unique, so required them to wear uniform does not make senesce.
2. Which evidence best supports the argument? Why?
I think (https://www2.ed.gov/offices/OSDFS/actguid/uniforms.html) this website is the best one. Because it includes most of the important points about the topic.
3. Tone and op-ed style: how effectively does the author use the title and first few sentences to “hook” the reader? Why?
The author’s opinion about the topic is clear from the beginning.
4. Where does the author use “snap and sizzle” in the diction and how effectively do they do so? Provide a specific example.
…
5. Op Ed Style: Where does the author vary the length of their sentences and paragraphs to emphasize key points and to control the pace of op-ed – for example, by using a one sentence paragraph, or a sentence fragment? How effective is it? If all the paragraphs and sentences are about the same length, offer some suggestions where they can employ a short paragraph or sentence.
I think most of the paragraphs length are ok, but some of them need to shorten.
6. Which visual best supports the argument? Which link? And why? Which ones could be better integrated?
The best visual is the one that children wear school uniform, but I encourage him to attach another picture of students don’t wear the uniform.
7. What should they work on when they revise?
He should double check the grammar.
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