Critical Lens

Some schools around the country and rest of the world have a strict dress code policy. A common issue amongst all schools lately is the topic of whether a dress code should be implemented or not. Having a dress code would do a lot of good to a school environment because it would help stop bullying and make students primary focus on academics. There are different styles of dress codes, such as some prohibited items or even an all out uniform. It is not only students affected by this, but teachers too. Within a school environment everyone should have to follow some form of dress code.

Dress codes are a good decision for schools. Most students tend to put their appearance before their grades, and when appearance is over accentuated, grades usually suffer. Also, most students whose mind is taken up with thoughts of wardrobe and accessories will get jobs and work long hours just to make money to buy more clothes and accessories. It’s like an addiction. If it gets to a certain extent, some kids will go to extreme lengths of becoming involved in illegal activities, like selling drugs or joining a gang, to make the money they need. Another issue would be that appearances can cause problems with other students and even the school itself. Competition over appearance could lead to problems such as verbal attacks, physical fights and theft. For example, if somebody were to leave an expensive watch or a popular pair of shoes unattended in the locker room, the item would be subjected to the possibility of theft. Also, if a student does not have the money or resources to have a good size wardrobe they would easily be bullied because of wearing dirty clothes or the same clothes more than once within a small period of time. Students tend to be very judgmental when it comes to what others wear, and having uniforms would make it basically impossible to bully others based on appearance because if everyone was equal, how could you make fun of someone else? Another problem would be if somebody was wearing a very expensive or popular piece of clothing and another person wanted to have it, they might just steal it. That might seem crazy, but it’s not exactly uncommon. A very big plus of uniforms or dress codes would be how much easier it would make the parents lives. The last thing a parent wants to do is spend excessive amounts of money on clothing and nonsense accessories for their children. A dress code or uniform policy would either eliminate wardrobe budget reduce it greatly. Parents really wouldn’t need to put aside money for their kids. (Dress codes and uniforms in urban schools.) Another

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