Dress Codes Should Not Be Implemented In Schools

Imagine sitting in class when your teacher walks in and sees you wearing ripped jeans. Your teacher begins to yell at you about how you need to go to the principal’s office because you have broken the dress code. The principal demands that you change your jeans by either calling your parents or picking a new pair of pants out of the acceptable clothing bin. Not only is the dress code wasting your learning time it is also wasting the teacher and principals time that could be put into something else. Something many students face every day is that many teachers are stating that they are breaking the dress code and that they need to change their clothing. Dress codes are talked about a lot in schools, most of the time it is whether there should be a dress code or not. In my opinion, there should not be a dress code because it lessens a person’s ability to express their own individuality. And also most of the time when administrators are dress coding a student for an outfit someone else could be wearing the exact same outfit but only one person would be punished for wearing that outfit. Punishments are not fair for dress codes because sometimes a male student could wear the same thing as a female student and most of the time the female student is punished for breaking the dress code. Administrators are not only claiming students are breaking the dress code but they are not punishing other students for the exact same outfit. Therefore, dress codes should not be implemented in schools because the negatives of a dress code far outweigh the good of having one.Dress codes should be banished from schools; because all that they do is restrict students on what they can and cannot wear which then affects their learning time if they are taken out of the classroom in order to change their clothes. Students are being harshly.

Imagine sitting in class when your teacher walks in and sees you wearing ripped jeans. Your teacher begins to yell at you about how you need to go to the principal’s office because you have broken the dress code. The principal demands that you change your jeans by either calling your parents or picking a new pair of pants out of the acceptable clothing bin. Not only is the dress code wasting your learning time it is also wasting the teacher and principals time that could be put into something else. Something many students face every day is that many teachers are stating that they are breaking the dress code and that they need to change their clothing. Dress codes are talked about a lot in schools, most of the time it is whether there should be a dress code or not. In my opinion, there should not be a dress code because it lessens a person’s ability to express their own individuality. And also most of the time when administrators are dress coding a student for an outfit someone else could be wearing the exact same outfit but only one person would be punished for wearing that outfit. Punishments are not fair for dress codes because sometimes a male student could wear the same thing as a female student and most of the time the female student is punished for breaking the dress code. Administrators are not only claiming students are breaking the dress code but they are not punishing other students for the exact same outfit. Therefore, dress codes should not be implemented in schools because the negatives of a dress code far outweigh the good of having one.

Dress codes should be banished from schools; because all that they do is restrict students on what they can and cannot wear which then affects their learning time if they are taken out of the classroom in order to change their clothes. Students are being harshly punished by administrators for their outfits when in reality the clothes that they have on are acceptable enough to wear. Phi Delta Kappan concludes, “When students are disciplined because of how they are dressed, they lose class time–for a five-minute hallway lecture, 20 minutes to search through a bin of “appropriate” clothes to wear, an hour-long trip home, or even a full-day suspension.” (How dress codes criminalize males and sexualize females of color: Too often, school dress codes are enforced in ways that disproportionately impact students of color–both male and female./ Phi Delta Kappan Inc.) Not only are students being forced to change their school clothes but they are also being taken out of class and are losing valuable class time where they could be learning. Students are not the only ones affected by the dress code, administrators are also being forced to give up their own time in order to monitor what students are wearing. Robson, Ruthann remarks that dress codes are something that take up a lot of additional time for both administrators and students, “Dress codes may seek to foster an educational environment, but their very existence can divert attention from substantive learning by fetishizing the number of inches between the hem of a skirt and the top of a knee.”(qtd. in Strict School Dress Codes Have Gone Beyond Safety Concerns) The implementation of dress codes in schools has led to problems not only in the classroom but in the overall setting of school because many students are being unfairly punished for what they are wearing along with losing necessary class time. Learning time is being affected by harsh dress code rules that administrators are following when educating students should be more important.

Students are not able to express their own individuality; consequently, the students are not able to express themselves with a strict dress code. Matt Zalznik explains, “But we no longer have the little battles over taking off a hat or pulling kids out of class and calling parents because their shorts are too short,” he adds. “Students feel free to be themselves.” (Districts loosen dress codes after gender-bias complaints/ Professional Media Group LLC) With a less strict dress code or no dress code at all then students feel like they have more of the ability to be themselves. The less strict dress code gives students the ability to freely express themselves more because an administrator is no longer hunting down students to tell them that they have broken the dress code. Implementing a less strict dress code means that students will be fairly treated when they are dress coded so if someone else wearing the same outfit as well gets punished. Students are being punished for strict dress code rules which leave them unable to express themselves.

Others believe that dress codes are beneficial because they bring order to the school and allow students to be easily identified. The ability to identify students makes people want to have a dress code in order to be easily able to identify whether a person is a student or not. Gale Student Resources in Context states, “Dress codes are considered important to students’ safety as they can help point out non students compared to students, potentially reducing the threat of strangers entering schools.” (Dress Codes Versus School Uniforms/Gale Students Resources in Context) Even though having a dress code can be beneficial in identifying whether a students goes to the school or not it is still not necessary to have a dress code. There are many other ways that you can be able to easily identify a student to see if they actually go to the school such as asking everybody to show their ideas as soon as they get into school. Even though dress codes could help school administrators with identifying students they still do not allow students to have the type of freedom that they deserve.

Dress codes hold back students from not only expressing themselves but also by taking them out of class they are losing valuable learning time. An administrator should not have to deal with the extra stress of having to monitor what students are wearing and whether or not they are following the rules. Administrators shouldn’t have to deal with taking time out of their day and yours to tell you that your clothing is breaking the dress code. Instead it should be your own responsibility to decide whether what you are wearing to school is appropriate. It should be your own

A dress code should not be needed, but students should still think before wearing that shirt with holes in it.

Works Cited

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