Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Argumentative Essay - Students should not wear school uniforms

   In many schools in Korea, students wear uniforms to school. The issue of whether wearing school uniforms is good or bad is still being hotly debated. I, as a student who is directly related to this issue, want to voice out what I think: students should not wear school uniforms. To support this, I bring you two reasons why.
   First of all, school uniforms limit individuality. We are living in a world where it's important to express one's unique individuality. Clothing is a very effective way to show this. For example, if you like playing the guitar, you can show this by wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a guitar printed on it. However, if you wear school uniforms, you have no choice on what to wear, so you can't show individuality. Besides, school rules limit showing individuality in other areas as well, such as hairstyles, shoes, and jackets, thus making it even harder to show individuality. Schools should acknowledge the fact that students want, and should be able, to show their individuality. The first step to making this possible is to abolish school uniforms.
   For another thing, even if students don't wear school uniforms, their studies won't be affected. People who want students to wear school uniforms are worried about children spending too much time and money on clothes and therefore getting their studies distracted. However, they don't have to worry about such things. To begin with, kids might spend a bit more time changing clothes, but this happens only during the morning and right after dismissal. Students don't change clothes while they're studying at school, so there's no reason for their studies to be distracted. Also, about the money, school uniforms are expensive as well. On average, school uniforms cost about \300,000, and expensive ones can cost up to \500,000. So school uniforms aren't cheap at all. Thus, it's a matter of whether you use your money all at once or for several times.
   Back to the main point. Young kids, who are in kindergarten or elementary school, don't know anything about fashion. They just wear what their parents tell them to wear, and study like their teachers tell them to. Older kids, who are in middle school or high school, may not be so obedient, but they know how to control themselves. Hmm, still not convinced yet? According to research done at the University of Alabama, school uniforms had no effect on substance use, behavioral problems, attendance, and academic achievement. Thus, it doesn't mean that you can have a positive influence on studying if you wear school uniforms.
   I've talked about the reasons why students should not wear school uniforms. However, some people who support school uniforms might feel suspicious about my argument. So now I'll provide some explanations on a few points they might argue.
   One point they might argue is that school uniforms can provide a sense of unity, and so can prevent bullying. Well, this is absolutely contradictory. Just look at the situation in Korea. News articles about bullying are popping up almost every day, and a kid commits suicide every three days. As I mentioned before, most schools in Korea wear school uniforms. This means that school uniforms have no actual effect on bullying.
   Another point is that school uniforms help students focus on studying. Whether a student studies hard or not depends on the student's attitude, not what the student is wearing. Students who have a strong will to study hard will study hard no matter what they're wearing, and vice versa. After all, it's proved by research that school uniforms have no positive influence on studying.
   Overall, I've talked about why students shouldn't wear school uniforms. In schools, studying is important, but students should be able to learn other good qualities and to express themselves. To do so, we must start by giving students the freedom of what they want to wear to school.


4 comments:

  1. I disagree. You dont need to show your interests by your clothes. School is not for that. On the other hand u can show individualty as one whole school. 'One should take pride in one's uniform' that is someting i beleive in.

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    1. the word "individual" implies that it is one inseparable being, and not all the students think the same way or have the same personality. they should be able to express themselves in any way they like, including wearing whatever clothes they feel like wearing.

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