SCHOOL UNIFORMS : AWESOME OR AWFUL?

More and more schools are telling students what to wear. By LAUREN TARSHIS It was ad enough that Sam !e ic"i had to learn the ro#es at a rand$new school. It was ad enough that she had to say good ye to her old %riends. But what really stressed her out& 'The uni%orm() says Sam '*hen I %irst saw it( I couldn)t elie+e it.) At her new school( Sam would ha+e to wear a white shirt( a #laid ,um#er( lac" shoes( and a nec"tie. -es( a nec"tie. She would wear this out%it e+ery day( rain or shine. There would e no more ,eans( no more T$shirts( no more leggings or .rocs. 'I wanted to cry() she says. But is wearing a school uni%orm really something to shed tears o+er& Many e/#erts insist that uni%orms im#ro+e learning( ma"e schools sa%er( and e+en hel# students %eel ha##ier. It)s no wonder that the num er o% schools re0uiring uni%orms is growing. Today more than 12 #ercent o% students in the U.S. wear uni%orms. In the #ast( it was mostly #ri+ate schools that re0uired them. But more and more #u lic schools are ringing on the ,um#ers and the la3ers. In .le+eland( Boston( .hicago and Miami( more than hal% o% all #u lic schools re0uire uni%orms. In New 4rleans( "ids at 56 #ercent o% schools are dec"ed out in them. Dress Without Stress Many #rinci#als in high$crime areas say uni%orms can trans%orm a school y ma"ing students and teachers sa%er. Trou lema"ers can)t hide dangerous o ,ects under aggy clothes. 7ights don)t rea" out o+er e/#ensi+e ,ac"ets or %ancy snea"ers. 8ids can)t show u# to class wearing gang colours or sym ols. E+en in 0uiet towns( uni%orms are catching on. *hen all students wear the same thing( "ids don)t ha+e to stress a out ha+ing the latest rands. *hy eg your #arents %or a #air o% 916: Uggs i% you can)t wear them to school& Lost Opportunities? Still( some e/#erts elie+e uni%orms ha+e draw ac"s. Schools o%ten re0uire %amilies to uy the uni%orms( which can e e/#ensi+e. Some styles are un%lattering to certain ody ty#es( which can add another challenge %or "ids already struggling with their sel%$image. There)s also the %act that clothing can hel# us all ; teens es#ecially ; e/#ress who we are< a =ay$> %an or a Steelers %anatic( one o% the crowd or someone who dares to e di%%erent. Some schools do allow "ids to s#ice u# their uni%orm loo" with ,ewellery or hair accessories( ut in general( o#tions %or creati+e e/#ressions are limited. Last( "ids who don)t ha+e to choose clothes %or school lose an o##ortunity to #ractice %or later in li%e. *earing the a##ro#riate clothes %or a ,o inter+iew or college +isit can mean the di%%erence etween success and %ailure. Ne+ertheless( education e/#erts are +irtually united in their su##ort o% school uni%orms. And a%ter %our years o% wearing a uni%orm( Sam !e ic"i agrees with them. 'I do miss eing a le to e/#ress mysel% through my clothes and seeing what my %riends were wearing e+ery day() she says( ' ut it)s nice to ,ust get u# and get dressed without worrying.)