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Illinois School Board Journal
January-February 1999

School uniforms help build esprit de corps

By Thomas E. Ryan and Rosemary P. Ryan

"I challenge all schools to teach character education: good values and good citizenship. And if it means teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then public schools should be able to require school uniforms," asserted President Clinton in his 1996 State of the Union speech. The concept of public schools requiring students to wear school uniforms remains controversial, yet it is gaining popularity nationwide. School uniforms are part of the solution to the growing problems that America's school districts face.

Student safety is a top priority for all school district leaders and parents. "We know that every parent who walks a child to the bus stop and waves good-bye in the morning should never have to worry about whether the child will come home safely. Every parent has a right to expect that their children would be safe in school. Every parent has a right to believe that the children are spending their time learning and teachers are able to spend the day teaching," stated President Clinton at a Long Beach, California, school conference. School uniforms remove some of the causes of gang activity, crime, and violence within schools. By preventing the wearing of gang paraphernalia, schools send a zero-tolerance message to gangs that reside in their community that they will not be allowed influence in the school system. In schools, gangs mainly communicate through sporting colors and other insignia. School uniforms help prevent gang communication on school grounds.

Community Consolidated District 168 in Sauk Village, in southern Cook County, successfully implemented school uniforms in the fall of 1994 with the full support of the community. In District 168, the uniforms help reaffirm the district's position that gang activity and gang paraphernalia will not be tolerated in our schools and our community.

School uniforms cut down on the distractions that keep students from learning in school. According to Barbara Sneed, an Illinois fifth grade teacher, "Uniforms are a way of communicating . . . that school is not goof-off time." When students are concerned about looking "cool," learning takes second place to gaining the approval of their peers. The implementation of uniforms removes the distraction of who is wearing the latest and "coolest" item that day and places the focus on the academics of the day.

Students' self-esteem and confidence increase when they are wearing uniforms, and students with high self-esteem perform better in the classroom. Those students who feel better about themselves and their performance in school will generally attend school with more regularity. In many low-income area school districts, students driven by the need to fit in often skip school to work or become involved in illegal activities, all in order to obtain the money to pay for expensive clothing.

School uniforms decrease clothing costs in the long run. Although one argument used against uniforms is the cost, the uniform for the year costs far less than a peer-pressured student would spend on a new seasonal wardrobe. Moreover, local businesses and the individual school districts offer assistance to those families who qualify, in order to ensure that every student comes to school with a uniform.

The main argument from those opposed to uniforms is that the policies violate students' civil rights. The United States Supreme Court has decided that students' choice of dress can be regulated by school officials even though they have extended First Amendment protections. This ruling is unclear and provides judges with room for many different ways of interpreting it. Some courts have ruled in favor of the students; others have ruled in favor of the school officials. As long as judges have opposing viewpoints on this issue, there is no clear-cut answer to this dilemma.

Freedom of both political and religious expression are provided for within our school uniform policies. Students cannot be forced into wearing a message provided by the school, and they are free to wear their own message, provided it is in compliance with the school uniform policy. The same goes for religious expression. Students, under the Constitution of the United States, are allowed to wear religious messages or clothing required by their religion, such as yarmulkes and head scarves. Neither religious nor political expression are hindered by school uniforms.

Although opponents of school uniforms would argue that school uniforms are an added economic hardship for low-income families, they neglect to mention the clause included within uniform policies for assistance to those families who cannot afford to purchase school uniforms. A school official, usually the superintendent, has the power to grant aid to those families who need help purchasing the uniforms for their students.

It is true that social classes still exist, even when students are in uniform. Why, though, strengthen the dividing lines between those classes by permitting students to show off their most expensive clothing in school? School is a learning environment, and has no place for negative social stratification. Uniforms only try to bridge the gap between social classes, through attempting to have everyone on the same common ground.

"Uniforms really level the playing field between the haves and have-nots," said Long Beach District spokesman Richard Van Der Laan.

"Students tend to behave the way they are dressed," commented Ronald Stephens, director of the National School Safety Center.

School uniforms also contribute to improved classroom behavior. In addition to the way they think others perceive them, clothing influences the way children think about themselves. The uniforms give them a positive standard to live up to. Teachers also admittedly have a tendency to treat students in uniforms with more respect than those in regular clothes.

"I really cannot explain it," Ellen Radcliffe, an Illinois elementary school principal attempted to explain, "but I just feel more respect towards students in uniform. It's an illusion, actually, because they are the same student as they were the year before without a uniform, but there is definitely a noticeable change in the way the teachers treat their uniformed students." This "illusion" described by Radcliffe is due in part to the Hawthorne Effect, which explains that people who are treated in a special way tend to behave differently, according to the way they are treated. Thus, if students are treated with more respect from the faculty when they are in uniforms, they are more likely to give that same respect back to the faculty, which creates a more pleasant working environment for everyone involved.

School uniforms create an esprit de corps, a positive feeling of student belonging. When all of the students are dressed similarly, students can form friendships and discover what their potential friend is really like, freed from concern about trendy clothing. "They [uniforms] teach our young people one of life's most important lessons — that what really counts is who you are and what you can become on the inside, not what you are wearing on the outside," stated President Clinton in a radio address in 1996 from California.

The benefits of school uniforms far outweigh their short-term costs. School uniforms not only keep students safe, but they also increase their self-esteem and promote a more positive attitude throughout the school.

"Uniforms are not a magic pill," claims third grade teacher Judy Jacobs, "but any school will see payoffs. We have an entire generation of children who have grown up with no boundaries. Look what happens when you provide a few."

Thomas E. Ryan is Superintendent of Schools in Community Consolidated District 168 in Sauk Village, in southern Cook County. District 168 successfully implemented school uniforms in the Fall of 1994 with the full support of the community that it serves. For more information, contact him at 1825 215th Place, Sauk Village, IL 60411; or call 708/758-1614.

Rosemary P. Ryan is presently an Education Major at Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington.