Why students shouldn't have to wear school uniform

School uniform is one of the most important things about school, and you can easily see that there are many rules about it. Many schools promote it, and recommend it so students can represent the school. However, you may notice that these schools never view it from the students' perspectives and never think about it from the way they see it. Here is why schools should think more about their students' wellbeing by allowing them to wear what suits them.

Being able to casually dress to school also gives a sense of freedom, having more time in the mornings to get ready. A dress code can always be enforced, but being able to dress confidently allows students to study with more ease, instead of having to think about the uncomfortableness of the uniform, having to constantly change into different uniforms or having to think about getting new uniforms. Students go to school to learn, not to think about badly designed uniforms. The extra attention that uniforms require, e.g. blazers, bothers families about not being able to just toss them in the wash. Families with more than 1 child can just reuse clothes that the older children previously used and give them to the younger children, saving money and time. Having uniforms makes it difficult, unless there is rare occasion that there is a family with kids the go to the same school, have the same gender, preferences, size, and the uniform is still in good condition.

Of course, schools still insist on making their students wear uniforms for a range of reasons. They say that students might be bullied based on the types of things they wear. But then again, the actual problem is bullying and not students being able to wear things that allow them to feel like they have a sense of identity. Schools often also state that there will be a clear difference from more privileged kids to less privileged kids based on the clothes they can wear, and that it creates a barrier between those two groups of students. However, it is way more likely that students just choose comfortable clothes to think more about their studies. There will also be more things in life that show the difference between these two groups of people other than just uniform. Another point that schools try to give is that on field trips, students can easily get lost and they can be found easily due to their uniforms. On the other hand, that problem can be easily fixed by having the students wear things like tags.

Sometimes, not being able to wear a school uniform is totally unrelated to fashion, and more like what suits the students. Things like the uniforms designed for specifically each gender is a problem, such as having to wear heavy trousers on a hot day, or having more parts to a girls uniform, making it harder to change. Disabled children may also feel discomfort from wearing certain types of uniform and it would be much easier for them to just wear what would suit them, instead going through all the trouble to buy a special uniform or to convince the school to wear something that they feel more comfortable in. The children can wear something that doesn't constrict them, and with less trouble. Families that don't have the budget to buy a useless uniform that must be replaced constantly can use their money for more important things.

There are so many benefits that come from not being forced to wear uniforms. Students can feel more comfortable, and the main concern of their school should be focus on their wellbeing. A laidback, relaxed environment is what every school needs, and that all starts with letting the students wear what they want.