Ugh! Anna gets out of bed and realizes she has ten minutes before school starts. She looks in her closet and says, “I can’t find anything to wear!”. She finally puts together a nice outfit and dresses. She runs into the kitchen for breakfast and realizes she is five minutes late and missed the bus. This is a common problem for many middle schoolers and high schoolers. Students that are enrolled in a public or private school should be required to wear the school uniform. Teenagers are becoming more and more obsessed with fashion and what people think of them more than education. Students come to school not to be in a fashion show.

Making students wear uniforms reduces bullying and ridiculing. Students that are more financially advantaged may bully students that are less advantaged. When everyone is wearing the same thing, there is no way to make fun of someone’s clothes or “fashion sense. This also lessens dress code rules and teachers wouldn’t have to enforce the rule about wearing appropriate clothing to school. The school uniform is also an anti-gang tactic. Gang members usually show that they are in a gang by wearing clothes with the gang colors, dressing in one way or wearing one type of clothing. According to a National Association of Elementary School Principles’ study published in 2000, schools see a decrease in gang prevalence and school violence when they implement and enforce a school uniform. In addition to reducing bullying and gangs, it also helps less financially advantaged students who can’t buy high end or fashionable clothing.

Students go to school to learn and not to compare clothing or fashion. President Clinton says that, "School uniforms are one step that may help break the cycle of violence, truancy and disorder by helping young students understand what really counts is what kind of people they are”. Uniforms improve academic scores because it causes less distractions, which means students can focus more and which improves the learning environment. Fewer and fewer schools add best dressed into their yearbook or end of the school year surveys. UH economics professor Scott Imberman says that, "After uniforms were adopted, girls in middle school and high school missed one day less of school annually”. This means that uniforms also improve attendence scores.

Critics may say that uniforms don’t allow individuality or personality. Schools can require you to wear a uniform but that doesn’t mean that you can’t wear accessories to show your personality. If you like the color pink, you can wear your favorite pair of pink earrings. They also say that you can’t tell what kind of person someone is. You can talk to the person and learn about them and see the personality. Wearing something doesn’t mean that it’s their personality. Many kids are peer pressured to go and buy trendy clothes.

As you can see, school uniforms should be required at all schools. It improves attendence, grades, lessens gangs, and lessens bullying. Help make a change today and talk to your school about requiring uniforms!