AGE-OLD DEBATE

School uniforms may not be a perfect fit

Will students score better on tests if they don’t have to figure out what to wear in the morning? Will they behave better if they all wear the same clothes, instead of throwing on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt in the morning?

Will wearing dress shirts keep kids out of detention? Maybe in some towns, the answer would be “yes,” but in the Roselle Park School District, that may not be the case.

A few parents and a small handful of students attended a public forum last week, during which the school dress code in the district was discussed. Specifically, officials facilitated a discussion about the possibility of creating a school uniform policy. The first of two public forums, the impetus behind the meeting was a survey sent to Roselle Park parents a few months ago. Results of the survey showed more than half of those who returned the questionnaire would be in favor of requiring students to wear uniforms. Keep in mind though that, since not all of the surveys were returned, the results aren’t a fair representation of all families in the district. In some school districts, such as Roselle and Jersey City, uniforms are worn by children at all grade levels. The rationale behind it is that children who wear uniforms will be more disciplined and studious. It is also meant to prevent students from wearing clothes indicative of gang affiliation. Unless we’re not aware of it, Roselle Park doesn’t exactly have a huge street gang problem in the school district.

School officials have stated that students have been disciplined several times already this year for dress code infractions. It’s been reasoned that requiring kids to wear uniforms will, to an extent, prevent such violations. That may not be the case, however, since students who fail to wear their uniforms and those who violate the uniform code will also be subject to disciplinary measures. Roselle Park has a relatively small, close-knit school district that doesn’t have the same problems as some urban districts. Requiring students to wear uniforms will not only deny students the rights to express themselves through what they wear, but it could also make them uncomfortable and less willing to go to school. A big part of being a teenager has to do with discovering a personal style and showing it off by wearing different outfits, hairstyles, etc., while, at the same time, showing a sense of decorum with regard to acceptable dress for attending school.

While there might be just as many pros as there are cons to this issue, it’s something that deserves further debate. A uniform policy may be a good fit for some school districts, but in Roselle Park, it just doesn’t seem necessary.

26 October 2005

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