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The Benefits and Advantages of School Uniforms

School uniforms have been around for hundreds of years, and even perhaps longer. They are usually used in grade school, but some high school, especially those in England and Europe often have some kind of uniform or dress code requirements. In general, they are used to keep students in line, for many different reasons.

One of the advantages of wearing school uniforms is that there is no need to figure out what children are going to wear every day, and there is more concentration on academics. One of the benefits of school uniforms in this case is there is no competition to out dress friends. Everyone is wearing basically the same thing every day. This way, instead of competing over who is wearing what, there is more focus on the daily school work. Not always, but in many cases, girls try to dress provocatively, whether it's to impress the boys, or to outdo one another. Using school uniforms takes away these distractions.

Many times, kids are ridiculed because of the clothes they wear, and it seems that no matter how hard parents try, kids know who is poor in the school. One of the advantages of school uniforms is that there is nothing to distinguish who is poor or well off. The benefit of wearing school uniforms is that everyone wears the same thing, whether you are rich, or poor. There is enough pressure in school these days, from both the academic side, as well as peer pressures, without getting singled out because you are not as well off as some other people.

There are some other things that make the idea of school uniforms more appealing, especially for parents. There is no need to buy designer clothes that so many kids demand these days. You can buy five days worth of the same thing, and this can be very helpful for parents who are constantly being bombarded by their kids to buy the next latest and greatest fashion. Some other advantages of school uniforms is that there is less likelihood of kids wearing gang colors and clothes and this can reduce incidents of violence in schools greatly.

While there are advantages of school uniforms, there are also some disadvantages. Depending on the requirements, school uniforms can be expensive to buy for parents. There are arguments that wearing uniforms suppresses a child's self expression, which may lead to behaviors that are inappropriate, such as getting tattoos, piercing, and wearing more provocative clothing elsewhere, which can outweigh the benefits of school uniforms. Some also say that wearing school uniforms take away a child's individuality.

While this may be true in some cases, overall, there are many more advantages of school uniforms than disadvantages. The benefits of using a dress code in schools far outweigh the cons. Sure, children may not be able to express their social status, or individuality, but school is about getting good grades, and being able to perform well in the real world, rather than who is more popular.