Dress Code Academics

The district argues l having a dress code contributes to a better learning environment. That is slowly being proven false. The school has been more lenient on dress code due to COVID-19 and is still functioning properly with many students breaking dress code rules. Proving that dress code does not affect the learning environment.

The school should abolish the dress code now that it is proven we can function properly as a school without it.

One reason to remove the dress code is it prevents students from being able to express themselves. According to psychology today the way we dress is a way we stamp our personal identity.  Clothing is the only way students can express themselves, but the dress code stifles their ability to explore their identity. Dress code makes many students unhappy as they feel uncomfortable not being allowed to make their own choices regarding clothes. A student’s confidence can increase with choosing the clothes they wear, which can make them grow as a person in various ways. School should be a place of growth and removing the dress code will encourage students to grow.

The school’s main focus should be teaching, and not on what students are wearing. With teachers sending students to the office over clothes rather than letting them stay to learn, it feels like the school prioritizes dress code above giving students the education they came to get. When a student is disciplined regarding dress code, they lose important lectures and information causing them to fall behind in class. Students come to school to learn and the outdated dress code rule is the one disrupting their education. On the contrary, there are statistics proving that having no dress code improves students’ academic performance.

In an article done by Student International it was proven that students in the United States perform better academically when no dress code is in place. School worrying about clothes becoming a distraction is unnecessary. The school should see how a dress code free school is beneficial to their students and their education. It increases academic performance which is a school’s main focus. 

Some may argue that the dress code keeps students focused and it prevents bullying by stopping signifiers of wealth. These aren’t valid arguments because it’s been proven that students without dress code perform better academically, if anything the school should be glad to remove dress code to further help students. Bullying should also be something the school stays on top of if it really cares about its students. If a bully wants to pick on someone, a uniform won’t stop them. The school should remove the dress code in order to improve the students’ education and self perception.

It seems like there is a solution to dress code: the school should remove it. The school has proven that it can function properly without it. There are also many benefits to removing dress codes and it seems like a pretty common sense decision to do so.