Outline

Thesis: Sense it has been proven by studies that it has helped reduce crime rate in schools, is it in the respoinsibilty of the schools to get school uniforms.

Introduction:

First main point: Several diferent studies and pyschologist have said that schools that have uniforms in there high schools have reduced school and gang violence by almost 20% year.

A: Jet; 4/1/96, Vol. 89 Issue 20

1: Dr. Reginald Wilson, senior scholar at the American Council On Education in Washington, D.C., told JET that the Long Beach (CA) Unified School District became the first public school district in the nation, in 1994, to require that students wear uniforms. In the first year, the district recorded a 50 percent decline in fights and number of cases of students bringing weapons to school, according to a spokesman for the district.

2: Delma Culverson, an eighth-grader at the school, told JET he thinks that uniforms should be mandatory in schools because he's seen a tremendous change for the better since his school adopted the policy.

B: Jet; 4/1/96, Vol. 89 Issue 20

1: Beverly Slater, assistant principal at the Florence B. Price Elementary School in Chicago, and Susan McFall, a second grade teacher at the school, both believe uniforms could curb violence. They have observed "proud" students since their school adopted a uniform policy four years ago.

2: Delma Culverson, an eighth-grader at the Florence B. Price Elementary School, says wearing a uniform could "save your life."

Second Main Point:

A: Christian Science Monitor; 8/8/2000, Vol. 92 Issue 180,

1: Over the past five years, requiring students to wear khakis or Tartan plaid skirts has become almost as trendy as day-glo was in the 1980s. Urban schools across the United States have turned to uniforms to help combat gang colors and violence, inspire discipline, and reduce pressures on kids who can't afford the latest Abercrombie & Fitch fashions.

2: Cities like New York and Philadelphia have recently mandated uniforms for just such reasons. In fact, crime and fighting has dropped in schools where kids wear uniforms. More than two-thirds of principals at middle and elementary schools with uniforms also saw improvement in their students' concentration on work, according to a recent survey by Land's End (which is a uniform supplier) and the National Association of Elementary School Principals. Also emerging is a shift in style toward a less-formal look: Students can wear pants or shorts with polo shirts. B: USA Today; 08/09/2007

1: As a secondary school teacher with 37 years of classroom experience and as a world traveler, I have noticed that more students are less focused on learning as the years go by ("Ironing out policies on school uniforms," News, Monday). School uniforms can be a partial antidote to this. In nearly every country I have visited, students wear uniforms. I have observed how proud they are to wear them, too. Uniforms identify children first and foremost as students.

2: Think of the pride of people who must wear uniforms for their professions -- nurses, doctors, pilots, police officers, servicemen and women. If all of the parents who are against uniforms would take their children out of the public school system and home-school their kids, then the issue would be solved. They will be happy, and then teachers such as myself might have an easier time making our classes more conducive to developing the minds of our nation's youth.

Third Main Point

A: Teen Ink; Dec2007, Vol. 19 Issue 4, p28-28, 1/3p

1: As you march through the front doors of your school, you are welcomed by a sea of white shirts. It’s another day in a uniformed school. You look upon your fellow freshmen and see no violence or teasing. You see you classmates socializing, not fearing ridicule. You see the glamorous make-the-most-popular-girl-in-school-jealous shoes your best friend is wearing and the exquisite earrings that dangle from her ears. Students beam with self-confidence and the anticipation of a new day. You walk confidently to homeroom, knowing that you are part of a huge family, knowing that the colors you and your fellow classmates wear give you a sense of belonging. Many teens across the United States have mixed feelings about attending a school with uniforms.

2: