April 11th, 2025

Dear Readers,

Imagine you're a shift worker.

Maybe a shift worker at a restaurant, a police officer, or in any number of blue-collar jobs.

Almost always, you're required to wear a uniform to your shift.

It could be anything from work boots to a black button-up shirt and slacks.

Either way, you know that whenever you put those clothes on—when you put that uniform on—you do it because you know there’s work to do.

Imagine if we applied this same principle to school uniforms.

Most schools enforce a dress code.

Instead of telling students exactly what to wear, they give a vague and misinterpreted definition of what students cannot wear.

Students constantly push the boundaries of what is acceptable. Not to mention, schools often change the dress code to appease students and their parents.

What if, instead of a dress code, schools re-implemented uniforms?

Hear me out.

Around the country, students are constantly being written up, put in in-school suspension, and given silly old sweatpants just because they were out of dress code.

Schools should give students uniforms.

Now, it doesn’t have to be a suit-and-tie type of uniform, but it can still be put together. Khaki pants and a polo shirt are just fine.

It’s far better than leaving it to chance.

A suit-and-tie might be the most professional, but that could be too costly for many families. Nice pants and a nice shirt get the point across.

And it’s not like districts don’t have the money to get uniforms. At the very least, the districts could purchase the uniforms and sell them back to families at a discounted price.

This would eliminate two significant problems.

First, students being out of dress code.

Students would only be allowed to enter the school building if they had their uniforms on.

Plain and simple. There would no longer be disputes on what is or isn’t in dress code.

Instead of leaving it up to the judgment of the students—which, let’s be honest, can be questionable at times—make the decision that all students wear the same thing, with no exceptions.

Second, students would no longer be bullied for the clothes they wear. Every single day, kids are picked on because of what they wear. With uniforms, all students wear the same thing, so they can’t make fun of each other.

Students who are prepared for school often perform better. Having school uniforms sets the standard from the second they step into the building.

Students will then understand that it’s their job to “do school.”

Make school a more professional place, and make students wear uniforms again.