Are you the type of person who picks out your clothes based on your mood or feeling? For some people, dressing how they want without restrictions is very important. But what if you couldn’t dress how you wanted to anymore or what if you had to wear the same thing every day?

School uniforms restrict students’ freedom to express themselves. According to Cornell University School of Law, “The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference.” People express themselves in different ways. One of those ways is by clothing. If schools take that away that freedom from students, then, technically, that’s going against the Constitution.

Uniforms may have a detrimental effect on students’ self-image. When students have to wear the same outfits every day or the same one as everyone else rather than being allowed to wear what they want, problems arise.  Teens want to wear clothes that suit their body types because they can be an embarrassment at school if their clothes do not fit right, which is often the case with a uniform.  One size does not fit all.  Instead of paying attention in class, kids who are worried about if their uniforms don’t pay attention.

People who are in favor of school uniforms believe that school uniforms keep students focused on their education, not their clothes. However, that only goes for some students.  According to Claudene Wharton’s article in a University of Nevada study entitled “College of Education Researchers Conduct Study on Impacts of School Uniforms,” researchers found that 90% of seventh and eighth grade students polled in the study reported that they did not like wearing uniforms.  While the study did show that some benefits came from students wearing uniforms, the bottom line is that students report that they don’t like wearing them.  Students should be comfortable at school so they can learn, and uniforms affect that comfort level.