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The obligatory wearing of school uniform causes hot disputes between the supporters of discipline and conformity and the adherents of children’s opportunity to express themselves. On the one hand, this old tradition, dating back to the middle ages, has consolidated its positions in the society and wearing of the uniform at schools became very habitual for children and their parents. On the other hand, modern time of democracy and freedom of choice and self-expression demands certain changes in our established views. So, in order to prove or refute the necessity of school uniform, first of all it is necessary to consider all pros and cons of this tradition.
As it has already been mentioned, school uniform has existed for ages and was an object of pride for the students of many elite schools and universities. School uniform always served a distinguishing feature for the students of different educational establishments. Having symbols, emblems of schools of universities on it, the uniform was not simply common clothes, but an indispensable element of the prestige and authority of the establishment, in other words, its trademark.
Thus, school uniform contributed to the whole atmosphere of unity and fraternity, which in its turn helped to educate and bring up children at schools. School uniform was a very strong restrictive factor and added to the discipline of the students.
In fact, these effects of school remain today as well but are paid less attention than earlier. School uniform influences the behavior of pupils on the subconscious level, in case it is an established tradition and children are aware of its significance. The teachers at school should from children’s positive attitude to the uniform as to an indispensable element of their education. Putting on a uniform a pupil psychologically prepares to the process of learning. The very act of dressing in a uniform gives him/her a sign that s/he begins a different kind of activity, which demands more attention, discipline and responsibility. Unfortunately, today the fear to disgrace the uniform of the school is lost, but the proper attitude to it still should be renewed.
Modern supporters of wearing school uniform, give the results of modern statistics, which shows that uniform does contribute to the maintaining of discipline and reduces the rate of crimes at school. In fact, the school forms the main qualities of a person as it falls on the part of children’s life when their character is moulded (Daugherty). This is the time when children prepare to their future life of business people, who should know how to behave and what kind of clothes should be worn for what occasion. The school age is a very sensitive period for bringing up different qualities and what is given to a child at this time will influence his/her future life. Thus, it is also necessary to teach the culture of wearing clothes. School uniform shows the necessity of serious attention to studies.
Among other advantages of introducing a school uniform one might distinguish such features as leveling of all students regardless their social status, wealth, race. Children have fewer reasons for conflicts and prejudice. Having come to school, nobody pays attention to the new clothes or the latest trends, but the persons’ qualities and the standard of knowledge comes to the first plan. Thus, the relationships between pupils are based more on their character and personal merits than on their parents’.
Another reason that demands the wearing of uniform, especially in modern schools, is the existence of gangs. Different groupings of pupils, who wear common clothes and own distinctive attributes, make the stratification of the school stratification more aggravated. Their role in the establishment of certain kind of relations among children becomes more important, taking this process out of teachers’ control.
Assuredly, the phenomenon of school uniform is not as simple as it might seem, otherwise, there would not be so many disputes. The opponents of school uniform claim that uniform bereaves children of their chance to express themselves and to be individuals. According to them, children become a mass with no will and no interest in going to school. Certainly, this fact becomes more important in senior school, when pupils become more aware of their individuality and feel the need to make themselves known. School uniform reduces this opportunity to the minimum. The school fosters not only businessmen but also future actors, artists, inventors and designers, in other words people with unconventional thinking.
Adversaries of uniform claim its influence on the crime rate at school to be false as it is the level of parents’ attention and care that make children either involved into criminal activity or excluded. No uniform can make a child to refuse from his intentions, once he has them. The reasons of deviant behavior lie far beneath the superficial wearing or not wearing of a uniform (Brunsma and Rockquemore).
The sensitive period of school age might be used for fostering either people with no personal opinion and no ambitions, or personalities with a definite point of view and certain aims. School uniform makes all people equal and ordinary. Entering a school, a pupil enters the featureless world of studies and certainly, this world loses many of its attractive qualities, becoming more a necessary and undesirable obligation than an attractive and colorful world, which indeed occupies the most of the children’s life.
Beside psychological reasons of refusal from school uniforms, there are also economical reasons. It is known that school uniform is expensive and adds another expense item to the family’s budget. Moreover, taking into account rapidly growing children school uniform should be bought every year, while it cannot be worn outside the school.
To make a conclusion, the debates on the topic of school uniform are not over as long as a compromise is achieved. On the one hand, it is obvious that school uniform has its advantages such as increase of discipline and responsibility, reduction of social stratification between pupils, concentration of pupils’ attention on studies more than on fashion trends. However, it is impossible to reject the arguments of uniform opponents who blame it in deindividualization of young people. Wearing uniform the youth has no chance to show their character and their personality, while the task of modern school is to behave a person with independent views and clear aims.
In my opinion, the compromise might be in less strict adherence to wearing a uniform and making it an element of education process but not the central point of it. School uniform should add to the self-consciousness of young people, preserving their individuality. From my perspective, it is the main aim of modern teachers.

 
Works Cited
Brunsma, David L., and Kerry A. Rockquemore. “The Effect of Student Uniforms on Attendance, Behavior Problems, Substance Use, and Academic Achievement.” The Journal of Educational Research (13 Feb. 1998)
Daugherty ,Richard F. “Leadership in Action: Piloting a School Uniform Program”. Education. 123.2. (2002):390 – 392
Wilkins, Julia. “School Uniforms”. The Humanist. 59.(1999): 26 – 28.