Before I begin, I feel it necessary to preface that I as an individual born and raised in the United States am basing this essay on conversations, observations, articles, and statistics. I do not believe the United States is a perfect country or that the United Kingdom is a bad country. It's where I've chosen to settle. That said, there are problems that need to be addressed for the betterment of our home and this is one of them.
Research in 2017 by Warwick University claimed 29% of UK teenagers reported being bullied. Compare this to the US's 22% or Germany's 15.7 it's clear to see there's a problem. In fact, a Statista report showing the "Share of students who reported being victims of any type of bullying act at least a few times a month in selected European countries in 2018" placed the United Kingdom at 10th. Russia, a country with strict uniform and dress codes as well as Malta, one of the few other European countries to still enforce school uniforms hold 1st and 5th respectively.
In the UK, over 90% of schools enforce a uniform dress code.
It's easy to draw a line between the two. In forcing kids to wear uniforms from a young age, individuality is suppressed. They aren't able to show their personalities as easily through their fashion choices, they can't connect over a band shirt or an appreciation for one's unique hair. When I was younger I found my friends this way. I would (and still do to this day) wear shirts of my favorite anime or rock bands to find out who had the same interests as me. By forcing everyone to look the same, you severely limit one's ability to explore who they are as an individual and try new styles in a social setting. It forces a perspective of conformity and economic equality that shatters the moment you speak to someone or leave the school walls. It's less likely for youth to see that we don't all come from the same level of wealth or perfect homes. It doesn't give them time to understand these concepts before they reach a mature age and see that despite the fact we come from all sorts of backgrounds, we all go to school together and share interests.
I've often heard the pro-uniform argument stating that by forcing children to wear uniforms it reduces bullying because it gives off the impression of total equality. That because nobody is wearing the hippest new clothing that there is no economic gap between them. There is little to no reliable evidence of this however. The primary research I found in fact was commissioned by Trutex, one of the UK's largest manufacturers of school uniforms. A study by the Ohio State University in 2022 showed "We didn't see much difference in our behavior measures, regardless of whether the schools had a uniform policy or not."
People are their most outgoing and creative as children. They need to be allowed to explore this at it's peak and they agree. 70% of children are not worried about not wearing a uniform according to Trutex's own surveys and 53% believe that wearing a uniform prevents them from demonstrating their individuality.
All of the science and statistics are against school uniforms.
The majority of the world sees that. It's time for this country to see it too.
- Dakota Morrill
Padoo Homes
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