Caption: The PACA school uniform has been mandatory for all students since the 2023-2024 school year and has changed styles and colors since then. [by Ana Luisa Helfer]
by Ana Luisa Helfer
Across schools around the world, dress codes are often defended as rules that promote discipline and respect. Teachers and administrators would argue that these policies prevent distractions, while creating a focused environment for learning. However, there are students who argue otherwise.
School dress codes, in my opinion, more often than not will target certain groups of students, more specifically girls. From my perspective, instead of providing respect, it teaches students that how they look is more important than what they learn. For example, in my sixth grade year, there was one teacher that stopped the class to publicly say that my shirt was too short. This experience makes me question if these rules are truly about education.
Rafaela Miglio, a student from ninth grade, agrees that there is a time and place for uniforms and a space where they are not needed.
“For field trips and events outside of school it is useful for locating the students,” said Miglio, “but when in school it is not really necessary.”
The key factor in these situations is having a general understanding of what kind of clothing is appropriate to wear to school. If students agree on this standard, it should not matter if they are wearing a PACA logo on their shirt or not.
She said, “As long as you are wise in the decisions you make and the clothes you wear, I think it is fine to not wear a uniform.”
Although the rules for dress code are made with the intention of providing equality, my experience has been that it goes in the complete opposite direction. Evidently so, as I have seen dress codes enforced most often against female students. In some schools, girls are treated as a distraction by creating more rules that apply only to girls. For example, there are rules that say we can’t wear shorts above 8cm above the knee. As a girl, I have seen many boys wear shorts that are this same length.
Another issue is that dress codes limit self-expression and individuality, which are two important parts of teenage life. In my opinion, limiting what a person can wear to three colors of uniforms and pants can be harmful to the development of their identity. Clothing is one of the major ways young people communicate their personality. Making that a restriction often reinforces superficial standards of what is considered acceptable.
Even though it is important to regulate to a certain level, what schools are doing nowadays takes away some of the freedom of expression from students.
In my opinion, true fairness does not come from making everyone look the same, but from allowing students to be themselves. Each person has their own characteristics and personality. Our clothing is only one of the many possible ways that can be expressed. Also, clothes act as a first impression for a person, and people should dress the way they want to be perceived. That is what schools should be encouraging and teaching students.
School dress codes are often presented as harmless and beneficial policies created to protect students and maintain order, but in practice, they contradict that. They promote gender bias as mentioned previously. This ends up distracting them even more from what truly matters, which is learning.
