It felt like a prison. Everyone walked dully in the halls, sapped of any life that may have been previously there. I tried to make out my friends, but they were lost in a sea of red, white, or blue. Tan pants surrounded every which corner you turned; there was no color in this school. There was no personality.
That was my elementary experience with dress codes. I went to a strict private school that had very specific requirements regarding how you dress, and they enforced them. I distinctly recall one time in first grade, when a corner of my shirt wasn't totally tucked in, the principal approached me. He was a stiff and serious man; he was in the marines, and he opted to run this school like the army. If you greeted him in the hall, he would drag you off to his office for talking in the halls.
He gave me a sinister look, one that deeply hurt me at that young age. I recall crying once I arrived home. After a moment's pause, he snapped, "Your shirt's not tucked in."
I hesitated, not knowing how to respond to that. There was no way to lie, and no way to deny it. I just looked in horror at the little corner that was slightly untucked. I looked up at him again, but quickly diverted my gaze when I saw his menacing look. You could tell he enjoyed this.
Shortly after, he threatened to give me a pink slip and a trip to his office. In first grade. I was devastated. I'm the type of person that always plays by the rules, and follows them accordingly. To get in trouble is shocking for me; at a younger age I didn't take it very well.
And so, at that age, I realized something. Dress codes are horrible. Every day when you walk into a classroom, you are greeted not by individuals, but a group of the same color. Everywhere you turn, you can't find an ounce of individuality.
The classroom itself is a boring place without any color. To implement dress codes is to take away the freedom of expression to students, as clothes are a great way to express yourself. Everything is so uniform. Everyone is so uniform. It felt almost like a prison; everyone dressed the same. Don't encourage anyone to think their special. Because each child is just a dirty criminal, they deserve no rights.
Everyone is entitled to free speech. However, how people speak is totally different. People find their voice in arts, writing, and even fashion. If you take that away from them, then they won't be able to succeed. I recall one rather pretty girl joined our school; she fell apart quickly because of the dress codes. She had no way to express herself; it was almost like she had lost the ability to speak. She fell into a spiraling state of depression, although not chronic. You could tell the preppy and happy atmosphere she used to give off was now long gone.
And it didn't just take a toll on the fashionable members of the school. Everyone was affected. There was no variety, no individuality, nothing. Students often grew quieter and less upbeat as they were introduced to the dress code.
Dress codes are not an innocent tactic to get children to pay attention. They are a cruel way of punishing them, in hopes that they may fall into place. Adults often don't realize what effects the dress codes have on the children's minds. They are a way of showing authority; I dress how I please and you don't. Therefore, I am superior to you.
People often believe that dress codes are no different than they way employees are required to dress. They are dramatically different. At jobs, people still see a healthy share of variety, not just their own outfit. Employees are often scattered throughout the store to help customers, so they only occasionally see other employees that have an identical outfit. In the professional business world of suits and ties, there is still plenty of variety. Yes, people do look similar, but no they are not identical. There still is some chance to weave in your personality through your suit, and very rarely will two of the same suits appear in a board room.
People also argue that dress codes encourage kids to be more attentive in class. I've found this to be false. I assume that the majority of people who believe this have never been in a school that enforced dress codes; clothes have very little to do with distraction. If you honestly believe that, then why not just create a nudist school? No, there are much more distracting things in the classroom, and clothes have very little, if any, thing to do with children's wandering minds. In fact, dress codes may actually promote children's minds wandering. Just as a monotone teacher is boring to an auditory learner, a classroom filled with the same color is dull to a visual learner. And once children have used up their attention span, there's typically very little way to bring that back into participating for the rest of that class.
Also, what do you do when your child doesn't fit very well into any of the required clothes? This is an awkward stage that happened frequently throughout elementary; you just had to go with clothes either too small or too large. You can't go out and find a shirt that fits you, you're stuck with what you are given.
There is just nothing good that can come from implementing dress codes in schools. Now it's "just" taking away their rights to pick what they dress. And in a few years it will "just" be taking away their rights to go to the bathroom when school is in session. And it will keep becoming more and more dramatic. These are children; they are your kids! Your grandkids! You should want them to enjoy themselves and be happy over being uniform with those around them. You need to set your foot down, and say no to dress codes.