Cons

CONs:

Pointless

·      It’s unnecessary.

·      A solution in search of a problem.

·      Means an extra and added expense for most families.

·      Creates more strife and new battles in the morning when students want to wear their own clothes to school. 

·      The policy is voluntary so students can wear their own clothes.  If some do and some don’t, why even have a uniform policy?

·      This is really more for the parents than the students.

·      A high burden of proof should be on those who seek a major change in policy at a school that is currently working very well.

·      Uniforms DO NOT instill discipline.  (That is an absolute falsehood, and there's plenty of research to show it.)

·      Bullying and Cliques are unfortunate realities of kids being kids.  Adopting a uniform policy won’t eliminate those problems.

·      Let's concentrate on what really matters for a child's education.

·      We need to focus on engaging our students in school and improving their education, and not expend our energy on uniforms.

·      If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Creates Disharmony

·      Students will feel left out if they do not wear a uniform, even though it’s voluntary.

·      Students will now try to make a statement by not conforming, and act up even more. 

·      Language barriers may make some people not fully understand the implications of the policy.

·      Added peer pressure.

·      In the real world, this is not truly "voluntary" and really puts strong peer pressure on young kids to conform.

·      In the final analysis, this issue is a divider and not something that will create unity.

·      Prevents freedom of expression.

Added Hassle

·      Need to set up uniform closet and figure out who will be in charge, assess eligibility for needy families, and will create extra work for school staff. 

·      Teachers in favor of uniforms may unconsciously discriminate against students who choose not to wear a uniform given the policy would be voluntary.

·      A voluntary uniform policy has been tried three times throughout ACPS, and it has failed twice.

·      They wear out quickly.  Constant need for replacement.

·      Become more stained because of continued and repeat wear.

·      Necessitates more laundry.

·      Administratively hard to implement, for there's not one solution that everyone will be happy with.

·      Students can’t wear the clothes and outfits they want to school.

             

School Environmental Impact

·      Change is hard.

·      Is conforming what we want to teach our children?  How will the school plan to address this?  

·      MacArthur does not have an overall discipline problem.

·      MacArthur does not lack school spirit.

·      MacArthur may be seen as a failing school, because most public elementary schools in the U.S. with uniforms, implemented a policy because the school was failing.

·      Unnecessarily injects a divisive issue into a well-functioning and tight knit school community.

·      Makes MacArthur look elitist, and elitism should never be your guide.

·      There is no empirical evidence which shows wearing a uniform means performing better on SOLs or getting higher grades in school.

·      We can be proud of our school without wearing uniforms.