Summary Of The Article Appearances Are Destructive

In an article titled “ Appearances Are Destructive”, author Mark Mathabane weighs in on his opinion on open dress codes in public schools in the U.S. This topic came about when his sisters coming from South Africa, arrived to the U.S in hopes for a better eductaion, as many school in South Africa were under apartheid. However, their thrills for a better eductaion was shyed from as they were taunted for their homely outfits. In South Africa, uniforms were required, so his sisters were never preoccupied with clothes and jewlery. After witnessing what his sisters went through, Mathabane made the suggestion that all public schools require uniform, as it would help the kids focus more on their education rather than appearance, and help the teachers

no uniforms, our right to freely express ourselves should be considered. Mathabane makes the argument that uniforms would not “infrine”, freedom of expression because we use uniforms with jobs such as being a flight attendant, bands, boy scouts, however with those things we use uniforms for its to show a sense of unity, and having uniforms in school might help students to be more unified, but overall it would make them more focused on how they aren’t able to express themselves through their clothing. Almost everyone expresses their individuality in the way they dress, so by making uniforms a permanent part of school life it takes away that part of individuality that many students in school need, and thrive

Children are easily influenced by outside forces wether it be from social media, parents, or friends. When Mathabane talks about his sisters experience with being taunted for their clothing at school it shouldn’t just be focused on kids being rude, so uniforms should be permenant, bu rather the influences that are affecting a kid to make them want to be unkind to others with different clothing. The finger should not just be pointed at children, but at their parents as well. If we are going to address the uniform vs. no issue topic we have to look at the root cause of why kids treat those who dress differently in a particular way. One bad apple out of the bunch should not determine the fate of the rest of the group, it’s unfortunate what Mathabanes sister had to experience at school, however that should not mean all schools need to enforce uniforms, because all schools don’t endure this issue Mathabne speaks