PRO (yes) CON (no)
French Toast Official School Wear, a school uniform supplier, stated in its article titled "Why School Uniforms?," available at FrenchToast.com (accessed Aug. 29, 2014):
"It's time to eliminate from schools the status and respect many students give to clothing labels and price tags. Student attention needs to return to learning in the classroom, rather than how they look when they are in that classroom. Mandated uniforms can serve to shift the emphasis from competition back to academic performance and personal achievement...
Uniforms create a feeling of oneness and belonging. Everyone can be on the same team. As on athletic teams, uniforms are worn for immediate identification and to inspire a feeling of 'oneness.' Put on your team uniform and you suddenly belong. A sense of loyalty emerges from inside, as does an extra effort to perform at the student's best...
Uniforms add measures of safety in identical dress. Gang identification is obscured. Group violence and theft are dissipated... Children are no longer identified by their 'colors.' Uniform dress alleviated the feelings of imminent danger for students who were afraid they might inadvertently dress in gang colors...
Uniforms also raise students' expectations of themselves. When dressed neatly and seriously, students tend to behave seriously. Often teachers find calmer, more polite, more attentive students. Students seem to feel more confident in the way they look, and so they have more confidence in themselves...