Dear Proser High School Administration:

Hello, my name is Quinn Whitney, a grade 12 student at Prosper High School, and I am here to suggest that the Prosper High School Administration should accept the proposal to adopt a school dress code.

A school dress code can help limit the amount of revealing clothing that students would wear which can be inappropriate for a school environment. With this in mind, I can understand that people would be upset by having a dress code as it does limit some sense of freedom that a student may have; however, as students become older, many of the clothing options that are available are more scarce in a work environment so it is best to make students focus on what is important for their future. As well, by removing distractions among the clothing, it can help increase the focus of students to focus more on their academic learnings and studies.

With a proper school dress code, it will help create a safer environment for everybody within the school area. Considering that the majority of students are in favour of a school dress code, it seems only fitting. 64% of students are in favour and 22% of students are not in favour. The majority of people who do not want to adopt a dress code were the parents, which personally, was a shock to me. With a school dress code, there are some types of clothing that people wear that other students can find offense and school should be somewhere students can feel safe and as well not having to be uncomfortable around their peers. I know from being in the school, that I have seen some students wear some offensive clothing or revealing clothing suggesting adult activities which people can be uneasy about being in this kind of environment. As well, it is deemed inappropriate for a school environment. If people were to see students leaving the building with such vulgar clothing, they may not want to send their children to our school in the future which can lower the number of enrolled students. This may not seem like a concern at the current moment, but in the future, it can become a concern for the staff here who could be out of a job and I know people do not want others to be out of a job. 

Outside of a school environment, people in a workplace have some sort of dress code that they must follow or even wear uniforms to work. With this in mind, people need to understand that in the future, if they only wear the clothing that is going to be prohibited, that they will need to spend funds elsewhere and get new clothing that is more appropriate for that environment. By having a dress code in school, it can help students become more familiar with the circumstances and can adapt more easily. Charles Novak states, “When I entered the professional world I traded in my ripped jeans for dress pants and a tie. To be taken seriously, you have to dress the part,” which is further demonstrating the point of how he had to change the way that he looked just so that he could fit into his job. It is much more important for students to focus on what they really need to graduate school and if they choose to go study even further for post-secondary schooling. By enforcing a dress code now in school, students become more aware of the troubles that they could face if they wore those types of clothing to a workplace where they could not be so lenient.

By having a school dress code, it can help increase the focus of students so that they can focus during classes and learn the information that they require to achieve good grades. Studies show that the academic performance of students is not entirely based upon cognitive abilities but rather somewhat based upon the number of distractions that can be caused within a classroom. I know that I have witnessed people being distracted by the lack of clothing some girls would wear which then leads to people not being able to focus on what the teacher is saying. By removing distractions, according to studies, can help improve concentration by twenty percent which is a big improvement, even if it does not seem like a big deal. Of course, if a student has psychological factors that make them distracted, it is harder to control and that is something that people will just have to face and overcome. By removing distractions that can revolve around an individual’s clothing options, it can help more students focus on the matter at hand.

By adopting a school dress code, it can help students feel like they are in a safer environment; it is beneficial for the future as there are dress codes within workspaces, and it can help increase focus on students so that they can achieve the grades that they want which only can benefit themselves in the long run. I appreciate that time that the Prosper High School Administration has taken into reading my letter. I hope you can take this into consideration and if you have any further concerns about me, you can email me at Quinn.Whitney@fake.email or my phone number at 808-404-101.

Sincerely,

Quinn Whitney