Look Alike | The Efficacy of School Uniforms

LOOK ALIKE

THE EFFICACY OF SCHOOL UNIFORMS

SCHOOL UNIFORM

Class Roadmap

WARM-UP SPEECH PRACTICE

SPEECH BUILDING BLOCKS uniforms matt

LEARNING ABOUT SCHOOL

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UNIFORMS

What are school uniforms

Why do schools have uniforms?

Your dream school outfit

right or wrong?

SELF-EXPRESSION AND UNIFORMS

Self-expression through clothing

Overriding freedom of choice

SYMBOL OBJECTIVES:

Key takeaway

Question

Speaking Activity

Quiz

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2.

The purpose of education

Delivering speeches using Speech Building Blocks

Understanding self-expression

SYMBOL OBJECTIVES:

By the end of today’s class, you’ll learn:

Reminder: Class Rules

Now that we all know each other, let’s make this class into a proper classroom!

Here are some rules that we will all follow together:

Before Class

Makesurethatyou’veeatenbreakfast/lunchandhavegonetothe bathroom

JointheZoomcallafewminutesbeforeclassstartssowecanget startedrightaway!

At the Start of Class

Turnyourcameraonsowecanseeyourlovelysmile!

Letyourcoachknowifyouneedtoleaveclassearly

During Class

Keepyourcameraonunlessyouarepreparingduringanactivity Putyourhandupifyouwanttosaysomething

Donotleaveyourcomputerduringclass-ifyouneedtogotothe bathroom,putyourhandupandaskyourcoachbeforeyougo

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Your dream school outfit

Rules

It’s your first day of school, and you want to wear your favourite outfit to show it off to your classmates. Tell us what you could wear.

Think about:

Practicality - what do you do at school, and what is the best thing to wear for that activity

Weather - what’s the temperature like where you come from, and how does that affect your outfit choice?

Style - what do you like to wear the most?

PART 1: School Uniforms

What are school uniforms?

School uniforms are a set of clothing that students wear when they go to school. These uniforms are usually chosen by the school and are worn by all students.

In some countries, the majority of schools have uniforms. In other countries, it’s common for public schools to have no uniforms, and private schools to have uniforms. Sometimes, uniforms are influenced by religion (for example, mandatory hijab)

KEY TAKEAWAY

School uniforms are set outfits that students must wear to school. School uniforms look different depending on the country, culture, and individual school.

United States

Bhutan

Australia

QUESTION

Which uniform is your favourite?

ometimes, uniforms might have variations - different options you can choose from, different uniforms for different seasons, or different genders.

Why Do Schools Have Uniforms?

The main role of a school is education for children. This doesn’t just look like memorising facts, though. Education can be intellectual (reasoning skills), building knowledge (learning about the world), social, emotional, and physical.

There are lots of different reasons that schools have uniforms:

1. Appropriateness

School uniforms make sure that students have everything they need for the school day and local climate, such as a jumper, sunhat, or sensible shoes.

2. Belonging

Everyone wearing the same thing fosters a sense of community and pride.

Many see students wearing whatever they want as a distraction from opportunities to learn. When students focus on what others are wearing, they are not focusing on the new things they could be learning.

3. Discipline

Caring for and properly wearing a uniform is a good way for students to learn responsibility.

4. Equality

Some families can afford expensive clothes for their children, while other students may not be able to afford the basics. Having everyone wearing the same thing means that students are less likely to bully others for their clothing.

5. Tradition

Lots of schools have had uniforms for many years, or wear uniforms as a part of a particular religion. This fosters a sense of school culture.

Case

study: Dress Codes in the US

In the United States, most public schools do not have school uniforms. Many conservative high schools have very strict dress codes, particularly for what girls can wear they get sent to the principal or sent home to change if their clothing reveals their shoulders or their skirts are too short.

This has become a controversial political and social issue, where many feel as though these dress codes are used to police women’s bodies.

QUESTION

Do you think that having school uniforms in the United States would make the problem better, or worse?

KEY TAKEAWAY

The main purpose of a school is to educate children. Uniforms allow students to focus on their studies, create a sense of community, and develop responsibility.

Speech building blocks

Every speech should have three things: an introduction, reasoning, and a conclusion. Usually, debating speeches have more than one reason why something is good or bad. As such, we want to structure our speeches like this:

Introduction: briefly saying what viewpoint you are arguing for and why

Reason 1: provide your first argument for your case

Reason 2: provide your second argument for your case

Conclusion: summarise what you have proven in your speech.

Example topic:

Introduction

Fast food can be dangerous, so I believe that children should not be allowed to eat fast food. This is because it is unhealthy and addictive.

Reason 1

My first reason why children should not be allowed to eat fast food is that it is unhealthy. Often fast food is deep-fried and made with lots of sugar, fat, and salt They also don’t contain important good things like fresh fruit and vegetables. You can sometimes even get health problems like diabetes from eating too much fast food.

Reason 2

My second reason is that fast food is addictive. Things like sugar in fast food trick our brains into wanting more and more, so once you start eating fast food, you crave it more over time. If children get addicted to fast food at a young age, they are likely to struggle with dietary problems for the rest of their life

Conclusion

Fast food should be eaten rarely, and I believe that children shouldn’t be able to eat it at all Because of the harm to your health, and the addictive nature of fast food, it needs to be kept away from kids

“That children should not be allowed to eat fast food”

PART

Using the building blocks template

When we do speech activities, you’ll be able to base your speech on a template that looks like this:

Introduction

Reason 1

should should not / should should not / the health problems freedom of choice 1:

I believe that children (pick one)

be allowed to eat fast food

My first reason why children (pick one)

/

Here is an example:

“I believe that children should not be allowed to eat fast food. Often fast food is deep-fried and made with lots of sugar, fat, and salt. They also don’t contain important good things like fresh fruit and vegetables.

My first reason why children should not be allowed is the health problems associated with fast food You can sometimes even get health problems like diabetes from eating too much fast food.”

KEY TAKEAWAY

Speech Building Blocks are a handy guide to help you build a debating speech. Your speech should contain four building blocks: Introduction, Reason 1, Reason 2, and Conclusion.

Uniforms matter Activity:

Rules

You are going to give a speech about what you think the biggest benefits of wearing a school uniform are.

You will be able to choose between some of the reasons we discussed in class, and will need to follow the speech building blocks template (shown on the next page). We’ll keep the template up during preparation time, as well as during your speech.

Introduction

School uniforms can be helpful to create the best learning environment for kids I think that the two largest benefits of school uniforms are (pick two)

appropriateness belonging /

equality

/ tradition /

My first reason why school uniforms can be beneficial is that they encourage (pick one)

Reason 1

appropriateness belonging / equality

/ tradition /

Explain your reasoning here

My second reason why school uniforms can be beneficial is that they encourage (pick one)

Reason 2

appropriateness belonging / equality

/ tradition /

Explain your reasoning here …

Conclusion

School uniforms are an important part of school life for lots of people around the world Because of (insert your two reasons here), I believe that school uniforms are beneficial.

Feedback

It’s time for your coach to tell you their favourite thing about your speech, as well as what you can improve on.

Because it’s your first speech for this class, your coach will give you 1-2 pieces of feedback to focus on later in the class. This feedback might be on:

Activity: whether you fully followed the activity guidelines

Style: volume, pace, position on the screen, tone

Analytical reasoning: how to make your points even better!

PART 2: Self-Expression and Uniforms

SELF-EXPRESSION PART 2:

Many people choose to express themselves through the way they dress. They argue that clothing choices are a way for students to express their personal style and identity. Uniforms can make students feel like they are conforming to a standardized look, limiting their ability to showcase their uniqueness.

May loves to be creative, and her favourite subject is art She likes to wear colourful dresses, fluffy jumpers and fun jewellery. It makes her happy when she can make the world more bright and beautiful

Jun wants to grow up to be the president one day. He likes to express his views about the world and politics by wearing a bag covered in badges from the protests he likes to go to, and shirts with statements about climate change.

Sarah loves all things sporty She likes to come to school ready to play and run around as soon as it’s lunchtime, by wearing sneakers, shorts, and a tank top

what they want?

Typically, we value people’s ability to express themselves and their freedom to dress how they choose. This is because we generally allow people to have bodily autonomy, where they can choose what they want to do with their bodies. We also expect them to know themselves best, and what is most appropriate for them to wear given their needs and beliefs.

There are some other reasons why people do not like compulsory school uniforms:

Comfort - everybody is different, but school uniforms are all the same Students might find wearing certain styles or fabrics uncomfortable, especially if the uniform is not appropriate for the weather that day

Cost - some schools require students to have lots of different garments for their uniforms, or require uniforms made out of more expensive materials. This can be exclusionary for some households with less money

Why do we usually allow people to wear

KEY TAKEAWAY

We usually let people express themselves by wearing what they want, but we take this choice away from students when they have to wear a uniform to school. This can decrease the ability to express yourself, and can sometimes be uncomfortable or expensive.

Overriding Freedom of Choice

Every time people have a right to do something, it needs to be balanced with the potential consequences or the right of others

Usually, there’s a good reason why we choose to override people’s freedom of choice by making them wear uniforms: Military: if you join the army or a similar group, you normally have to wear a uniform. This is so people can tell which side you’re on, you wear everything you need, and create a sense of national identity with your fellow soldiers

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2. Sports: sports involve intense physical activity, so the clothes you wear must be appropriate for what sport you are doing. Uniforms could be designed to encourage movement or have safety gear to protect you from danger.

hy do we override school children’s choice to wear what they want? . .

Because we think the benefits are more important. Be it discipline or equality, schools choose to override students’ freedom of choice if they think it will make the school experience better for everyone. Because children’s brains are less developed than adults, they are considered to be less rational actors This means that adults have a right to override a child’s choice when they are in a position to know better than the child.

QUESTION

Do you think children are mature enough to make sensible decisions about what they wear?

Activity:

Right or Wrong?

Rules

You are going to give a speech about whether you think that students should have to wear school uniforms.

You will be using the building blocks template as a guide, as well as some hints for potential reasons you could give!

We’ll keep the template up during preparation time, as well as during your speech.

PART 2: SELF-EXPRESSION AND UNIFORMS

Right or Wrong?

Introduction

Many schools require their students to wear a uniform Today, I will argue that making students wear a school uniform is (pick one)

Good Bad /

My first reason why compulsory school uniforms are (pick one)

Good Bad /

Reason 1

is that insert reason here

Explain your reasoning here …

My second reason why compulsory school uniforms are (pick one)

Good Bad /

Reason 2

is that insert reason here

Explain your reasoning here …

Conclusion

School uniforms are an important part of school life for lots of people around the world. Because of (insert your two reasons here), I believe that mandatory school uniforms are (pick one)

Good Bad /

It’s time for your coach to tell you their favourite thing about your speech, as well as what you can improve on.

Because it’s your first speech for this class the class, your coach will give you 2 pieces of feedback:

Whether you have improved on the feedback for the previous class exercise

One new piece of feedback based on any of the following:

Activity: whether you fully followed the activity guidelines

Style: volume, pace, position on the screen, tone

Analytical reasoning: how to make your points even better!

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2.

School Uniform

School uniforms are set outfits that students must wear to school School uniforms look different depending on the country, culture, and individual school

Purpose of Uniform

The main purpose of a school is to educate children. Uniforms allow students to focus on their studies, create a sense of community, and develop responsibility

Reasons why schools have uniforms:

Enlistment vs Conscription

Usually, we let people wear what they want as a form of freedom of expression. There are some contexts, like the military or in sports, where people have to wear uniforms

We override students’ ability to dress how they want for two reasons:

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The benefits of wearing uniforms

Children are less rational actors

Speeches should be structured using building blocks. Every speech contains four blocks:

Introduction Reason 1

Reason 2