To clear things up right away, I
honestly don’t care whether I am allowed to wear hats indoors or not. I hardly
ever wear hats outside. What concerns me is the lack of a proper explanation
for such a commonly enforced rule. In general, I am very fond of rules. They
help keep society organized and help to make the world as safe as it can be.
Rules, however, must have a certain degree of logic backing them up, or else
they are merely a way for people to assert their authority over others. Practically
every day I see a classmate’s hat snatched away by a triumphant teacher, but no
satisfactory reasoning seems to follow this action. Other school rules that
annoy students make perfect sense, as little as we may like to admit it. Cell phones
can be distracting, and I find it pretty obvious why sleeping in class could
result in less efficient learning. Wearing a hat, however, doesn’t appear to cause
either of these.
Moreover, this rule has actually gone
beyond being a mere annoyance due to religious head coverings. Suddenly the Constitution’s
freedom of religion is brought up, and United States citizens are fighting for their
rights. One example of this occurred in February of 2012, where Northwood High School
in Maryland was heavily criticized for demanding a student prove he wore a head
covering for religious reasons. The situation escalated when the principal of
the school began to receive hate mail and anonymous phone calls. Because of
this and similar situations, organizations like the Anti-Defamation League have
had to make detailed packets describing all kinds of circumstances head coverings
are to be allowed. Overall, this one unexplained rule has managed
to make our society less safe and organized, and therefore is working against the very purpose of
rules.
Again, I do not care one way or
another if people are allowed to wear hats inside. What I do care about though,
is that we are all given an explanation as to why we should not.
Sources:
Maryland High School Changes Policy in Head Coverings: http://www.jta.org/2012/02/12/news-opinion/united-states/maryland-high-school-changes-policy-on-head-coverings
ADL Religion in Public Schools: http://www.adl.org/assets/pdf/civil-rights/religiousfreedom/rips/RIPS-Ch13DressCodes.pdf
(If anyone can provide an explanation in the comments, it would be greatly appreciated)
And then we have Hat Day, where the rule against wearing hats in school disappears...
ReplyDeleteWill I really liked your post. I will admit I struggle with the "no hats in school" rule as well. When I looked up why hats were not allowed to be worn in school I found pretty much what you found which is that it is just "not respectful", which does not seem like a very legitimate reason to me. I also found some forums about the matter where people were saying the hats were many times affiliated with gangs which is why they aren't allowed to be worn in schools. I remember Mr.Fitzgerald bringing this up this point when we briefly talked about the topic in class and I think that it is not valid reason either. I mean is a guy or girl wearing a Red Sox hat in school really some gang gesture or is just the person wanting to support the team? I also think it is interesting how you bring up the point that this rule is being blown out of proportion and now there has to be packets written on when it is appropriate to wear hats. Overall I liked your post, and I did not find any major writing errors in it.
ReplyDeleteAmen! I could not agree more. Rules without explanations are merely decrees from mindless tyrants. Hey, that sounds like a good quote. Maybe it can be the "Thought for the Day." Unlike you, though, I do care about hats. I am glad kids don't wear them. However, I fully agree that the explanation is unclear to kids. I also get frustrated when leaders do not specify the reasons for the rules. Last year teachers were required to write clear "Objectives" on their boards before every class. It was mandatory. Yet, no one explained why, and clearly it wasn't important enough for anyone to actually check. Most teachers slowly stopped doing this.
ReplyDeleteI'm not 100% sure about the logic behind the hat rule. I actually do think that leaders sometimes create rules just for the sake of having rules. Oddly, I support this. I understand that the "gang" explanation that Chrissy cites isn't the greatest reason. I wonder if it has more to do with the distraction they can cause. First of all, for some kids, hats are a valuable possession. They leave the tags on them and keep them crystal clean. This means hats are a target for theft. I think administrators have the right to prevent kids from wearing items that can easily be stolen. Second, I think hats can indicate a relaxed academic environment. There has to be some relationship between conformity (no hats) and professional focus. Maybe not. I'm grasping here. Regardless, I understand your desire for an explanation. You deserve one.
What are your thoughts on Dunkin Donuts coffees in the halls or food in the classrooms?
I'm not happy about the "No Food" rule, especially on days that I have 3rd lunch, yet I fully understand why some administrators would want it. An abundance of crumbs everywhere could get annoying, not to mention unsanitary. Same thing with coffee, that stuff can stain horribly. I think that the theft explanation makes the most sense honestly, seeing as hats are rather easily lifted off someone's head, or taken from gym lockers. The conformity idea doesn't sit well with me though. It could easily be one of the reasons for the rule, but it doesn't seem like a very good explanation. There's a reason why public schools don't have uniforms, and that is to allow students to openly express themselves, and become independent from the crowd. Also, I don't always think that a relaxed academic environment is a bad thing. The extremes of anything can be bad of course, yet I think that a relatively relaxed environment encourages discussion and participation in the classroom.
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