How can schools be more equitable ?
How can schools be more equitable? First let's talk about what equitable means, and that is it means fair. When I think of how my past schools could work on being more equitable I think of the dress code policy. Growing up I came from a small town with a very strict dress code that seemed more targeted towards females than males. The male dress code was no facial hair, no long hair, and no piercings. While the females had a long list of restrictions. For example no shorts, shirts had to be past your finger tips when wearing leggings, no tank tops, dress/skirts had to be past your finger tips, and the list goes on. Being a female who lives in Texas having to wear jeans everyday for eight plus hours in the august heat is unfair. My districts administrators said they had a strict dress code on females because female clothes is distracting to others. I personally think that all genders should be taught that people can were whatever they feel like wearing and to not be distracted by it. Students go to school to become educated not to spend their time getting sent to the office to change. Having a dress code that involves students having to change or go home is more distracting to the entire class than certain clothing items. On top of being distracting students are also missing out on important learning time. Personally i think inequitable dress codes are ridiculous because when you get into college dress codes do not exist. While i know school's will not demolish their dress code policies providing an equal dress code for both males and females is one step schools can make to become more equitable.
Hey Chesney,
ReplyDeleteI did not even think about dress code, but you bring up some really good points! in a way it relates to the other issues regarding inequity like race, gender, wealth, etc. I remember my high school days were the same, so many rules for the girls and a lot would have time from class taken away just for the issue to be addressed. As we have seen in our modules, we have to let students express themselves, they have the right to dress in a way they will be comfortable. I understand certain restrictions, but other than that, those limitations take away that creative environment. Majority of our classmates expressed that school is a place to educate students and help them develop into an adult. We would do this by adjusting to their needs and cultures to create an environment of equality. In this case, both female and male should have the same restrictions, but at the same time not dedicating as much importance to things like what they wear. As emphasized in the myth article, every student, no matter their circumstance, has the ability to learn. So why should we treat the different genders differently, if we claim we don't want to differentiate students by race and wealth. Great post!
Hey Alexis! I wanted to say thank you for taking time to comment and provide feedback on my blog! I appreciate your comments as they helps me grow as a future educator. I decided to blog about this subject because i too thought it related to other topics we have worked on in this class yet it is one that has not been brought up yet. I do agree that some regulations should be put in place but no student should be dripping in sweat walking from one class to another because it is hot and they have a strict dress code. Students need to be able to express themselves to also know who they truly are. I do hope this topic will change in the future so that girls do not have to be called out of class for how they are dressed. personally i think it is wrong and makes the girl feel bad. I hope for change in all of the topics we have talked about in this class and many more
DeleteHi Chesney, I think the topic of dress codes is such a great example of inequity in the school system. I am so happy you chose to talk about this and provide such perfect examples and reasonings as to why this should not be seen as big of a deal as schools make it. Growing up and going to a public high school I can't even begin to tell you how many girls I saw get dress coded every day over the tiniest things while there were boys who would come to school in pajamas and be let off the hook. It always made me so furious because I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that a majority of what we would wear were considered "distractions". Students should not have their right of learning taken away from them just because of their outfits. When schools take the time out of their day to pull a student into the office and force them to change just because their shoulders may be showing or there may be a rip in their jeans, they are not only wasting their time and the students time, but also stripping away the students learning time. I also really like how you brought up that in college, dress codes basically don't exist. Why are we spending so much time worrying about a students outfit, when they are going to have the freedom of wearing what they want once they leave that school. We should be worrying more about what we are teaching them and the fairness we need to provide for everyone.
ReplyDeleteHello Diaynara! Thank you for commenting on my post and taking time to provide input! Providing input helps us both grow as future educators. I thought dress code while not seen as very important is an example of inequality in schools across the nation. While we have not talked about this subject in our class dress code is a personal subject to me. I find it ridiculous that parents are okay with their daughters wearing certain items to school but according to the dress code it is seen as distracting. Now being in college where people where whatever they want i think most people could agree that clothes are not distracting pulling girls from class to change is.I totally agree that the focus of all schools should be more about education and less about choice of clothing. I personally got dress coded and missed almost a whole lesson over it. In college i am free to wear whatever i would like!
DeleteHi Chesney! I think you made a wonderful point of a flaw in the school system that disallows us to be equitable. I myself have had issues with this topic for a long time, and I know that others also feel passionately about it as well. Making a girl leave class to change because she has ripped jeans on or a spaghetti strap tank top is only letting these students know that their education is not as important as someone who may be getting "distracted" her exposed shoulders or knees. If we want all students to feel included at school, this extremely strict dress code that seems to be mostly enforced on the young ladies needs to stop immediately. Nobody would feel comfortable going somewhere where they feel as though they can't express themselves in the ways that they want to. Girls need to feel accepted and like their education matters too, and right now the aren't feeling that way at all. The girls and boys need to be held to the same standard, there is no reason for anybody to miss out on education. We need to take action and put a stop to these ridiculous rules, because how do you expect these young ladies to take away any information into life after school if they spent time leaving class, being told to cover up, feeling as though they aren't important in the education world.
ReplyDeleteHey Morgan! I wanted to say thank you for taking time to post on my blog . I loved your input and think adding to the conversation defiantly is important on topics that are important to others. I too also had problems with my schools dress code even though i should not have and my parents were okay with what i was wearing. My mom had to take time out of her day to drive and drop off clothes at the school while i missed a lesson because of this. I believe everyone's education is important and should be seen that way. I loved your statement about when girls are told to change they are seen has less important when it comes to learning the lesson. Expressing yourself through clothes is so important i also think it allows for people to go through different phases. I also think we need to take action on this topic and hope it can get resolved in future generations.
DeleteHi Chesney! I enjoyed your blog post very much. I like how you answer the question on how schools can be more equitable. The dress code policy is for sure one of the most talked about in schools among students in being unfair for girls. Sometimes I wanted to wear a cute outfit to school but I couldn’t because it did fit the standards that you mention. I understand that schools have set rules based on past experiences with dress code but making a girl feel that certain body parts are too revealing and distracting it's not the way to go for a more equitable environment. If girls are going to have strict rules on how they should dress, boys should too. At the end of the day, what is more important is for schools to deliver the best education a student possibly can. Of course if they want students to act a certain way that promotes professionalism, I think that schools should start by saying that with a dress code instead of saying it's distracting. I know that teachers as well have a dress code but I’m not sure how schools are addressing it to them. I just remembered a teacher saying that they couldn’t wear jeans because it's not professional but at the same time they were allowed to wear jeans on Fridays as a freebie. Anyways, let me know what you think on my thoughts :))
ReplyDeleteYours truly,
Guadalupe Rivera
Hello Guadalupe! I wanted to thank you for adding to my post i know it is important for future educators to communicate on subjects. I also wanted to thank you for your sweet comment on how i approached this weeks blog. While i know other topics are seen as more important and mine may be seen as silly it is an issue in schools. When males get to wear what they want and females do not it shows the inequality in the school. It also can lead to girls being seen by boys as less. I too faced waking up daily to try to put a cute outfits only to think about the consequences. I do know teacher have dress code but it ranges from district to district. While i do not know what their dress code is like i do see it as they take the job knowing that. students on the other hand are told and can do nothing about it. I believe that students should be able to express themselves and clothes help with that.
DeleteHey Chesney, I first want to say that I 100% agree with you here. I also experienced a strict dress code in my past that seemed to be angled more towards the girls at the school rather than boys. I had boys in my school wearing wife beater tank tops and wearing their pants below their bottoms where their underwear was exposed, where in these cases they were told to pull their pants up or put on a jacket. But, heaven forbid a girl come to school with a baseball size whole in their jeans on the knee where they were sent home to put on "appropriate attire". Overall, schools are a place of education not the fashion patrol. Students should feel comfortable when at school, and no I am not saying that there should be no dress code, because I do believe there are some clothes that are completely inappropriate for a school setting, but we should be able to make schools a place where we treat all students equal. Great post again, I hope you have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteHi Elena! Thank you for your sweet comments it made my day to hear that someone else also feels the same about the dress code situation at schools. I also wanted to say thank you for commenting and providing your insight i very much appreciate it! I will definitely have to take a look @HeatherL114 twitter since this is a very important topic in schools these days. I absolutely hated when girls would be called out in class for their clothes I feel like it then gives males something to talk about. Teaching should be the focus of school not making girls feel like they can not be themselves. I do believe that this will change in the coming years since I personally feel that schools are trying to move forwards with equality amongst male and females. I hope i am correct about this and future girls do not have to feel this way in school daily.
ReplyDeleteHey Ms.Redding! I wanted to say thank you for your input on my blog. It seems that a ton of girls have similar experiences. While other topics are important in this class i do think this one is too. This topic of dress code is inequality in genders and hopefully will one day not be a problem anymore. I am sorry to hear that you experienced this too it can be very frustrating. I personally had to take time out of my day and my moms to change because not only do they make females change they also bring the parents into it. My mom saw what i went to school in yet still had to bring me a change of clothes. At the end of the day everyone is at school to learn and better themselves. Not to be a fashion police like you said. The sad thing is i know a ton of teacher in high school really did not care but would get in trouble for not reporting it. At that point it is taking time out of the teachers day and lesson too. I hope you have a great weekend also and hope we can discuss again soon. Best of luck to you!
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