{"id":801,"date":"2007-09-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2007-09-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chisnell.www216-119-142-248.a2hosted.com\/chizblog\/?p=801"},"modified":"2017-08-09T04:52:58","modified_gmt":"2017-08-09T04:52:58","slug":"dress-codes-and-racial-insensitivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/dress-codes-and-racial-insensitivity\/","title":{"rendered":"Dress Codes and Racial Insensitivity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kevin\u2019s point surprised me, but it shouldn\u2019t have.\u00a0\u00a0The drawing ROHS had distributed to students showing unacceptable school attire had another quality beyond the arrows pointing to bare midriffs and sagging pants: both of the illustrated students were\u2014arguably\u2014black.<\/p>\n

Kevin, an African American sophomore in my ELA10 class, was understandably angered by it.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat are they saying?\u201d he protested.\u00a0\u00a0Was it that the clothing styles were unacceptable or that clothing styles stereotypically associated with young blacks were prohibited?\u00a0\u00a0The truth is, I suspect, both.<\/p>\n

Walk the hallways of any public high school and we are surrounded by advertising posters of students buying class rings, applying for scholarships, walking college campuses.\u00a0\u00a0The group in the posters is always diverse, peppered with Asian girls, black boys, and blonde jocks. All are dressed as preps with tidy sweaters or brand name chinos. Occasionally, as if to test the diversity, an \u201calternative\u201d dress style is shone: one student adds stylish boots, an oversized t-shirt, a turned cap, or even\u2014gasp\u2014an earring on a boy.\u00a0\u00a0But these exceptions are always overshadowed by the insistence that proper school clothing is clean, trim, and conservative.\u00a0\u00a0It is academically proper.<\/p>\n

The ROHS dress code confirms this idea.\u00a0\u00a0Created to avoid \u201cdistractions\u201d from the educational process, it prohibits too much thigh and any shoulder, midriff, and jockeyed or thonged rear end.\u00a0\u00a0It also removes the kinds of accessories one might associate with gangs or delinquency: bandanas and other head gear, large chains, and the like.\u00a0\u00a0This makes sense, of course.\u00a0\u00a0One may hardly learn algebra or biology as well if diverted by the latest \u201chot\u201d style or even intimidated\u2014and the students wearing these styles may also have an agenda different from schooling.\u00a0\u00a0In other words, sex and violence as exemplified by clothing styles are not academically proper.<\/p>\n

The trouble comes in Kevin\u2019s claim.\u00a0\u00a0A black boy and girl are wearing clothing that is not academically proper, that is distracting in a sexual or violent way.\u00a0\u00a0In a school which is predominantly white, then, we send a message that students should be academically focused, but we also suggest a racist idea that we shouldn\u2019t dress like blacks because black students are more sexual, more violent, and less academically proper.<\/p>\n

No, it\u2019s true that the administration of ROHS did not intend this.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, speaking to the principals about the drawing, one mentioned that they found the drawing from another district and simply borrowed it.\u00a0\u00a0But this does not change the reading that Kevin did, nor its validity.\u00a0\u00a0An acceptable reading of a text is one that is defensible from the context.\u00a0\u00a0Kevin, one of the few black males at ROHS or in my classroom, is right to be sensitive to such an image.\u00a0\u00a0The question is, why aren\u2019t all of us sensitive to it?<\/p>\n

Many students will say that their clothing choices are merely comfortable (and when our school has no air conditioning on muggy days, it\u2019s believable).\u00a0\u00a0More likely, though, it\u2019s that fashion images sold to teenagers by magazines and television are more prominent and persuasive as \u201cnormal\u201d than what the ROHS cartoon says.\u00a0\u00a0Black, white, and Asian girls wear shirts with bare midriffs.\u00a0\u00a0Arabic, white, and Hispanic boys sag their pants. For all of them, it\u2019s normal to be sexy, to be macho, to be fashionable.\u00a0\u00a0Such an observation says nothing about the racism inherent in the ROHS illustration, though; in fact, it only underscores it.\u00a0\u00a0If all students are equally likely to violate it, why must the two individuals be black?<\/p>\n

Better, almost, for any other race to be overly-represented in such a drawing.\u00a0\u00a0Make them both white, both Asian, both Arabic.\u00a0\u00a0Why?\u00a0Because, like it or not, blacks are over-represented statistically amongst high school dropouts (childstats.gov<\/a>), pregnant teens (teenpregnancy.org<\/a>), and prison inmates (US Bureau of Justice<\/a>).\u00a0\u00a0Black males are murdered 2-5 times as often as any other racial group (Child Trends Databank).\u00a0\u00a0In other words, statistically, it\u2019s more \u201cnormal\u201d for blacks to be academically unsuccessful (though Hispanics are fast gaining in many of these areas, a tragic honor).\u00a0\u00a0No one wants such a condition to be considered normal, and I won\u2019t pretend that there aren\u2019t a thousand other factors which contribute systemically to the problem.<\/p>\n

However, Royal Oak High School has a choice to make in deciding what image of normal it wishes to send.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s right, I think, to ask for a dress code which promotes student learning, decreases distractions.\u00a0\u00a0But we need to be far more sensitive to the multiple legitimate readings of such a code.<\/p>\n

Kevin is right in his awareness of the problem and he is right to bring it up in class.\u00a0\u00a0The problem is that it required a black male to do it, when any of us at the high school should have.\u00a0\u00a0That many white administrators, teachers, and students (myself included) missed it, raises a question of what we consider \u201cnormal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

P.S.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have been asked, What\u00a0should<\/em>\u00a0the dress code be?\u00a0\u00a0I would affirm and extend what I wrote above and ask, \u201cWhich clothing styles best promote student learning?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Some would argue that uniforms accomplish this, but I would disagree.\u00a0\u00a0Especially among teenagers, personal style and choice is important to their own sense of individuality and comfort\u2014and where comfort is limited, so too is learning. (In this way, a classroom too hot or cold is uncomfortable and accomplishes less learning, let alone one with broken desks or without ceilings) , but choice extends only so far.\u00a0Where personal choices work against learning success (and comfort levels) amongst peers and teachers (intended or not), I believe this should be a dress code violation.<\/p>\n

Cleavage (of any body part above or below the waist) is distracting as are undergarments, but many items banned in dress codes don\u2019t inhibit learning.\u00a0\u00a0Gang attire and messages which promote substance abuse are worn for an agenda contrary to academic success and should also be banned.\u00a0\u00a0But bare shoulders? Most piercings? Holes in the knees of jeans?\u00a0These prohibitions, in my view, are born from a more conservative generation of thinking.\u00a0\u00a0They obviously send messages contrary to success is a business environment (my Model UN students would say that they aren\u2019t formal Western business attire), but I don\u2019t see how they affect anyone\u2019s grade in art or English.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kevin\u2019s point surprised me, but it shouldn\u2019t have.\u00a0\u00a0The drawing ROHS had distributed to students showing unacceptable school attire had another quality beyond the arrows pointing to bare midriffs and sagging pants: both of the illustrated students were\u2014arguably\u2014black. Kevin, an African American sophomore in my ELA10 class, was understandably angered by it.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat are they saying?\u201d he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[247,262],"tags":[330,314,331,332],"class_list":["post-801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chizblog","category-education","tag-dress-code","tag-racism","tag-rohs","tag-symbols"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/rohs-dress-code-web.jpg?fit=448%2C168&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":825,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/rohs-course-catalog-2009\/","url_meta":{"origin":801,"position":0},"title":"ROHS Course Catalog – 2009","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2009 Jan 26","format":false,"excerpt":"Given a chance to re-create the Course Catalog for 2009-2010, and just in time for scheduling day, I offer the following new course proposals for you. Have an idea I forgot? Add it! \u00a0 Philosophy: Ethics Students will spend the semester pondering and arguing the contemporary dilemmas of 21st\u00a0century America,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ChizBlog"","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2009\/01\/edcamp-header.jpg?fit=448%2C334&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":804,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/unique\/","url_meta":{"origin":801,"position":1},"title":"Unique","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2008 Sep 9","format":false,"excerpt":"I was as surprised as the next guy at seeing a too-familiar phrase on the entryway to ROHS this fall.\u00a0\u00a0Sure, there\u2019s still a little sting we feel when we see something which feels uniquely Kimball or uniquely Dondero: three years later, and we still step carefully around each other\u2019s loyalties\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ChizBlog"","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/030209_0334_MeasuringSe8.jpg?fit=367%2C276&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":808,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/feel-of-the-future\/","url_meta":{"origin":801,"position":2},"title":"Feel of the Future","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2007 Oct 20","format":false,"excerpt":"What do joy, nostalgia, and sadness feel like when you experience them at the same time?\u00a0They feel like my walk through Royal Oak Middle School this last Saturday evening at the Open House. As a premiere, it was well done.\u00a0Administration, school board, teachers, parents, students, former Dondero teachers, even the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ChizBlog"","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/media-center.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":814,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/students-rule\/","url_meta":{"origin":801,"position":3},"title":"Students Rule","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2007 Nov 19","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Earlier this summer I offered a proposal for a number of changes to enrich ROHS school climate.\u00a0\u00a0Here is one in summary: Activate a student court to address non-disciplinary issues between students.\u00a0\u00a0There are several models to build from.\u00a0\u00a0Recommend: three justices and two secretaries per case to hold cases during lunch\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ChizBlog"","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/gavel.jpg?fit=360%2C235&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":820,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/absurdism-101\/","url_meta":{"origin":801,"position":4},"title":"Absurdism 101","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2008 Feb 2","format":false,"excerpt":"Maybe I\u2019m in the mood to vent\u2014but why should I?\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s not like our world is full of the ridiculous, packed with the absurd, stuffed with the ludicrous.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s not like I can\u2019t make sense of the planet. As I tell me Lit. of the Western World students, existentialists begin with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ChizBlog"","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/051309_0100_OnBeingLost1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":827,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/measuring-service\/","url_meta":{"origin":801,"position":5},"title":"Measuring Service","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2009 Mar 2","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been wondering what I would write of Galveston five months after Hurricane Ike. Even now, thousands are without homes, many still without water, and electricity is just now starting to be restored on Bolivar peninsula. And so we took 64 students to help: they cleared debris, assembled roofs, gutted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ChizBlog"","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2009\/03\/altfeb.jpg?fit=402%2C225&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1593,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801\/revisions\/1593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}