Essay Against Dress Code

Sean, wearing a plain red t-shirt, gray beanie, and kaki’s made his way up to the front of the room to ask the teacher, my mentor, about how to insert the photos into the program he was using to design the yearbook. The teacher turned to Sean and took notice of the beanie he was wearing and asked him to remove it from his head and put it away without explanation as to why it was against dress code. Sean removed his hat, but set it on the table rather than putting it away with his belongings. The teacher took notice but didn’t push the issue any further, seemingly content that the hat was removed from his head. I continued to sit quietly and take note of the observation, curious as to if the teacher would revisit the student on his compliance,

My mentor turned to me after Sean had moved and explained that it wasn’t the rules that triggered her to ask for the removal of the hat, but rather the fact that the hat disgusted her. I didn’t push for an explanation from her as to why she didn’t like the hat, but simply settled with the idea that it wasn’t allowed because of the district dress code. However, I did think that dress code was a necessary thing that is implemented in schools. Essex made a relative point in his article StudeNt DreSS CodeS USiNg Zero ToLeraNce?, stating that, “Sound judgement by school officials should guide decisions regarding dress code violations. School officials should attempt to build consensus to the greatest extent possible that reflects the community’s values and desires.” (Essex, 2004, p. 36). While Sean was busy working with other students the teacher discreetly picked up the beanie and then moved to the front of the room and plopped it into the trash bin, to which I was seated behind. She then moved to her seat and started to do some work on her laptop briefly after throwing the hat