The Rules of Engagement
A lot of people are pretty vocal when it comes to the subject of school rules and policies. But most of the time, the opinions are voiced by pimply-faced little cretins who come from the same gene pool as those kids who stand at the window of Hooters and giggle. So I decided to take it upon myself to write a little piece about the rules at my high school, R.H. King Academy. And headlining my piece are my two favorite rules: uniforms and music.
The first thing people usually notice when they walk into our school is the fact that it's filled with people who look the same. And why? Because we're forced to. We wear uniforms. Well you know who else wore uniforms? The Nazis, and look what they accomplished. What purpose, if any, are uniforms in schools supposed to serve? Are we supposed to learn better when we're all dressed the same? Educational value my ass. You want us to learn better, buy us some books with correct spelling, hire teachers who give a shit about us, and quit worrying so much about the kid in math class who doesn't pay attention. I guess it's just easier to make us think the same if we're dressed the same. And don't tell me it eliminates stereotyping by eliminating the social separation brought upon by clothes. Where did that argument originate, a representative for Banana Republic? And I'm not making it up, I've heard a teacher tell me that exact argument. Now that we can't use our clothes to express ourselves, we're forced to find other ways to do so. And sometimes that works out for the best -- but most of the time it doesn't. Then we get the guys who wear the King pants around their knees and force the smaller kids to be 'penny-pushers' because that's the only way they can flaunt how tough they are, now that they can't wear their Tu Pac shirts.
Another little rule of ours is the ban on CD players and Walkmans. Or, 'Walkpersons'. And for God sakes that's a whole other issue... Teachers are allowed to smoke off school property and every student knows which teachers do so and exactly where they go to do it. And I don't blame them. If I had to deal with thousands of teenagers everyday, I'd smoke like a chimney too. But we're not allowed to listen to music in the hallways, on our spares, or at lunch. Music for most kids now serves the same purpose as cigarettes do for adults – it alleviates stress. I'd rather have the kid who listens to Black Sabbath to relieve frustrations then the kid who punches out a grade 9 student to do the same. And what other places gives kids more frustration than school? You don't read about mass shootings by kids in malls, and there's a damn good reason for that. So what can they do? Well they can't smoke, smoking kills people – music doesn't. Or at least the educated people know it doesn't. Why exactly is music so feared in school? Don't tell me it's a safety hazard, because I've had it up to here with that shit. When I was a kid there weren't half as many rules in school, and I turned out just fine. Some things I understand having a ban on because they're just god damned annoying. Like a ban on cell phones, I sort of understand. But music? When there are stereos in every single classroom? Give me a fucking break.
Most of the time people give lame-ass excused for these rules. Like it helps us learn better. You're telling me that making me wear a polo shirt helps my concentration? Bullshit. You know what would help me? If one of the languages my old math teacher spoke was English. You can't blame everything on teachers, because there's too many good ones to generalize. But there's a whole whack of shitty ones out there that need to be sought out and destroyed. And I think that's what people should be focusing on. Not trying to make us all look like little employees of a major company or trying to keep us 'safe' by taking away something that helps most of us vent. But by actually helping the school system. Test the teachers, talk to the students, and give us a say once and awhile. And no, having a student council does not mean you're giving the students a voice. Because just like any other political system, the leaders do not reflect the population at large. Yes, some of us do care about more important issues than the fact that there's never any ketchup in the cafeteria. Some of us care about the fact that our education is being shafted for a better emphasis on school safety. And you know what most kids at my school say to that? "That jus ain't right, yo!"
Thanks.
A lot of people are pretty vocal when it comes to the subject of school rules and policies. But most of the time, the opinions are voiced by pimply-faced little cretins who come from the same gene pool as those kids who stand at the window of Hooters and giggle. So I decided to take it upon myself to write a little piece about the rules at my high school, R.H. King Academy. And headlining my piece are my two favorite rules: uniforms and music.
The first thing people usually notice when they walk into our school is the fact that it's filled with people who look the same. And why? Because we're forced to. We wear uniforms. Well you know who else wore uniforms? The Nazis, and look what they accomplished. What purpose, if any, are uniforms in schools supposed to serve? Are we supposed to learn better when we're all dressed the same? Educational value my ass. You want us to learn better, buy us some books with correct spelling, hire teachers who give a shit about us, and quit worrying so much about the kid in math class who doesn't pay attention. I guess it's just easier to make us think the same if we're dressed the same. And don't tell me it eliminates stereotyping by eliminating the social separation brought upon by clothes. Where did that argument originate, a representative for Banana Republic? And I'm not making it up, I've heard a teacher tell me that exact argument. Now that we can't use our clothes to express ourselves, we're forced to find other ways to do so. And sometimes that works out for the best -- but most of the time it doesn't. Then we get the guys who wear the King pants around their knees and force the smaller kids to be 'penny-pushers' because that's the only way they can flaunt how tough they are, now that they can't wear their Tu Pac shirts.
Another little rule of ours is the ban on CD players and Walkmans. Or, 'Walkpersons'. And for God sakes that's a whole other issue... Teachers are allowed to smoke off school property and every student knows which teachers do so and exactly where they go to do it. And I don't blame them. If I had to deal with thousands of teenagers everyday, I'd smoke like a chimney too. But we're not allowed to listen to music in the hallways, on our spares, or at lunch. Music for most kids now serves the same purpose as cigarettes do for adults – it alleviates stress. I'd rather have the kid who listens to Black Sabbath to relieve frustrations then the kid who punches out a grade 9 student to do the same. And what other places gives kids more frustration than school? You don't read about mass shootings by kids in malls, and there's a damn good reason for that. So what can they do? Well they can't smoke, smoking kills people – music doesn't. Or at least the educated people know it doesn't. Why exactly is music so feared in school? Don't tell me it's a safety hazard, because I've had it up to here with that shit. When I was a kid there weren't half as many rules in school, and I turned out just fine. Some things I understand having a ban on because they're just god damned annoying. Like a ban on cell phones, I sort of understand. But music? When there are stereos in every single classroom? Give me a fucking break.
Most of the time people give lame-ass excused for these rules. Like it helps us learn better. You're telling me that making me wear a polo shirt helps my concentration? Bullshit. You know what would help me? If one of the languages my old math teacher spoke was English. You can't blame everything on teachers, because there's too many good ones to generalize. But there's a whole whack of shitty ones out there that need to be sought out and destroyed. And I think that's what people should be focusing on. Not trying to make us all look like little employees of a major company or trying to keep us 'safe' by taking away something that helps most of us vent. But by actually helping the school system. Test the teachers, talk to the students, and give us a say once and awhile. And no, having a student council does not mean you're giving the students a voice. Because just like any other political system, the leaders do not reflect the population at large. Yes, some of us do care about more important issues than the fact that there's never any ketchup in the cafeteria. Some of us care about the fact that our education is being shafted for a better emphasis on school safety. And you know what most kids at my school say to that? "That jus ain't right, yo!"
Thanks.