Photo One

“Any situation in which some men prevent others

from engaging in the process of inquiry is one of violence;…

to alienate humans from their own decision making is to change them into objects.”   
 - Paulo Freire



Photo Taken from The Freire Project

Reflection Two: Learning via Cultural Interests

George Dei believed schooling to be impacted by the community. Community schooling is the need for a new way of teaching and learning within a diverse cultural location. Community is the basis for the upbringing of an individual. Different strategies of learning are successful on certain forms of community. And within a particular group typical intuitional learning may not work for them. Dei suggests that new practices may alter the success rate of the education within the community. There are good notions behind the idea of altering the schooling program to connect with potential pupils.

            “Schooling as a community actually builds a sense of belonging and identification within that community. A Holistic education can impact the learner and allow him or her to respond to the fragmentation of identities and self” (Dei, 2008, p.360). We learn best when there is a connection of identity with what we are learning. That is true for my knowledge of how I, personally learn. When you are able to connect your daily life to what you are learning. Growing up in a more rural community my classmates and I were more willing to participate in the learning’s when the teacher connected our learning’s’ to outdoor activities or animals which the majority owned. “For education to be meaningful and to impact human lives, it must engage all learners” (Dei, 2008, p.360) without leaving out a group from a different cultural background. When African-Americans are placed in a school separate from their community or a school which does not encompass the community it generates a hostile learning environment. Being excluded from an institution pushes the students away from learning. When uninterested in a subject who would not ignore the teachings?

            I agree with Dei, taking control of the “mainstream [of] our youths [leads] to success” (Dei, 2008, p.352). Altering the educational program to fit the learning process of all the students will be beneficial to those who statistically receive lower grades and are then racialized for doing poorly. To give a fair chance to those students being racialized there is only one simple solution. Teach them from a perspective which they will understand. Incorporate their history and their community interests. A community forms the ideals of its individuals and those individuals identify themselves through those ideas. When the community is cut out of the equation attention to education is lost. So why not encourage the educational program to incorporate community into the learning process. Dei believed this, and so do I.

Review One: School Uniforms Debate

The article written By Mansi Chitranshi on school uniforms is generally in favor of uniforms in an academic setting. I have personally never been to a school with uniforms, so when looking at Chitranshi’s pro’s and con’s lists I looked at them carefully. I see where both side of the debate are coming from.

“Reasons in Favor of Wearing School Uniforms

 •It takes away the feeling of envy between peers.

 •It helps decrease obedience trouble.

•A uniform assists the students achieve academically better. Students focus more on their education rather than on deciding what to wear.

 •Besides eliminating distraction, uniforms force students to take school atmosphere more critically” (Chitranchi, 2009).

“Reasons Against Wearing School Uniforms

 •It subtracts students' liberty to take decisions.

 •It doesn't let students feel distinctive and unique.

 •School uniforms hinder the need for the self expression of a kid. Sociologists claim that it may cause unsuitable ways of expression by kids, such as offensive usage of makeup and jewelry.

 •Uniforms take away children's identity. The pressure on a uniform dress code in school counters the spirit of unity in diversity and its merriment. It is even believed to confine socialization, an imperative feature of human nature” (Chitranchi, 2009).

Overall I agree more so with the pro’s side. Excluding the notion of striving academically based on a uniform I whole heartedly agree with the idea of envy being taken away, eliminating distractions and disobedience. As I have said, I have never had a school uniform before but there are benefits besides the ones outlined in Chitranshi’s article. When children are all wearing the same thing prejudices are less likely to arise within a school, which would therefore makes prejudices less likely to occur outside of the school as well. The idea behind the uniforms is to make the children realize their equals, right? Well, I thoroughly believe that if children treat each other equally because of wearing uniform clothing then it would greatly benefit their social lives outside of school. If they are taught that they are all equal then they will take that knowledge home with them.

The cons are all cohesive. They all pertain to the idea of children’s individual rights of expression. This raises a good point but when an argument is solely based on one point then it is a weak argument overall. Sure children need to be able to express themselves freely, but that does not necessarily mean that clothing must be that outlet. Chitranshi seemed to agree with this by saying that not all children can afford high end clothing. A uniform will only even out the playing field at school for those who are not as wealthy as their peers.

Overall, coming from a non-uniform school I believe uniforms are a good thing. They can be beneficial, and although not many schools use a uniform code of conduct I believe Chitranshi was implying that more schools should take one on. Uniforms serve a purpose. Prep schools do not only use them to make their students look good after all.

Reflection One: Stereotyping and Gendering: A Dress Code Consequences

When it comes to discipline surrounding dress, are school administrators correct in reprimanding children? Clothing is an expression of self, and when you are a child your clothes are what allow you to fit in with your neighborhood, family, and friends. When a school decides to take away that expression of self by dictating what a child can and cannot wear, is that really helping the child academically? Reproduction theory is never the less saying that our bodily appearances influence our success.

I know when I was in grade school my clothing choice had nothing to do with whether or not I received a good grade, typically my mother chose my clothes when I was in the lower grades. Time and effort determine grades and success in school. Clothing should not even be a factor when looking at the outcome of test scores. A dress code has its purposes. I’m not against a code of conduct when it comes to clothing, but there have to be limitations as to what they ban from the academic setting. Clothes which are torn, or appear “gangster” are not on the banned list yet children are punished or labeled for wearing them. The administration wants to be perceived in a certain way, and having unkempt students only stereotypes the school as a “rough” or “prep” school. We teach children to stereotype, right from the beginning of their academic career we base what they look like on how they will strive within scholastics. A code around what a child can and cannot wear only allows for gendering and stereotyping. For example, a prep school has exact dress codes of their pupils they tell the girls to wear this, and the boys to wear that. But what happens to that child who is struggling with their gender identity? My sister works in a daycare where some parents and managers will not allow her to let the young boys to play with nail polish and dress up with the young girls. What happens when you take away their form of expression of who they are in ways like this? We force boys to be boys, and girls to be girls when it comes to dress. Administration then genders children into being exactly what they want them to be and how they should act based on those roles. A girl would be punished in a prep school for wearing the boys’ uniform, and vice versa. They lay out how a child should act based on clothing choice. And they still question why children rebel against a dress code and wear what they choose anyway. Have you ever tried to herd sheep before? They are constantly going where their shepherd does not want them to. Academic superiors are like the shepherds of a flock, and they cannot just push children into looking a certain way because they wish to be perceived as academically inclined, or to have a unison flock.

In the case of Carla in Edward W. Morris’s article she was just dressing in a way which will allow her to blend in to her community. Her survival had nothing to do with her gender, a stereotype or how she wished to be perceived. It was a way to blend in so she would not stand out (Morris, 2005, pg. 27). Children are chastised for their attempt not to stand out in a less than ideal neighborhood by their superiors because the look “gangster” or what they deem inappropriate. What kind of message does that send out to the youth of today if we do not allow them to fit in with their family and friends, because we think it will cause them to suffer academically? We are basically labeling them black sheep for something they cannot control. A family’s income determines what they can afford to buy their child. We cannot and should not punish a child for living within their means, within their neighborhood. Why must we stereotype boys and girls into being rebellious or being docile? I resent the label, and I am 22. I cannot imagine how much a student in middle school or high school would dislike such a label. Can we not be who we are, and let us find our own stereotype? We all fall within a category which all seems to resemble the Breakfast Club (the rebel, the prep, the nerd, the freak, or the jock). The hierarchy within a school cannot place us within these categories; an individual must decide who they are on their own. The penalization based on what he or she is wearing is only forcing us into such labels when we may not necessarily associate with such a clique.

            After contemplating this topic I reflected upon what Saint Mary’s looks like. There is a vast variety of clothing choices and no one is reprimanded for what they wear and we all determine our own academic outcomes. Our way of dress has nothing to do with scholastic success. Does individual self-expression through clothing choices not encourage success academically more so than following someone else’s instructions?  Rebellion against authority takes time, time which could better be spent working on academic advancement. Reproduction theory was a theory created in 1977 (Morris, 2005, pg. 26), can we not live in the current generation and accept that not everyone can afford expensive clothing, and that they may choose to look a certain way for whatever reason? Attempting to herd the masses can only end in disaster or lack of focus.