“The Changing Educational Needs of 21st Century Students”
Good morning male and female students of Commonwealth Parkville School. I’d simply say “students,” but apparently there is a difference. If you were to open up your school’s Student Handbook, you’d see its mission statement printed clearly on the very first page. It reads as follows: “Commonwealth-Parkville School is an English-speaking college preparatory PPK-12 school committed to provide for the changing educational needs of 21st century students.” I have taken the liberty of emphasizing a few keywords. Although the school has succeeded in doing so quite fairly in many departments, it seems to have forgotten the dress code somewhere back in the 18th century. The 21st century is an era of equality, a time of questioning the social constructs telling us whom we can and cannot be, and for the sake of this article, it is a transition from the battle of the sexes to the battle against sex.
For starters, let’s talk about hair. We all have it. Boys’ hair and girls’ hair? Well, they are both made of the same material… they both grow… there really isn’t any difference other than the rules imposed upon them, is there? Under the Dress Code section of the student handbook, it is stated that “hair must be neat and clean,” and that is pretty much the only rule that applies to both boys and girls. The list continues on for the boys: “[hair] must be short, above the shirt collar, not covering the ears; it’s length must not interfere with the education process.” What the dress code fails to explain is how long hair can be of interference with education on boys, but at the same time perfectly acceptable on girls. Not to mention that our school has seemed to have absolutely no problem with short hair on girls. I remember my first day of seventh grade here at Commonwealth and being told I’d have to cut my hair if I wanted to be allowed back into school the next day. Meanwhile, the girl beside me showed off a thick head of blonde hair that reached past her hips. Even then I wondered how this made sense. Under the school’s belief statements on the handbook’s first page, it is indicated that our school understands that “differences in culture and learning styles strengthen the school community.” If so, why is our dress code prescribing cookie-cutter cultural practices to its students?
There is a second matter the handbook strongly emphasizes on: boys cannot wear earrings. In fact, it is so against it for some reason that it says so a total of four times!
“Boys may NOT wear earrings.” (p. 29)
“Young men are not permitted to wear earring(s).” (p. 30)
“Boys are not allowed to wear earrings.” (p. 30)
“Boys’ earrings are not permitted.” (p. 31)
What I’m wondering is: why? In ancient times, earrings were actually predominantly worn by males. Asian, Egyptian, and Assyrian men wore earrings to boast their upper class status. It wasn’t until the 13th century that the Catholic Church prohibited piercings to protect the idea of the natural human body as created in the image of God. This marked the shift of earrings as a symbol of wealth, to a symbol of rebellion more common throughout the lower class. So, the indecency many conservatives see in men wearing earrings today is actually rooted in a strict 13th century religious practice. As you can see, the social meaning of earrings has evolved throughout history. Therefore, it can be concluded that the earring itself has no meaning, no stain of indecency; these connotations are merely concepts imposed on us by a traditional society. Yet, as 21st century students, we are the future of society, so we must make of it what we deem fair. In the handbook, it actually says that “young women may wear one pair of earrings, one earring per lobe.” However, as we all know, many of our female students unknowingly wear several more earrings than are technically allowed. Because nothing has ever been said about this, many of the girls at Commonwealth don’t even know this rule exists and have been accidentally breaking dress code for years. Yet, if a boy were to show up to class someday with even ONE earring on, he wouldn’t last first period without being sent to the office.
Today, many successful, respectable men boast their pierced ears, and are working towards debunking society’s past assumptions. As we are taught at school from a very young age, making assumptions is wrong. “Do NOT judge a book by its cover.” However, the dress code goes on to assume that only a girl would want to wear a skirt: “black school issued skirt (optional for girls).” Why only optional for girls? If a male student were to want to wear one, shouldn’t he at least have the option? Once upon a time, women fought for the social acceptance to wear pants, something that at the time was seen as odd-looking and wrong. SPOILER ALERT: I’ve seen the future... and it has unisex skirts!
Over the summer, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit a few universities. Among these, Columbia University in New York really stood out. Why? Well, it is one of the highest ranked universities in the nation, with top-notch academics and some of the brightest students in the world, and even so, I’d look around and see so many interesting people. Young men and women walked around campus flaunting all different kinds of hairstyles, piercings, and clothing, independent of their identified genders. It was astonishing how the students’ physical appearances didn’t “interfere” with their studying habits or countless academic successes. In addition to this, my tour guide enlightened me on the school’s Open Housing in which “two students, regardless of sex, gender, or gender expression, are permitted to share a room in Columbia’s residence halls [to] take into consideration varying identities and preferences, and to ensure a safe and comfortable environment for all students.” Never had I seen a learning community in which sexual boundaries were so heavily disregarded. This was a place where people were truly seen as equals, not female students or male students, but simply students. Many of us on the tour expressed our astonishment and satisfaction with this fact to our tour guide. She simply responded, “Well of course! After all, we are a 21st century university!”
