As I read, several images popped into my head. Most vivid was of "Mr. Holland's Opus" and William H. Macy's character attempting to keep dress code standards over the course of 40-50 years. I know it sounds like a strange example, but it was my immediate thought. This man couldn't see how subculture was permeating his students' lives and fought to keep the status quo unchanged; he fought to throw his view of dominate culture on top of his students and squash their reality and the reality of the world.
I think, sometimes, this is one of the most severe forms of student "oppression." I'm not arguing against a dress code. We have no need to further the idea that showing your underwear or more is acceptable, but we do need to explain why we feel this way and take into account our students' realities. One of the things I think of is facial hair for guys. I have subbed at a school where male students cannot have any facial hair. They would be sent home to shave if it was out of control, yet the principal had a goatee. Why, then, the institution of this rule? I asked him one day. He said it was because that is the way it has always been there.
Why? Why is that the reality of the school when the reality of the students is that their heroes and role models have beards? This is a silly example, but one that points the issue at the heart of our reading. The dominant culture controls without care for the subordinate/subculture. How then do we bring legitimacy to the students' individual realities while still fostering a system of unimpeded education?
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