Readicide, Chapter 2

It always amazes (and depresses) me that grown, educated adults can sit in a room and argue endlessly over whether a student's pants are too baggy or whether a student should be marked tardy if he or she is not yet seated when the bell rings. I am not making this up. One year the teachers in my school spent an entire year arguing about what color to paint our school. And every time we had one of those discussions, I thought about the classrooms a few feet away missing the one thing our students desperately need: interesting books. (Gallagher 31)

Wow. I think I read this passage at least three times in a row, then underlined, starred, and highlighted the entire paragraph. After spending my own K-12 experience in a similar environment, I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement and smile with the resonation of Gallagher's words in my own experiences. Is dress code important for student safety? Yes. Is tardiness an issue in schools? Sure. Do we spend way more time in schools talking about these "little things" than we do talking about important, lifelong issues, such as literacy and curriculum? Absolutely.

I'll never forget walking up to my high school's back entrance on my first day of senior year when I happened upon a large sign that read "ULHS Dress Code Starts Here." The principal had made a declaration in the community newspaper about his "zero tolerance" policy on dress code violations and how he was setting his agenda around this issue. Teachers were assigned to stand at all school entrances enforcing this dress code with prison-guard vigor. "Tuck that shirt in!," one teacher would shout. "Ashley, come here! Let me measure the length of that dress!," another would sneer.

Did the high school have an inordinate amount of school violence? No, not more than any other rural high school. Did we have a severe problem with provocative behavior resulting in an embarrassing incident for the school? No, not more than any other school our size. Had we met AYP that year, or the year before? Absolutely not. Is there a extensive bookstore located anywhere in the county? Nope, not that either.

Here we have a school on the Needs Improvement list, unimpressive test scores, very low SAT scores, and a lackluster Advanced Placement program, yet the top of the agenda for the school year was dress code. As a future teacher, I can infer that many of the teachers were peeved about this agenda, yet I remember specific teachers who kind of got a "high" off of barking orders about tank tops vs. sleeveless shirts and the every notorious act of "busting slack." As teachers, we have to enforce the rules of the administration, but student learning should always be our top priority. I sincerely question the teachers who love the power trip of enforcing rules upon teenagers--is their passion teaching, or social control?

Here's to more books and reading!