Once again, school dress codes are in the news in Montana. I read a story in our newspaper this morning about middle school kids in another town who were staging a peaceful protest regarding the dress code at their school. Chiefly, they were protesting because the dress code is sexist because there are more regulations regarding girls' clothing than boys' clothing, and that the regulations seemed to suggest that boys' education was more valuable than girls' because the boys were "easily distracted" by girls' clothing and therefore the girls needed to be the ones to change.
A few years ago, Billings (and my district and school specifically) made national news because the school had added a ban on leggings and yoga pants if not worn with an appropriate-length top. A student wrote a lengthy complaint, it got heard by the district board of trustees, the story got picked up by several local news sources and then forwarded to the national news sources, and suddenly we're viral. Eventually the school eased up on that particular issue, but there are still elements of our dress code that students find frustrating: boys can't wear muscle shirts or tank tops where there is a gap under the armpit, girls can't wear shorts or skirts shorter than their fingertips or strapless or spaghetti strap tank tops.
I am of two minds on the whole issue of dress code. On one hand, I think it's great that the kids are willing to stand up for something they believe in, and that they are constructing solid arguments to back their cause, instead of just saying "I want to wear this and you aren't letting me and I'm gonna whine about it..." I agree with them that it is unfortunate that girls are treated as objects and somehow inferior to boys. I taught at an all-girls school for seven years, and it was an enjoyable experience because we didn't have to deal with the drama and annoyances that high school boys tend to contribute to the whole picture. I also agree that kids should be able to dress comfortably in order to afford themselves the best educational opportunity.
But this is where I grind to a halt. Because I really, truly do believe that many girls dress inappropriately for school (and for a lot of other situations, as well).
Many students argue that they should be allowed to express their personalities through their clothing. Well, at the school where I used to teach, the students couldn't do that, because they had to wear uniforms. So guess how they expressed their personalities? Through their actions, through their words, through their art, through their music, through their writing. Through all different ways that are so much more important and so much more lasting and so much deeper than the superficiality that is one's clothing. Clothes don't actually make the man, or the woman.
Many students also argue that they should be allowed to dress in a manner that is comfortable to them, which will enhance their educational experience. I fully agree. However, I also call bullshit. Because there is no way in hell that a short skirt, tight top, and heels are comfortable. Those don't enhance one's educational experience. If kids truly wanted to be comfortable, they would wear baggy t-shirts and sweatpants. Seriously. I don't believe you when you tell me that you are wearing that because it's comfortable; you are wearing it because you think it makes you look cute. And if you want to look cute, you should expect that others may find you cute as well.
I agree that no one should objectify females. Boys should be taught to behave appropriately. However, it must also be noted that boys' and girls' brains develop differently. Boys do not mature as quickly with regards to their behavior. They act impulsively and often do not handle decision-making well. This is why boys continue to pay higher insurance premiums into their mid-20s. So, while boys certainly need to learn to behave appropriately, they aren't at the same point in their emotional development as girls, so it's true that they'll have some difficulty with it.
While it's great that kids are expressing themselves and finding their voices, at what point did modesty become a bad thing? Why is it somehow OK and even someone's right to dress in a manner that is inconsistent with and inappropriate for the situation at hand? I often tell my students that there are different forms of writing for communication, and that those different forms are all various levels of formality. I make the comparison between those forms of writing and the way people dress, that the way you text your BFF is much the same as you would dress for the beach, casual and extremely informal. The way you write an essay is the same as you would dress for a job interview, professional and proper. But these kids don't see any difference in the way you dress for situations, so why would they understand that there are differences in the way you write?
What I'm saying is that both sides have a valid point. There are aspects of the school's dress code that are sexist, out-dated, and silly. But kids should be a little more modest and understand that shirts with pot leaves, curse words, and naked ladies are not appropriate for school. Seriously.
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Random Thoughts
1. Stalling out on weight loss is no fun. I had really hoped to be under 190 lbs by the end of the school year in 6 weeks, but I most definitely have not been losing a lb a week, which is about what I'd have to do in order to achieve that goal. I've been stalled out in about the same place for several weeks now. I need something to kick the weight loss back into gear. Really need to review what I've been eating and make adjustments. What seems to work best is eggs and bacon or sausage for dinner...weird, right?
2. Today was kind of a wasted day, on several levels. 3-year-old has a bad cold and was pretty woeful this morning, so I decided to stay home. I haven't managed to accomplish much of anything today. That isn't to say that I haven't gotten anything at all done; I did drop off the rental skis we had for the boys, bought some birthday presents for my hubby's birthday tomorrow, and ordered a birth certificate for the 5-year-old who needs to be registered for kindergarten. But there's a ton more I could have done, and instead I've mostly sat on my butt. It was also a wasted day for my students; thanks to the last-minute absence and some kind of snafu on the side of the program that arranges our substitutes, I didn't get a sub for today, which means that my classes spent their time sitting in the commons at school, probably doing nothing. They could have been reading their books, I suppose, but I doubt it. They were supposed to be working on their rough drafts, but since I wasn't there, that didn't happen either. Bummer. It means we are behind schedule. That's nothing new, but the pressure is on because we are so close to the end of the school year. With the sophomores it isn't that big a deal; they have an extra week of school, and I have a little extra time to play with as far as planning is concerned. But the seniors are under the gun. They have to finish this paper, finish a novel and take a test over it, and a presentation to prepare and give, and only five more weeks to do it. Whew!
3. Some progress has been made on the potty training front, although today hasn't been great. The 3-year-old has finally started saying "I need to potty", but he doesn't just go back there on his own, and he still often needs prompting, cajoling, or downright forcing to do his business. He's pooping in the potty now as well as peeing, which is great, but he's had a few times that he hasn't caught himself in time. He still wears a diaper at night; I really hope we'll get past that soon as well. But today, for some reason, he wanted to wear a diaper (I put him in a pull-up, hoping that he'd associate it with underpants, but he's peed in it several times today). I keep trying to convince him that he has to use the potty in order to go to school in the fall, but he doesn't seem super excited about it. Oh well.
4. I'm really excited and honored by an invitation I received. Last summer I attended a scoring conference for the National Writing Project's College-Ready Writer Program in Chicago. There were seven of us from Montana who went, and we had a great time. When I received another invitation for this year's conference, I applied and was accepted. There are only three of us going this time; some of the others didn't apply and others weren't accepted. It will be in Chicago again, and I'm excited to go back. Now that we have some idea of what's available to us in the city as far as activities and sight-seeing, we'll be a little more prepared. But then, I received ANOTHER invitation to a different conference. This is the same program, NWP's CRWP, but it's a hybrid conference, meaning participants are in a variety of locations, and I was invited to a be a table leader. That means I will be in charge of a group of scoring teachers. The location I will be in is St. Joseph, MO, just north of Kansas City. Not sure what other locations are involved in the event, but I know the leaders of the conference will be in Berkeley. I was the only one of the group I went with to last year's conference to receive this invitation. I'm assuming it has something to do with my scoring ability from last year's conference; I'm guessing invited people had to have some level of reliability and consistency to get selected. Whatever it is, I'm really excited about the opportunity. There's some training involved, and unfortunately it also means I'm going to be out of town on the last weekend of my summer vacation, which also happens to be my 17th anniversary. That's a bit of a downer. But between the two conferences, I'll make $1500 this summer, when I usually would be without an income. Not too shabby.
5. I need to start getting a list together of the things I'd like to accomplish this summer. Some of them are fitness-related, like continuing the weight loss (I'd love to be under 180 lbs by the time school starts up again) and paddling a couple times a week (even if it's just on the nearby lake); some of them are school-related, like organizing all my teaching units, constructing some new assignments for some of our texts, and getting my classroom library under control; and some of them are home-related, like getting the boys' bedrooms and bathroom redone in some fashion, getting all our closets reorganized, and reorganizing the kitchen cabinets. I want to get some kind of schedule together where I tackle one project each week. I also want to get my Magic cards sorted and put away; that's going to be a beastly task. :)
6. Today is the anniversary of my mother's death. I can't believe it has been 9 years. In some ways, it seems like it's been much longer than that, and yet at the same time it seems like hardly any time has passed. Daily I find myself wishing that I could talk to Mom about some problem, run some idea past her, or ask her some question about something going on in my life. It really doesn't ever get easier, does it?
2. Today was kind of a wasted day, on several levels. 3-year-old has a bad cold and was pretty woeful this morning, so I decided to stay home. I haven't managed to accomplish much of anything today. That isn't to say that I haven't gotten anything at all done; I did drop off the rental skis we had for the boys, bought some birthday presents for my hubby's birthday tomorrow, and ordered a birth certificate for the 5-year-old who needs to be registered for kindergarten. But there's a ton more I could have done, and instead I've mostly sat on my butt. It was also a wasted day for my students; thanks to the last-minute absence and some kind of snafu on the side of the program that arranges our substitutes, I didn't get a sub for today, which means that my classes spent their time sitting in the commons at school, probably doing nothing. They could have been reading their books, I suppose, but I doubt it. They were supposed to be working on their rough drafts, but since I wasn't there, that didn't happen either. Bummer. It means we are behind schedule. That's nothing new, but the pressure is on because we are so close to the end of the school year. With the sophomores it isn't that big a deal; they have an extra week of school, and I have a little extra time to play with as far as planning is concerned. But the seniors are under the gun. They have to finish this paper, finish a novel and take a test over it, and a presentation to prepare and give, and only five more weeks to do it. Whew!
3. Some progress has been made on the potty training front, although today hasn't been great. The 3-year-old has finally started saying "I need to potty", but he doesn't just go back there on his own, and he still often needs prompting, cajoling, or downright forcing to do his business. He's pooping in the potty now as well as peeing, which is great, but he's had a few times that he hasn't caught himself in time. He still wears a diaper at night; I really hope we'll get past that soon as well. But today, for some reason, he wanted to wear a diaper (I put him in a pull-up, hoping that he'd associate it with underpants, but he's peed in it several times today). I keep trying to convince him that he has to use the potty in order to go to school in the fall, but he doesn't seem super excited about it. Oh well.
4. I'm really excited and honored by an invitation I received. Last summer I attended a scoring conference for the National Writing Project's College-Ready Writer Program in Chicago. There were seven of us from Montana who went, and we had a great time. When I received another invitation for this year's conference, I applied and was accepted. There are only three of us going this time; some of the others didn't apply and others weren't accepted. It will be in Chicago again, and I'm excited to go back. Now that we have some idea of what's available to us in the city as far as activities and sight-seeing, we'll be a little more prepared. But then, I received ANOTHER invitation to a different conference. This is the same program, NWP's CRWP, but it's a hybrid conference, meaning participants are in a variety of locations, and I was invited to a be a table leader. That means I will be in charge of a group of scoring teachers. The location I will be in is St. Joseph, MO, just north of Kansas City. Not sure what other locations are involved in the event, but I know the leaders of the conference will be in Berkeley. I was the only one of the group I went with to last year's conference to receive this invitation. I'm assuming it has something to do with my scoring ability from last year's conference; I'm guessing invited people had to have some level of reliability and consistency to get selected. Whatever it is, I'm really excited about the opportunity. There's some training involved, and unfortunately it also means I'm going to be out of town on the last weekend of my summer vacation, which also happens to be my 17th anniversary. That's a bit of a downer. But between the two conferences, I'll make $1500 this summer, when I usually would be without an income. Not too shabby.
5. I need to start getting a list together of the things I'd like to accomplish this summer. Some of them are fitness-related, like continuing the weight loss (I'd love to be under 180 lbs by the time school starts up again) and paddling a couple times a week (even if it's just on the nearby lake); some of them are school-related, like organizing all my teaching units, constructing some new assignments for some of our texts, and getting my classroom library under control; and some of them are home-related, like getting the boys' bedrooms and bathroom redone in some fashion, getting all our closets reorganized, and reorganizing the kitchen cabinets. I want to get some kind of schedule together where I tackle one project each week. I also want to get my Magic cards sorted and put away; that's going to be a beastly task. :)
6. Today is the anniversary of my mother's death. I can't believe it has been 9 years. In some ways, it seems like it's been much longer than that, and yet at the same time it seems like hardly any time has passed. Daily I find myself wishing that I could talk to Mom about some problem, run some idea past her, or ask her some question about something going on in my life. It really doesn't ever get easier, does it?
Thursday, April 07, 2016
What Really Grinds My Gears: Fandom Edition
So, I have a somewhat random rant to embark upon.
I saw the teaser trailer for Star Wars: Rogue One this morning, and was suitably pleased. I felt that the look remained reasonably true to the original trilogy, as much as a movie that was made nearly forty years after the original using mostly CGI could.
I am a child of the original trilogy. While I don't believe I saw the first movie in the theaters, as I was not even three years old when it came out, I did see it later, and I remember seeing Empire Strikes Back at the local drive-in. My brother and I had the action figures and other assorted toys; somewhere in a box of toys my Cloud City Princess Leia may still reside, without her blaster but still in her plastic sleeveless robe. I love the original trilogy. It had a tremendous impact on my lasting love for science fiction.
I will admit to being disappointed in the prequels. I just didn't really get attached to many of the characters. While I don't revile Jar Jar Binks, as many of my peers do, I didn't feel the same swell of emotion for Padme, Anakin, or any of the other characters as I did for Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie. I've watched them a few times, certainly not as frequently as I have the originals. And that's fine. Here's a key point: I don't denigrate anyone for their enjoyment of the prequels. I know there are plenty of kids who grew up on the prequels in the same fashion as I did on the original trilogy, and that means it's part of their childhood. Perhaps they saw magic in the story that I did not. AND THAT'S FINE.
I enjoyed The Force Awakens, although not as much as the original trilogy. I was happy to see the old familiar characters (older, but still as comfortable as a pair of slippers or R2D2 Underroos), and I liked the addition of Rey, Finn, Poe, and BB-8. I did not fear Kylo Ren as I did Darth Vader and the Emperor, but it did not affect my enjoyment of the story. I felt that the storyline was, in fact, a little too similar to the original trilogy, but I figured they did so to pay homage to the original trilogy and "ease" the fans of the previous two trilogies into the new storyline. I started to cry when the Lucasfilms logo hit the screen and continued through the initial screen crawl. I teared up when Han and Chewie hit the screen for the first time. I sniffled a bit when (spoiler!) Kylo Ren killed Han. I enjoyed the movie, but I know some other diehard fans didn't. AND THAT'S FINE.
So, here's where my gears start to grind: I made the mistake of reading comments viewers had made about the trailer, and I saw the same sentiment repeated several times: "This isn't Star Wars." The gist of it seemed to be that, since it wasn't part of the initial storyline and/or since it is a female protagonist when the viewers don't remember seeing any female pilots or rebels in the original story (except, you know, PRINCESS LEIA, but whatever), this story shouldn't be considered canon. Several people said the same thing about The Force Awakens, and about the prequel trilogy, and some people complained that The Force Awakens had uncanonized Star Wars novels that had previously been considered canon. And blah de blah de blah, ad infinitum.
What I took away from all of this is that a lot of people seem to think this: "I didn't like [insert whatever it is], and therefore no one else should either."
This is part of a larger issue that I have noticed lately with regards to many participants in what we call FANDOMS (a fandom is a collective group of fans and subculture surrounding a particular subject, whether that subject is a person, a show, a movie, a music genre, etc.). I repeatedly see people post things like, "Well, I've been a fan since the beginning; you're a n00b compared to me" and "People think they are fans of [whatever], but they only know the songs from one album/the characters from one season/one book/etc." "You've only watched three seasons of [whatever]? I've watched the entire show seventeen times."
I don't understand why people feel the need to belittle others and the things those others like, especially when they like some of the same things. Doctor Who: "Oh, you like the Tenth Doctor best? Have you EVEN SEEN the Ninth Doctor? He's definitely the best, hands down." Harry Potter: "You say you like Harry Potter but you haven't read all the books? Whatever. You aren't a real fan." Star Trek: "You like ST:TNG? It wouldn't even exist without TOS. Kirk is a way better captain than Picard."
Here's the thing. Why can't people be fans and enjoy things the way they want to? Just because one person has the opportunity to cosplay a character and attend a convention doesn't automatically make them a bigger fan that someone who doesn't. Just because you happened to be born at a time when you could watch the original Star Wars when it first came out doesn't give you superiority or authority over someone who was born at a different time and couldn't. Just because you've seen a particular band in concert doesn't make you a bigger fan than someone who hasn't. And your fan-ness isn't required for that movie or that show or that actor or that band to continue existing. While it is true those things all require audiences, you alone aren't the hinge upon which these things turn. You are one in thousands, in MILLIONS. GUESS WHAT, BUTTERCUP? YOU AREN'T THAT SPECIAL, despite what your momma has always told you.
If you decide that, IN YOUR MIND, the original Star Wars trilogy is best and you won't watch any of the other movies, that's fine, but you do not have the right or the privilege to tell anyone else that their opinion doesn't matter. Their opinion matters just as much as yours does (and in the grand scheme, that is NOT AT ALL).
So get over yourself. Stop telling people what to like and what to dislike. Let them find out about it in their own way, and let them enjoy it in their own way. That doesn't mean you can't recommend something to someone, but if they happen to not like what you like, THAT'S FINE.
End of rant.
I saw the teaser trailer for Star Wars: Rogue One this morning, and was suitably pleased. I felt that the look remained reasonably true to the original trilogy, as much as a movie that was made nearly forty years after the original using mostly CGI could.
I am a child of the original trilogy. While I don't believe I saw the first movie in the theaters, as I was not even three years old when it came out, I did see it later, and I remember seeing Empire Strikes Back at the local drive-in. My brother and I had the action figures and other assorted toys; somewhere in a box of toys my Cloud City Princess Leia may still reside, without her blaster but still in her plastic sleeveless robe. I love the original trilogy. It had a tremendous impact on my lasting love for science fiction.
I will admit to being disappointed in the prequels. I just didn't really get attached to many of the characters. While I don't revile Jar Jar Binks, as many of my peers do, I didn't feel the same swell of emotion for Padme, Anakin, or any of the other characters as I did for Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie. I've watched them a few times, certainly not as frequently as I have the originals. And that's fine. Here's a key point: I don't denigrate anyone for their enjoyment of the prequels. I know there are plenty of kids who grew up on the prequels in the same fashion as I did on the original trilogy, and that means it's part of their childhood. Perhaps they saw magic in the story that I did not. AND THAT'S FINE.
I enjoyed The Force Awakens, although not as much as the original trilogy. I was happy to see the old familiar characters (older, but still as comfortable as a pair of slippers or R2D2 Underroos), and I liked the addition of Rey, Finn, Poe, and BB-8. I did not fear Kylo Ren as I did Darth Vader and the Emperor, but it did not affect my enjoyment of the story. I felt that the storyline was, in fact, a little too similar to the original trilogy, but I figured they did so to pay homage to the original trilogy and "ease" the fans of the previous two trilogies into the new storyline. I started to cry when the Lucasfilms logo hit the screen and continued through the initial screen crawl. I teared up when Han and Chewie hit the screen for the first time. I sniffled a bit when (spoiler!) Kylo Ren killed Han. I enjoyed the movie, but I know some other diehard fans didn't. AND THAT'S FINE.
So, here's where my gears start to grind: I made the mistake of reading comments viewers had made about the trailer, and I saw the same sentiment repeated several times: "This isn't Star Wars." The gist of it seemed to be that, since it wasn't part of the initial storyline and/or since it is a female protagonist when the viewers don't remember seeing any female pilots or rebels in the original story (except, you know, PRINCESS LEIA, but whatever), this story shouldn't be considered canon. Several people said the same thing about The Force Awakens, and about the prequel trilogy, and some people complained that The Force Awakens had uncanonized Star Wars novels that had previously been considered canon. And blah de blah de blah, ad infinitum.
What I took away from all of this is that a lot of people seem to think this: "I didn't like [insert whatever it is], and therefore no one else should either."
This is part of a larger issue that I have noticed lately with regards to many participants in what we call FANDOMS (a fandom is a collective group of fans and subculture surrounding a particular subject, whether that subject is a person, a show, a movie, a music genre, etc.). I repeatedly see people post things like, "Well, I've been a fan since the beginning; you're a n00b compared to me" and "People think they are fans of [whatever], but they only know the songs from one album/the characters from one season/one book/etc." "You've only watched three seasons of [whatever]? I've watched the entire show seventeen times."
I don't understand why people feel the need to belittle others and the things those others like, especially when they like some of the same things. Doctor Who: "Oh, you like the Tenth Doctor best? Have you EVEN SEEN the Ninth Doctor? He's definitely the best, hands down." Harry Potter: "You say you like Harry Potter but you haven't read all the books? Whatever. You aren't a real fan." Star Trek: "You like ST:TNG? It wouldn't even exist without TOS. Kirk is a way better captain than Picard."
Here's the thing. Why can't people be fans and enjoy things the way they want to? Just because one person has the opportunity to cosplay a character and attend a convention doesn't automatically make them a bigger fan that someone who doesn't. Just because you happened to be born at a time when you could watch the original Star Wars when it first came out doesn't give you superiority or authority over someone who was born at a different time and couldn't. Just because you've seen a particular band in concert doesn't make you a bigger fan than someone who hasn't. And your fan-ness isn't required for that movie or that show or that actor or that band to continue existing. While it is true those things all require audiences, you alone aren't the hinge upon which these things turn. You are one in thousands, in MILLIONS. GUESS WHAT, BUTTERCUP? YOU AREN'T THAT SPECIAL, despite what your momma has always told you.
If you decide that, IN YOUR MIND, the original Star Wars trilogy is best and you won't watch any of the other movies, that's fine, but you do not have the right or the privilege to tell anyone else that their opinion doesn't matter. Their opinion matters just as much as yours does (and in the grand scheme, that is NOT AT ALL).
So get over yourself. Stop telling people what to like and what to dislike. Let them find out about it in their own way, and let them enjoy it in their own way. That doesn't mean you can't recommend something to someone, but if they happen to not like what you like, THAT'S FINE.
End of rant.
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