“Take that hat off!” is a common saying for school teachers. Many schools have rules that prohibit wearing hats in classrooms. But why is that? Why shouldn’t students be able to feel comfortable wearing what they want on their heads, as long as the hat doesn’t have anything offensive? Nowadays, baseball caps in particular are very popular. Schools prohibiting hats being worn are not only being the times, they are also being discriminatory and their claims of security risks are weak. This paper will take a look at why hats should be allowed to be worn.
Times have changed. Watching old black-and-white movies, many men wore hats, but took them off indoors. It was considered offensive to wear a hat indoors. However, in today’s era, people wear hats indoors all the time. They go to sporting events, the mall, and even government buildings, and wear them indoors, and it’s not a big deal. Taking a hat off when going indoors was considered polite at that time, but other customs of that era have changed. For one thing, it used to be common for men to hold the door open for women, however, that no longer happens. Some women still appreciate it, but others feel offended. For another thing, some customs of that era would be considered offensive today. African-Americans, for instance, were treated poorly in that era, especially in the South. Bullying of younger students was common back then; today, schools don’t tolerate it. Just because something was a custom once doesn’t necessarily mean that it is right.
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Another reason why hats should be allowed is the ban is discriminatory. In the student handbook at Preston High School it states “all headwear must be removed upon entering the building” But the only headwear students are asked to remove are hats. You would never see a teacher asking a student to remove their turban or Burka. There are laws against discriminating against students who want to wear a hat for religious reasons. Yet, by allowing it for one group, but not another, they are still being discriminatory. Some may think comparing a hat to a turban is ridiculous. But when you strip it down to the basics, the turban, or yarmulke are used to express oneself. They use it to show their pride in their beliefs. So are those who wear regular hats. We may wear them for our favorite sports team, or Make no mistake, however. Students should not be banned from wearing religious headware. Instead, everyone should be allowed to wear what they want, as long as there is no blatantly offensive words or pictures on it. A school community that prides itself on being inclusive is actually being exclusive when they only allow headware to be worn for religious reasons.
A third tired excuse is security. For some reason, school officials believe someone can carry a weapon in their hat. Well, they can also carry a weapon in their pants pockets, or girls can have a weapon in their purses. Does this mean we’re going to outlaw pants with pockets, or prevent girls from carrying around a purse? Good luck with that. Malls and government buildings allow hats, and they could easily be targeted by violent people with hats for attacks. Plus, someone could possibly use their religious headware as a place to store a weapon, too.
Allowing hats in schools can enable students to express themselves. For a school that has American flags in the classrooms and likes to teach about freedom, they don’t seem like they want to practice what they preach. They can always revisit the issue if someone wore an offensive hat. But allowing students to wear them can show that they believe in the same freedom that they teach.
