Hat Rule: Good or Bad

By Ben Barker

Throughout life every person has to follow rules and regulations. Even though many people will argue and try to find a way to bend the rules, but if the rules are given with fact and reason everyone will have to follow them. But when the rules are inconsistent and only pertaining to certain time, style, or even person, what makes a person follow any rule if it is followed with inconsistencies. One rule that has always been inconsistent and followed students all throughout their academic careers is the no hats in school rule. With all of the inconsistencies of this rule comes the question if the rule is good or bad, or even if this rule should even exist at all

Within the past couple weeks I have been participating in an experiment testing my teachers and faculty members all throughout Elk Grove High School. To test the hat rule I have worn different types of hats such as baseball caps, winter hats (ones with the fuzzy ball on top), and an assortment of beanies. The test have spanned over a four week period, throughout seven classes a day. Everyday I wore a different hat and everyday the results have changed. When I wore a baseball cap six out of seven teachers would enforce the rule, but while I wore a beanie or a winter hat the results would average from one to two teachers out of the seven would enforce the rule. But one continuity that has remained unchanged, is the faculty members in the hallways. Throughout the past four weeks I have had only one faculty member enforce the rule on a consistent basis. To finalize my results, I took up one more experiment where I wore the same hat as one of my friends, both male and female. Within the seven classes, most teachers would tell both students or neither students to take off the hat. This proved to me that this rule was not an image thing, and helped show that illegitimacy of this rule. Does this prove the illegitimacy of the rule? Does this show how the rule is not enforce on a consistent level? Or does this prove that this rule is an unnecessary inconvenience?

Personally this rule has only inconvenience myself and many other students here at Elk Grove High School. Normally if there is a rule that the staff will enforce, the students will listen. But because this rule is inconsistently enforced, no student will take it seriously and ignore the rule all together. Many people have tried to argue the hat rule, but there has been no change. What will it take to change this rule? The only way to make this rule legitimate is to eradicate it all together or to have the rule enforced on a consistent level. To make a rule listened to and respected is to make it consistent. Many schools are inconsistent with their rules, and in result makes other rules seem less important. So what makes the hat rule legitimate to other rules, the answer it isn't truly legitimate. If our school wants to live through legitimacy and consistency, then take away the one rule that does not work, and the rule gives the students the inconvenience of something that doesn’t even affect them on a consistent basis.