Wearing a Hat Indoors = Inappropriate. Explain.

In My Humble Opinion
1

With another school year about to kick off, I wanted to get some input on this issue. (Also, it’s hoped that this is the most appropriate forum but I could potentially see this as pit-bound.)

The high school where I teach has the rule that students are prohibited to wear hats once they are in the building.

Doesn’t seem like a big deal but every day, the teachers must remind students to please take off their hats. Most comply without incident but you always have a few jerky ones who will pretend not to hear and continue walking. This leaves the teacher with the option of either allowing the student to openly ignore them or to tail after the student with that: “Young man! Young man! You need to take that hat off!” which just looks silly to all in observance. Also, we have students who when asked to remove their hat, will do so but by holding the hat an inch or two above their head, continue walking with everyone knowing that they will plop it right back down once they turn a corner.

To some degree, I can see their point of view in defying a rule that seems to be wholly arbitrary in nature –in their eyes.

I see countless males of all ages wearing hats in indoor establishments all the time. I think it harkens back to days gone by in thinking that gentlemen remove their headwear upon stepping inside because that’s just the proper thing to do.

So the question - is a high school out of touch by enforcing the “No hats in the building” rule?

My thought is that this is a pick-your-battle issue. With much bigger fish to fry, why is there a need for the daily struggle in enforcing a rule that seems somewhat behind the times and which seems to reemphasize the teachers vs. the kids mindset.

Any other thoughts?

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[QUOTE=minlokwat]
I think it harkens back to days gone by in thinking that gentlemen remove their headwear upon stepping inside because that’s just the proper thing to do.
[/QUOTE]

Probably like you said, a social respect issue. And in these days of terror, certain color hats can represent gang colors ( :eek: OMG Right?).

I don’t see the big deal.

3

I think it may be a combination of the possibility of contraband being smuggled under hats or them having inappropriate images, the gang thing, and the being indoors thing.

4

[QUOTE=minlokwat]
…So the question - is a high school out of touch by enforcing the “No hats in the building” rule?

My thought is that this is a pick-your-battle issue. With much bigger fish to fry, why is there a need for the daily struggle in enforcing a rule that seems somewhat behind the times and which seems to reemphasize the teachers vs. the kids mindset.

Any other thoughts?
[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I guess I do have a few.

First, are high schools out of touch by doing this? My take is yes, they are, because I don’t think there is one person in a thousand that knows the proper etiquette for the wearing of hats, and knowing high schools, they are probably gonna get it wrong anyway.

Pick your battles? Yep, absolutely right. Times and mores change, and this is very old school thing to go to battle with. In my day, blue jeans were verbotten, fer instance.

Times do change. I would only politely suggest that there ARE places where hats are worn quite frequently, and warn your students that if they go there, they may be very truly embarrassed by someone telling them to “Get the hat off! Is THAT HOW YOUR MOTHER RAISED YOU!!??” accompanied by loud guffaws and finger-pointing at said asshole.

Otherwise, I think it’ll be OK.

<<sigh>> I’m thinking now of folk wearing hats sideways or backwards, all the time. I just think of these dumbasses as …well.. either backwards or just sideways, mentally, so to speak.

5

When I was living in a men’s mission/homeless shelter, there was a “no hats in the building” rule. The premise being, of course, that you remove your hat out of respect for “God’s House” (this was a Christian misson). After a few years of watching those in authority barking at people to take off their hats, it became clear to me that the rule no longer had anything to do with respect for “God’s House” (as if God wants us to respect inanimate objects), and had everything to do with people in authority exercising that that authority. It was just one more rule to be enforced, and I saw plenty of front-desk men and house managers with power trips who delighted in telling guys to take off their hats - often quite rudely. Hey, if you can’t catch them doing anything else wrong, you can just wait for the day they forget to take their hat off to jump all over them!

So one day I expressed my sentiments to the executive director, who happened to be my stepfather. What kind of message are we sending, I asked, when a man comes in out of the cold and the first thing he hears is “Hey, take off your hat!” I also pointed out that, if the rule is really about respecting “God’s House”, why don’t we tell the volunteers who come in to provide us with food to take their hats off? They’re giving us stuff, so they don’t have to respect “God’s House”? He must have agreed, because the rule was mostly done away with a short time later.

6

I teach high school. I am ok with the “no hats” rule, mostly because I find them so distracting in class–what I hate is the “no earings on boys” rule, which I find outdated and sexist, and even more, the “these are the rules but we need these kids in class so don’t sweat the small stuff” which makes us seem inconsistient.

But I have to tell my “no hats” anecdote. Last year I was senior class sponsor. After graduation, we chartered busses at midnight to take the kids to an all-night party at a bowling alley/arcade type place. Most of the kids know me really well and know I am pretty laid back outside of class. However, htis one kid, Tim, moved in senior year and so had never had me. We were riding in this bus and I look over and Tim has a hat on. I go “Sir! Sir! You need to take the hat off.” And he does. So I go “Nah, I’m just fucking with you. You’ve graduated. You don’t have to do what I say”. The look on his face is one of my favorite memories ever.

7

At some point we have to teach our children about social conformity. In other words sometimes we have to go along with crap that is completely obtuse, like it or not.

If we don’t do this to our children they’ll wind up thinking like those dim-wits who “REFUSE” to wear a seatbelt because it’s “My car”, “My life” and “I’m not hurting anybody but myself” " So it’s “My God given right to not wear a seatbelt!!” blah, blah, blah
Or they could wind up being one of those people who at 35, still hate the cops; “Just bause” :rolleyes:

8

Those last two words should have read: “Just because…” :smack:

9

Hats are currently part of the teen fashion uniform, and as such, shouldn’t be singled out any more than an earring or a tattoo. However, the practical side, which is important from a “good manners” standpoint, is that hats can block the view of the board for those sitting behind the hatted kid (depending on the hat, of course).

I think it’s a good opportunity to teach that piece of etiquette; no hats in the theater, no hats when people are trying to see something in front of you. (Of course, this doesn’t solve the problem of big hair, but that’s another issue.) But when they’re walking down the hall, there’s really no reason to enforce it. The rule should only be enforced when it negatively impacts others.

My husband wears a hat all the time. That’s just the kind of guy he is. He leaves it on at the table, which annoys me to no end, but only because of old rules still rattling around in my head. It really doesn’t impact anyone’s enjoyment of the meal, so I generally keep my mouth shut on the issue.

How 'bout it, Hat Guys…do you follow rules and regs on hat wearage or do you throw caution to the wind?

10

I’ve worn hats seemingly forever. I’m 48 now and I was always being told to take my hat off as early as Junior High School. I generally only wear baseball caps now, but by the time I graduated High School I probably had 25 or 30 hats of various types that I wore.

And no, I don’t follow the customs of hat wearership.

11

I find it very irritating, because back in the day when men wore hats all the time, the rule wasn’t “hats off indoors!”, it was “hats off in specific circumstances”. So it’s not exactly like they’re teaching etiquette. And anyway, if they were, they wouldn’t ask the young ladies to remove their hats. Gang colors can be worn on shirts, too, and if they didn’t wear shirts they’d get in trouble. I’d be fine with “no hats while seated in class”, in the same spirit as “no hats in the movie theater” - they’re distracting and may obstruct view.

12

By the way, my boyfriend wears hats (not baseball caps) all the time and looks very nice in them. He takes his hat off in theaters, at the table, at solemn occaisons, for the playing of the national anthem, etc. I suspect high school was a constant battle with him and the hats.

13

When I went to school, if you walked through the school’s threshold with a hat on, your hat was confiscated. You could get it back after class… on the last day of the school year. I am under the impression that it is still concidered good manners to remove your hat at any indoor semi formal gathering of people such as a restaurant, theater, workplace, school, seminar, etc. And no, I am not an old man, I’m in my 20’s.

14

As a 49 year old man, I was taught to automatically remove my hat indoors. Sure, grumpy old granddads got by with eating dinner while wearing a hat, but everyone removed their hats for certain occasions and places (national anthem, church, movie theaters, etc.).

I’m accepting that this is a social more that’s going the way of standing when a woman stands and dressing for church, and I’m voting that this is really not worth the battle.

By the way, I really, really hate those stupid backwards and sideways hats. grumble

15

I always thought this was the rule because many hats (those with brims) obscure the person’s face which makes things uncomfortable for others in the room. A teacher can’t see if a kid isn’t paying attention if they can’t see their face. Based on that I think it’s a pretty good rule.

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[QUOTE=Zsofia]
By the way, my boyfriend wears hats (not baseball caps) all the time and looks very nice in them. He takes his hat off in theaters, at the table, at solemn occaisons, for the playing of the national anthem, etc. I suspect high school was a constant battle with him and the hats.
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Yes…Mr. K doesn’t wear the hat at funerals and the like, but he’ll wear it at a restaurant.

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[QUOTE=Manda JO]
I teach high school. I am ok with the “no hats” rule, mostly because I find them so distracting in class…
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If a hat distracts you, I suspect the problem is your attention span, rather than the hat.

Why, exactly, are the kids being jerks for not wanting to follow a rule that, according to you, is archaic and trivial? And why do you insist on seeing their behavior as being against you, when it may clearly be not? What authority do they have to change a stupid rule? It looks to me like they are putting the burden right where it belongs, since your issues are fundamentally important. The administration is insisting on an anachronistic, trivial, and most likely, sexist rule – since women get different standards in terms of hats – that undermines the respect you get, the authority you have, and the relationships you can build with the studentry.

It’s not the students who put you in that situation, it’s the administration who did it by enacting useless, arbitrary rules.

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[QUOTE=Kalhoun]
Yes…Mr. K doesn’t wear the hat at funerals and the like, but he’ll wear it at a restaurant.
[/QUOTE]

You know what my mom would say, if he wore it to the table?

“Are you Jewish?”

“No? Well, is it your birthday?”

“No?” <stare>

My half-brother learned no manners, no morals, and no virtues in his life, but once my mom married my dad he learned to take his hat off at the dinner table. :slight_smile:

19

Members of the military are taught to “uncover” going indoors. The custom goes back to the days of doffing one’s headgear when entering a building to show deference to one’s superior officers. And that harks back to the chivalraic code of removing one’s hat to show deference to the “lord of the manor” or the king. Over time, it became common courtesy to take off the hat whenever entering a home. The hat removal wasn’t universal, however, and still isn’t. Cowboys with good manners will take off their hats when entering someone’s home or sitting down to eat in public, but rarely when going into an office, and certainly never when going into the barn, toolshed, equipment garage, etc. In the Army, we uncovered when going into offices or residences, but not in the motor pool garage, supply room, commo shack, etc.

Sadly, the custom is disappearing from the West, and with good reason. When dining in a restaurant, there is never any place to put one’s hat except on the public hatrack. Leave your $150 Stetson on a hatrack, and it won’t be there when you finish your meal. The same cannot be said for ballcaps, however, but young people just don’t have manners any more.

Schools have been outlawing hats being worn in the building on the pretext of suppressing gang colors and symbols. I suspect it has more to do with trying to teach kids a few manners. I continue to belive that removing one’s hat indoors is a simple show of respect and humility, and failure to do so designates one (in my mind, anyway) as ignorant or arrogant or both, and generally of low esteem.

20

If they want to wear fedoras to school, I’m all for it. If they want to wear baseball caps, they should be aware that I confiscate any hat that a person pulls over their ears to attempt to hide their iPod cord, or over their eyes in order to sleep more peacefully in my classroom.