Marilee EDEL (English Teacher – MPHS) – Guest Columnist
Andrew NGUYEN - Guest Columnist
Opinions are like noses, everybody has one. So, here is mine: chivalry IS, in fact, dead! Now that I have your attention, albeit at the expense of several clichés, I have an actual important point. Here it is: take your bloomin’ dirty hat off when you’re in a building.
I realize that teachers and administrators are constantly after students to remove their hats in the building. I further realize that students believe that teachers and administrators have nothing better to do than gripe about wearing hats, but there is a reason, rather – several reasons, to remove your hat indoors.
Before we get too far into my opinion, let me tell you what I found by doing a little research. Emily Post (Oh, right, you don’t know who she is…she is the leading expert on etiquette – you don’t know what that is either? Hhhmmm – manners), in 2004 provided some historical information on the origin of the courtesy of removing a hat in a building. She said, “Hat traditions and manners may have originated in medieval times when knights lifted their face guard to show who they were, or in the days of the cowboys when a hat was lifted and removed to show there was no weapon hidden underneath. It became a sign of respect to others that has always remained.”
To my knowledge, we don’t still wear armor today, so why do we still remove our hats? The current answer is common courtesy. It is considered chivalrous or polite to remove your headwear when you enter a building. As teachers and administrators, we are no longer charged with the simple job of teaching students reading, writing, and arithmetic (I’m trying to see how many clichés I can include in one article), we are now also responsible for teaching character education. As a result, we teach the courtesy of removing a hat in a building.
Some would argue against such an old fashioned tradition. I found one post on a blog, about wearing hats indoors, that said, “There was a time when a man or woman wasn’t “fully dressed” without a hat, so what is so rude about covering your head indoors, especially when the woman next to me may be showing cleavage?” Good point. That’s why we have a dress code, too.
So, back to my opinion…I have three thoughts. The first is that it is still considered common courtesy, so why not take your hat off indoors? Is there anything offensive about taking it off? No. So just do it. If someone asks you to do something, it is polite to respect their wishes. The wishes of the school are that you lose the hat.
Second, have you ever driven on an old, two lane country road in west Texas between several small towns? I have – and something special happens on those roads. When you pass an oncoming vehicle, the driver of the approaching vehicle will barely lift his hand off of the steering wheel and give a slight wave. He will also look into the eyes of the other driver as he passes. And, he will nod his head. This is the west Texas way of saying, “Hi” to fellow drivers. It feels nice. People there are kind and they consider others. I would not be writing this piece to post on a blog at a school in rural west Texas. They know.
Finally, and this is the reason my students all hear, there are flags displayed in every classroom of our school. It is considered disrespectful to wear head covering where the flag is displayed. My grandfather fought in World War II, my father-in-law in Vietnam, my brother in the first Iraq conflict, and my nephew in the current war in the middle-east. I have the utmost respect for those who fight for our freedoms. When my grandfather died, his casket was draped with the American flag because he fought for us to have the freedom to wear hats. He fought for us to have the freedom to wear a hat indoors, or when the National Anthem is played, or when a flag is flown. He fought for our freedom to burn flags in protest, and a whole list of other stupid practices. But having freedom shouldn’t mean having ignorance.
So, why does all of this matter, you ask. Because chivalry really isn’t quite dead, yet – it’s on the brink of extinction. American society has thrown manners and etiquette out the window and we need to hang on to what little we have left. If that means removing your hat when entering a building, then do it. It shows respect to our ancestors and respect and admiration for our country. No one is asking you to go fight in the Middle East or clean landfills in Zaire or collect bodies in Haiti. I’m simply asking you to please remove your hat.
