Little Hawk Feature Magazine

How Students are affected by representation on school staffs - and the lack thereof.

The mirrors We Need T H E L I T T L E H AW K F E A T U R E M A G A Z I N E SEPTEMBER 29, 2017

CONTENTS unbelieva-bowl by lottie gidal

Pages 6-9

Violation or not? by mina takahashi

Pages 6-9

The mirrors we need by maya durham

Pages 10-13

Swatch out for fall by olivia lusala and paula mompio

Pages 14-15

1 The little hawk

LETTER FROM THE editors:

Welcome Dear Readers, We are incredibly happy to welcome you to our first issue of The Little Hawk, and specifically the Features Magazine (which you’re reading right now!) Our names are Mina Takahashi and Maya Durham, and both of us are brand new to editing the magazine.

This issue, we have a nice balance between serious topics and entertaining pieces. We start the magazine with a food story — Lottie Gidal shows us delicious

foods for the new school year that come in all kinds of bowls (you could almost say it’s unbelievabowl). Next, we have a story about dress codes, and how they affect student life on a number of levels.

On pages 10-13, there’s a story on how having representation and diversity on a faculty affects school life, particularly here at City High School.

Finally, we wrap up this issue with our fall fashion spread, which is mainly focused on minimalism and block colors, put together by

Olivia Lusala and Paula Mompio.

We hope you enjoy the magazine, we’ve put a lot of hard work and love into it.

Have a great end of September and start to your October!

See ya later,

Mina Takahashi

& Maya Durham

September 29, 2017 2

un be

l w o b lieva-

By Lottie Gidal

S

omething about the aesthetic of food served in a bowl is always appealing, and here you can eat a whole meal just by doing that.

Tomato, Avocado, and Blueberry Salad with Butter Lettuce Starting out with a salad is traditional, but on a cool September day, sipping a hot Minestrone soup just warms you from the inside out. This simple recipe mixes together a variety of garden vegetables to create a healthy soup that originated in the south of France.

It’s made even better by a garnish of fresh pesto that brings out the flavours of the other vegetables and really brings the soup to life.

White Bean Minestrone Soup with Pesto

Now comes the salad, a blend of berries, freshly cut mozzarella, pine nuts, cherry tomatoes, avocado, and whatever else is sitting around in your produce drawer. Served with dressing to taste, this fresh, springtime combination of lettuce makes you forget fall is just around the corner.

6 Features magazine

Lamb Stew with Plums Next is hearty lamb stew with plums, but don’t forget the side of rice to sop up all those extra juices. A simple base of vegetable stock, tomatoes, and onions is all you need, along with a cinnamon stick for flavouring. The latter makes the stew almost impossible to resist smelling, and simply delicious when eaten. It’s easy to make extra, so this stew can be stored away in the fridge for future sampling.

Dark Chocolate Black Cherry Ice Cream Finally, for a hint of fruit after the other courses, treat yourself to some black cherry ice cream! Feel free to grate some chocolate to sprinkle on top, and even add some fresh cherries on the side. Garnish really does work wonders for presentation. No pressure to make your own ice cream either, a nice storebought supply works wonders to cleanse your palate after a filling meal.

September 29. 2017 7

By Mina Takahashi

violation o

with dress code scandals creatin school, students and teachers e dress code and its e

or not?

ng controversies in examine the current effects

B

oys at San Benito High School in California showed up at school one day in off-theshoulder shirts to protest their school’s sexist dress code. Dress code policies are a highly debated topic, with new stories and posts online about questionable decisions appearing almost every day. Seventeen recently put together a list of the Top 10 most outrageous dress code scandals, which included violations for spaghetti straps, knee length skirts, and even collarbones.

“I was dress coded once in junior high,” Audrey Friestad ‘18 said. “I went into math class first period and I was wearing a tank top with straps two inches thick. At the start of class, there was an announcement that said you can’t wear your tank top if the straps aren’t a certain width, and then my teacher called me out as well. I was allowed to wear the shirt for the rest of the day, but I was pretty upset.

At City, I’ve worn clothing that possibly could have been dress coded but it’s never happened.”

Although many schools have strict dress codes, some schools are reconsidering their policies. A recent KWWL story described an Iowa teen who was recently dress coded for wearing an off the shoulder top. The Nevada High School teen said she wore the shirt because it made her feel confident, and that she didn’t know it was against the dress code. Instead of punishing her, the principal is considering revising the dress code. He wants each student to feel comfortable in their own skin and does not want a dress code policy to get in the way of student confidence.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2009, 19 percent of public schools require uniforms, and 60 percent of schools enforce a strict dress code. As for City’s current dress code, students and teachers agree it is fairly lenient. Many were not even aware there was a dress code, as it is not widely enforced.

September 29, 2017 9

schools enforce a strict dress code. As for City’s current dress code, students and teachers agree it is fairly lenient. Many were not even aware there was a dress code, as it is not widely enforced.“ Our current dress code has certain extremes [showing too much skin, or having offensive words or images on shirts] that are enforced to try and make sure that students have appropriate dress,” Steve Dodge, an economics teacher said. “But other than that, students are given a lot of latitude in what they can wear to school.”

English teacher Anna Basile was not even aware of a specific dress code.

“I think the current dress code is fairly lenient and creates an environment where kids can show their individuality with what they wear,” Basile said. “I think that we’re certainly not as strict as other schools in the area.”

In many schools, uniforms are a popular alternative to creating a specific dress code.

“I’m on the fence between wanting the dress code to be more lenient, because it gives people the freedom to express themselves, or having uniforms so that people who don’t necessarily have enough mon-

10 September 29, 2017

ey to buy new and trendy clothes are less worried,” Keyauna Miller ‘19 said.

Although uniforms seem to be a simple solution to dress code issues, they limit students’ freedom of expression.

“I certainly wouldn’t implement

uniforms,” Basile said, “although I do see the value in some schools choosing to go that way. I think uniforms can be an interesting equalizer, certainly in the teaching field, there are a lot of studies that show the pros and cons of uniforms.

I am all for expression, but there are

some things that are not necessarily academically professional that people wear.”

Some people believe that a strict dress code can also create an environment in which students feel more self-conscious.

“I think there’s more body confidence with a more lenient dress code,” Miller said.

For Friestad, clothing should make one feel confident, but students should exercise good judgement.

“I feel like if people feel self-conscious about their body and what they’re wearing, they should be able to cover themselves up, and if they’re more confident, they should be able to show a little bit more,” Friestad said. “If I put on something that’s really risky, I’ll often feel really self conscious throughout the day and then I won’t end up wearing it. I just feel like you should just know where your limit is.”

For girls in particular, tank top straps and leggings continue to be a controversial topic.

“I think there is a certain point where you have to tell people what to wear and what not to wear. I think that people should be allowed to express themselves with clothing yes, it can be distracting sometimes,

but I don’t agree with teachers saying ‘girls can’t wear tight leggings because it’s distracting this guy and he can’t learn,’” Friestad said. “I think we should be able to wear whatever we want, and people should just use their own judgement.”

“Overly strict dress codes definitely fall more in the court of managing young women and what they wear. I think in a lot of ways that that is unfair, especially when a school tries to sell the idea that they’re trying to protect a distraction-free environment. I think that comes across as a little bit disingenuous, especially when we’re talking about things like leggings,” Basile said. “But I think there’s also that line, in that at school, we’re grooming students for their future. If that gets lost in the mix, and students think it would be appropriate to show up to work wearing whatever they might wear on Friday night, then we’ve kind of missed the mark, too.”

Dodge agrees that from a teacher’s perspective, a stricter dress code would help students realize how they should portray themselves in a professional environment.

“I think it’s important for students to express themselves and be able to choose proper attire for

their location, whether it be work or school, and that we can help them make good choices,” Dodge said. “If someone is making bad choices, it is the faculty’s responsibility to talk to students so that they realize that in a professional setting like a school or workplace, they should be thinking about dressing a little more formally than they might in the summer with their friends.”

However, despite the current lenient dress code, teachers have never found clothing to be a distraction to the learning environment in their classroom.

“I’ve had some situations where I can’t believe people would wear a certain outfit to class,” Dodge said.

“I’m glad that I can always see what my own kids are wearing to school, because in some instances, I wonder how students have gotten out of the house in what they wear.”

“I’ve never known a dress code violation to be an urgent distraction in my classroom,” Basile said. “Distractions happen for a lot of other reasons than what students have on.”

Have you ever been dress coded at school?

September 29, 2017 11

10 The little hawk

The Mirrors We Need how Students are affected by representation on school staffs - and the lack thereof.

By Maya Durham September 29, 2017 11

M

cover art by Kim Bates

12 The little hawk

ariam Keita ‘20 has never seen herself in a teacher.

Keita, who self-identifies as a first-generation Muslim Gambian-American, said she could count on one hand the number of interactions she’d had with a black teacher or administrator.

“Having a good teacher is always going to be a priority. I value having a good education over a teacher’s background at any point,” she said. “But it’s also irrefutable that kids need accurate representations of themselves.”

Keita’s experience is one shared by students across the country — according to the Harvard Graduate School of Education, even though a majority of students are people of color, almost 80 percent of teachers are white across the country. This enormous gap can be detrimental to students’ experiences at school.

“I am a big believer in the research that states that students do better in a school that has at least one faculty member who looks like them, I think it’s important,” Principal John Bacon said. “I think for the same reason our student diversity enriches our school, the same thing happens on our faculty in terms of learning from each other and getting different perspectives.”

The Century Foundation’s report states that “as the nation becomes more racially and ethnically complex, our schools should reflect that diversity and tap into the benefits of these more diverse schools to better educate all our students for the twenty-first century.”

The report argues that having strong diversity increases educational opportunities, as well as real-world skills that stem from experiencing different cultures.

Ms. Hanan Rahmatallah, a new hire at City High this year, agrees with this.

“I feel that I am always learning from my students.

I respect everybody in how they act and what they believe, as long as they are not hurting anybody,” she said. “[I used] to be a translator, I worked with English Language-Learner (ELL) students, and I spent every day learning about where they all came from, how their backgrounds shaped them, and I loved it.”

These connections stretch beyond the educational level — they can also be quite personal.

“Sometimes I think students of color feel a little closer to minority faculty members,” Gerry Coleman, City High’s Dean of Students, said. “Because they might feel they have similar experiences. And when you live in a place that has limited diversity, [you can find yourself] wanting to see a face that looks a little more like yours.”

Coleman continued to say that building relationships, regardless of race, ethnicity, or orientation, is what matters most in a successful and meaningful high school experience.

Rahmatallah, who identifies as Muslim, agrees that

reflections of students in the faculty is important.

“I had a young Muslim woman, a student, come up to me, and ask me where I prayed at school,” she said.

“In our religion you have to pray at certain times of the day, and if you don’t make it quite on time it’s not as good. I offered her my room to pray in.”

Despite the benefits of having minority faculty members, it can be difficult for people of color, especially immigrants, to get jobs in education.

“When I came to this country I thought it was hard to find a good job unless you have a good education and connections,” Rahmatallah recounted. “I was a teacher in Iraq for a long time, but I had to get my teaching license in America, I had to learn the culture and the system; I spent forever trying to find any job in the Des Moines school district, [but they] told me it would be hard to find a job without a reference within the district.”

Rahmatallah spent a couple of years as a translator for ELL students in Des Moines, and while she was working she was also learning. She would observe how teachers would interact with students, how they would go about planning their lessons. If she had questions, she would ask them. Eventually, she got a job as a math teacher at Hiatt Middle School in Des Moines.

Bacon corroborated Rahmatallah’s experience — he often finds when hiring, the majority of people of color are hired in non-teaching positions.

“There is not a high number of minority applicants for teaching positions. We always will hire the best person, but we’re very interested in a diverse applicant pool, ” he said. “That being said, the area we have been more successful with is in positions like iJAG coordinator, or other non-teaching jobs. With teaching positions there

are certain legal limitations in terms of licensing and stuff, but with alternative positions there is a little bit more flexibility.”

In an article by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, they observed that minority teachers who are unhappy in their schools are more likely to leave the profession than white teachers, who are more inclined to transfer to wealthier schools.

“It is really important to keep it clear that there are really successful schools serving high-poverty student populations that actually are supportive workplaces,” one of their sources said. “It’s just, there aren’t enough of them.”

The Iowa City Community School District has been making efforts to hire more representative faculties, as presented by Kingsley Botchway III. In 2015, the school board approved plans to “increase staff diversity,” and currently have a goal of “employing 15 percent non-white administrative, support and teacher staff, which includes counselors, by 2020.”

Though there are steps being taken to increase the steady increase of diversity, there is still an immense need for a variety of perspectives and experiences within schools continues to grow.

“Having accurate reflections and representations of yourself in school tells young people of color that you can exist and thrive in systems that have historically oppressed us,” Keita said. “If a black person can exist in a white place and succeed, that tells me that I too can succeed.

“When you live in a place If a Muslim can go through a system that has limited diversity, that has so many Islamophobic you can find yourself traits to it and come out unscathed means that I too can come wating to see a face that that out unscathed. Humans are social looks a little more like beings. Everything we do relates to ensuring our survival — having yours.” people we can look up to ensures - Gerry Coleman that we can survive.”

September 29, 2017 13

swatch out for fall Photos by Olivia Lusala and Paula Mompio

September 29, 2017 15

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