<p>*grade</p>
<p>Prompt: some educators have recently banned students from exhibiting visible piercings and tattoos on high shcool property feeling that body art distracts students from the main purpose of high school which is education. Tattoos and piercings, they argue, can create an atmospehre of intimidation. Others feel that body art, like other art, shoudl be protected under the law as freedom of expression. They argue that students should be allowed to exhibit visible piercings and tattoos on school proeprty as long as the work is not obscene. In your opinion, should students be banend from exhibiting visible piercings and tattoos on school property?</p>
<p>In your essay, take a position on this question. You may write about either one of the two points of view given or you may present a different pov on this question.</p>
<p>Educators banning certain activities in schools such as that of body art is a relevant issue which raises questions regarding the rights of students and the way in which education should be conducted. In my opinion, students should be allowed the freedom of expression and should not be banned from exhibiting visible piercings and tattoos on school property. This is because I believe that ones right to freely express oneself is a basic human right that should not be impeded on and the very act of banning certain activities creates a negative, oppressive environment that does not encourage the desire for students to participate and learn. Additionally, I also feel that learning to deal with the presence of things such as body art is an important social lesson which would benefit students immensely. </p>
<p>Firstly, body art and tattoos should, like other forms of personal expression, not be controlled or dictated by external authority or bureaucracy. Body art should be protected under the law as freedom of expression as a basic right and privilege. All humans deserve not to be denied of this basic rigth. Students are a important component of society – they are the young people of the future. It is important that they are treated fairly and justly and administration and educators should not unfairly exert their authority by depriving students of certain privileges. </p>
<p>Additionally, it has become also a social norm for students to feel negatively towards school. Smart, academically driven students are often referred to derogatorily as “nerds” and at times looked down upon by their fellow classmates. It is important that school administrations try to push and encourage more students to enjoy learning and view school as a sanctuary of intellectual activity rather than as an involuntary place of oppression. Establishing and initiating more unnecessary rules that control and inhibit students from doing anything would only further reinforce the negative impression of school.</p>
<p>Finally, the purpose of school is not merely to educate students academically but to educate them socially in preparation for the world outside of insular, protected educational institutions. If this were not the case, then there would be no purpose for physically going to school, and students could obtain the necessary academic education in a solitary manner, through books or through the internet. The external world will not pad or censor itself for people easily disrupted or disturbed. Thus, school is important learning area where students need to learn not only how to do calculus and to analyze Shakespeare, but also how to deal with and how not to be distracted by things such as body art.</p>
<p>To conclude, students deserve the respect and the privileges that all other members of society are offered. A school is a place of learning, of education, and allowing body art offers benefits of educating students on how to behave in certain social contexts. Banning body art, however, only creates a negative, anti-learning environment. Thus, I believe that studnets should not be banned from exhibiting visible piercings and tattoos on school property.</p>