TEACHERS- What gives girls bad self esteem in the high school environment?
I figure you guys see it happen all the time. So what is it? Seeing thinner/prettier girls? Girls with more expensive stuff? Its for an english paper. OH and can prettier/thinner/more wealthy girls bring down other girl’s self esteem by constantly parading their beauty/thinness/money and showing off to them?
I agree with Alicia. You also have a great start. You can bolster your argument by looking up reasons for wearing uniforms. One of the reasons often given is that it puts everyone on a level playing field.
Many girls come to school with "shaky" self esteems so when the environment is such that it promotes the best, brightest, prettiest…, the ones that are not in that category are suddenly "destroyed". As a teacher, you have to be careful to know your class and not expose the short comings of a student before the class. You can destroy a child for life.
In elementary school, I recall the day we were weighed. It was fourth grade and the scale was put in front of the class. I never realized that I was overweight until that day. I could do everything that everyone else could. I could somersault and jump rope, etc. Anyway, that day I was weighed and the teacher announced 110 pounds. The others began to tease me. For a long time, I went into a tizzy. My mother had to work "overtime" helping me regain my self esteem. That was elementary, but imagine that in a high school class. As a high school teacher, I am always reminded of that and try very hard to not put students in an untenable situation. The media also has had an effect on the self esteem of young women. They don’t look like the girls in the magazines or in the videos… Many will attempt to dress like the thinner girls and of course that results in a lot of teasing… In my high school, I am certain that many of these girls found "shelter" with the rainbow coalition.
It also takes a strong young man to approach one of these young women because he has his reputation to uphold…So this certainly is icing on the cake of shame.