Rules are not inherently neutral

I am currently struggling trying to find my own understanding of Ferguson's commentary about the use of rules in the classroom.  I don't think that the existence of classroom rules, by themselves, are inherently oppressive.  And I don't *think* she is saying that either.  I do agree that it is important to understand that rules are not neutral.  The rules that we write can cater to particular students more than others, and we may not even realize that they are doing that.  For example, some of the students in the article were punished for not speaking "proper English."  The rejection of the students home language patterns in this way, sends a message to the students that they, and their families, are not respected by the school or their teachers.  It's not surprising that they would develop methods to try to save face as a result.  By developing and enforcing rules that reinforce the valuing of the "normal" white culture,  school rules do end up operating as instruments of normalization that help keep those who are in power in power.  

I also think that what is the most important lesson in this article is that rules are not enforced in an equal way.  I think we all know that when we were in school some kids got away with stuff that other kids couldn't.  The ways in which these rules are enforced tends to correlate with societal expectations of race, class, and gender.  (There is a great article called "The Saints and the Roughnecks" that talks about how socioeconomic status affects this.)   Biased enforcement of school rules can also carry over into how students are tracked.  "Troublemakers" are more likely to be tracked into more remedial classes.  If race affects who is considered to be a troublemaker, then it is no surprise that tracks are racially segregated even within ethnically diverse schools.  This was certainly the case at my high school.  Segregated tracking contributes to a social reproduction that reinforces power relationships in our society.