I think that the easiest way to help students learn for cultural icons instead of just copying them is to make sure, as the teacher, that the objective of the lesson does not focus on creating art like the artist or icon but using them as a support and source of inspiration. For example when I was shadowing an art teacher in high school, instead of having her junior high students copy the work or style of the impressionists she showed their work and then turned it into a photography project where students were supposed to capture light outdoors like Monet, Renoir, and others had framed their subject matter in the changing light of the day. That way, students cannot copy the work but are forced to use it as an inspiration. I think most students resort to copying when they are lost for inspiration and the teacher has not presented them with a creative challenge.

If these images are considered inappropriate but the student wants to include them I think that I would in most cases let them use it but let them know they cannot display it (thanks for the idea Rachel) and also make sure that the school and parents know that it is being made and for what intention the icon/symbol is being used. However, I think I will always challenge my students to think outside the box and be limited to the images/icons/symbols they are used to but to have them make their own that even more significant.