I really don't understand what's the matter with Schools these
days.
Apparently, their rules are enforced over seemingly trivial
pursuits, while behaviours and attitudes of students, are pretty
much untethered.
Looks like Regulatory Retadardation to me...
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GIRL'S DESPERATE PLEA TO SCHOOL
Stop picking on my hair
By Veena Bharwani
January 27, 2007
TIE your hair up if it's long. No outlandish or punkish hairstyles.
And certainly no dyeing or streaking.
PRI 1: Siti (above, right) with her sister in an album photo. Even
as a child, Siti had always had lightly-streaked hair. Her mother
had to show her baby photos to her teachers before they believed
her
Such rules are common at girls' schools. But what happens if you
are born with natural light brown streaks?
Take the case of Eurasian student Siti Mohd Said Galistan.
The Sec 4 Normal-Technical student at Paya Lebar Methodist Girls'
School (PLMGS) said she has faced countless scoldings and spot
checks from teachers who don't believe her streaks are real.
According to her, the school even threatened to have her hair
genetically-tested after her parents spoke to The New Paper about
her predicament.
'They just refused to believe the streaks are real. It's very
frustrating as every year the same thing happens. I explain and I
get scolded,' she said.
Siti, 16, said she was born with light brown streaks in her
hair.
Her father, Mr Galistan Joseph Peter, 54, has similar streaks in
his hair, said her mother, Madam Salamah Ali, 56, a
housekeeper.
Two years ago, Siti said the school even called in a hairdresser to
see if Siti was telling the truth about her hair.
'The hairdresser told them my streaks were natural,' she said.
Hairstylists we spoke to said it was possible to tell between
natural streaks and artificially-coloured streaks by looking at the
roots.
If the roots also display the streaks after one month, then its
natural.
According to Siti, after the hairstylist had verified that her
streaks were natural, her form teacher issued her with a 'hair
pass' as a form of explanation for other teachers in the
school.
For two years, Siti carried the pass with her. But according to
her, the pass, which has yet to be renewed this year, never
worked.
SAME OLD PROBLEM
SEC 1: Siti gets into trouble in school for having streaked hair.
In Sec 2, she had to carry a special 'hair pass' explaining that
the highlights in her hair are natural
In fact, Siti had been having this hairy problem with the school
ever since she joined it in Sec 1.
Siti's mother said she has made several trips to the school to
explain that Siti's streaks are natural.
She has even gone with baby photos of Siti.
Frustrated with the many complaints this year, Madam Salamah
decided to dye Siti's hair dark brown to avoid all the
problems.
'I didn't dye it black as it won't be close to Siti's natural hair
colour, which is dark brown with light brown streaks.
'Of course, I'm not a professional hairdresser. And so after I dyed
it, unfortunately, her hair still appeared to be streaked.
'It's too costly to go to a hairdresser and do it. It would cost
$75. I'd rather use the money at the market,' said Madam Salamah,
who has four other children and earns $1,800 a month.
She sent Siti to school with an explanatory note on why she did
it.
'I didn't want anymore fuss. I just wanted it to be over. I thought
with her hair dyed totally, she won't have any more
problems.'
SEC 4: Siti with dyed hair. Her mother (left) dyed her hair in a
last ditch effort to make her hair look 'normal' -- HEDY KHOO
However, during a spot check on 11 Jan, Siti said she was singled
out and scolded again - this time for having dyed hair.
Siti was not allowed to go to class until her mother rushed down to
explain.
Said Madam Salamah: 'I took a cab down in the middle of the work
day and they told me Siti's hair had to be dyed a much darker
colour.
'They wanted me to dye Siti's hair in front of her form teacher and
the principal. Why should I do it? Hasn't my daughter been
humiliated enough? Dyeing and re-dyeing is very bad for her hair
and scalp.
'I paid $24 on a taxi rushing down to talk about the same issue.
It's just ridiculous and a waste of time and money,' said Madam
Salamah.
'Why can't they focus on more important things like her N Levels,
which are coming up this year?
TEARS OF FRUSTRATION
'My daughter has come home and cried many times in frustration
because of this,' added Madam Salamah.
Siti claimed all this has affected her morale.
'I really don't like school anymore. I can't concentrate because of
this,' she said.
When contacted, the school declined to go into details of Siti's
case and would only say in an e-mail response that they had met her
parents and that the issue had been resolved.
On their hair policies in general, the school said: 'Students
should not have coloured or highlighted hair when they are in
school uniform.'
But what happens if a student's hair is naturally coloured? The
school did not answer.
Siti's elder sister, Shahida Said, 19, a former PLMGS student, said
that hair rules in the school were even stricter in earlier
years.
'When I was in Sec 2, the school did not allow students to have
long hair. If your hair was below your collar, you had to cut
it.
'Your hair was not allowed to be too short as well, as it isn't
feminine. A schoolmate of mine had to wear a wig to school because
her hair was too short.'
Another former PLMGS student confirmed this incident.
Said the girl, who declined to be named: 'That girl cut her hair so
short that she looked like a boy. The school gave her a wig to wear
as punishment.
'The didn't want us to have long hair as they didn't want us to
waste time making unnecessary trips to the toilet and comb our hair
too much.'
The New Paper understands that PLMGS has since adjusted its rules
and now allows students to have long hair.
