It's a joke that anyone is against the idea of shaming pupils.
This is Singapore, where bond breakers and litterbugs are lumped
together and given the same treatment - shame for misdemeanours.
It's in our culture to value face, so the more we value it, the
more it will be an effective carrot to dangle in front of our
budding young asians. They are growing up in Singapore, and they
should know that this is how our society functions, where the sense
of moral righteousness will lead people to shame the wrong-doers,
whether it will cause emotional damage or not. If you don't teach
them when they are in school, are you suggesting that you let them
experience it when they are working, and could possibly lose their
job, status and moral standing, like a former NMP of ours suffered?
Not just males, but females who do not intend to go into the Army,
should be given the wake-up call of what Singapore society expects
of them.
Since we believe that schools should go beyond just educating the
mind, then I don't see how it is improper for schools to teach
pupils that there are consequences for behaviours, be they
reasonable, illogical, light, outrageous, blah, blah, blah. It's up
to the pupils to decide whether to act in a manner they deem fit,
but surely, with the awareness that a consequence will be attached
to their action. If they wish to test the waters, make sure they
come well equipped and dressed for the occasion.
On the matter of the uniform, it's true that it may have nothing to
do with the pupils academic studies, but it speaks a loadful of
their social and emotional development. Whether you like it or not,
the way the uniform is worn speaks volumes of the wearer (look at
the ongoing debate of the Singapore Girl iconic status being
challenged. It's all about the appearance and what the appearance
symbolises). Anyone who dares to say that they should not be judged
by the way they dress is just being myopic and unrealistic about
the nature of humans. FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT, and we are always
told not to JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER. But just as we are
superficially motivated by looks, and spend tonnes of dollars on
cosmetics, fashion and plastic surgery, I challenge the teens of
today to say that they should not be judged by their appearance,
even though they can spend hours in front of the mirror preening
their Chicken Little hairstyles, spend large aounts of money at
Glamorshot or Hollywood Makeover for their prom nights, and cry
over the one little pimple that sprouts on their adolescent face.
Even adults are victims of the same kind of vanity, so please,
let's not fool ourselves into believing that pupils should be
judged ONLY by their academic grades in school, because it is not
REAL.
To those who say that schools should modernise their rules, I then
say - BY HOW MUCH? Whose yardstick? The Sec Ones, or the Sec
Fours/Fives? The Primary Ones, or the Primary Sixes? The
Principal's or the Teachers'? The conservative father, or the
ultra-chic mother who owns fashion salons? The fashion trends set
by Urban, or the ones dictated by the income of the majority going
to the school?
Since it is a uniform for the rich and poor, and one that allows
for all sectors of morally-upright members of Singapore society to
be proud of, it is inevitable that pupils, who tend to follow
fashion trends of pop icons (WHO ARE NOT STUDENTS LIKE THEM AND
DON"T HAVE TO REPORT TO SCHOOL) will stick out like sore thumbs and
be subject to the Discipline Master's rants and raves. And please
don't talk about creativity. Unless a pupil comes to school dressed
in bottle caps and wears shoes made of car metal plates and pandan
leaves, any other attempt to be "Creative" is a mere copycat of
something found on a TV / Sport personality, or taken from a
teenage fashion magazine!!
Did the Principal have the right to snip off the fringe? When in
Rome, Do as Rome. If they don't like it, they can always ask to be
transferred to another school, and if you're the parent and you
object to being transferred, then home school your child. You ahve
rights, and you can exercise your rights, but please don't insist
that your rights be shoved in the face of the one who is running
the organisation (aka the Principal), and insist that every child
in the school be subject to the whims and fancies of your fashion
dictates. I'm certain that some will say that the school shoud do
away with rules against hair. Let's say that your child/you are
made to sit beside a boy who has beyond shoulder-length hair as he
is inspired to go back to his roots, and practises unhygienic
habits of not washing his hair for at least two weeks, and has
dandruff, smells offensively and may even house ticks. If the
school were to adopt this ruling of having NO ruling on hair, then
this child should be allowed to sit with you/yours, and share his
tick-infested follicular party, and not be guilty of infecting your
child/you with ticks / dandruff, or of blasting your olfactory
senses with BO!!
And if these girls wish to wear coloured undergarment that is
obvious, they should not get upset if they have people staring at
them at those private regions, since they wish to draw attention to
them. Maybe STOMP should be swapmed with photos of these girls,
their faces included with their colourful undergarments. Free
publicity which will turn any proud father popular with his male
colleagues!
And to those who say that students have no rights, and are treated
like shit, I say, quit whining, quit school, and go be an
entrepreneur. You DON"T HAVE TO TAKE THE SHIT!! Just don't go
around lamenting that your bosses treat you worse than an amoeba
when you go out to work, since you CHOSE TO LEAVE THE
SHITHOUSE!!
Let's cut the whining and get real, people. Otherwise, go find and
island and live your own remote life. You don't have to wear any
stupid uniform (you don't even have to wear anything, for that
matter), you don't have to deal with rules (except the laws of
Nature), and there's no one to go after you (except the wild
creatures of your island). The only one you will be blaming will be
your god, and yourself. Now wouldn't that be the best way to live.
There's still going to be shit, but at least it's yours.
