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re: haircut uproar

opinion: 1. neither teacher nor mother should have meddled. 2. we are a generation of babies.

to begin with i have never appreciated when schools enforce disciplinary action, i openly whine about sajc being strict about latecoming, uniform, attendance what have you. feel it's unnecessary in a junior college where most are at an age where we have learnt that with decisions come consequences that must come into consideration - it wouldn't be inappropriate to leave us to our own devices.

as for those who haven't come to understand this, what better time to let them experience the consequences of bad decision making? after they've been thrown out into the 'real world' and entire careers are at stake? how are we expected to acknowledge the shit we can get ourselves into if we never had a chance to wade through it because we were being steered by the nose all the way through our time in school?

but this is just personal opinion. above all i understand that there is a rationale behind every rule put in place, regardless of whether i agree with it or not. my school skirt should be a certain length because when you don a school uniform, you represent your school and what it stands for. and what would a mini skirt speak of it? so i comply. attendance in lectures and tutorials is mandatory because, content aside, it is expected of students to uphold discipline and structure. so on so forth. i understand that in enrolling in this institution there are calculated rules that i must accept and abide by. well theoretically speaking.

it's easy to understand why the teacher did what she did. fundamental knowledge that attire for examination should be neat and tidy. this includes grooming. prior warning was given. and when the actual day came along and something was seen to be unacceptable, by whatever means, it would be made acceptable. what happened is as simple as that. in sajc, if you are a guy caught with long hair, you pay to have your hair cut in school. of course there are complaints. but there is the rationale behind it and to some degree the students understand that rules are rules. nobody's calling the police.

but i should remember that we aren't talking about a 17/18-year-old. a boy of twelve about to sit for his psle oral examination sporting a $60 haircut from reds.



probably thinks he looks godly.

so he went through the same blunt force approach as the abovementioned unfortunate saints. so we have a short term fix - the school no longer has to present before the examiners a mini godzilla wannabe.

but how appropriate is this measure if the school aims for the student to actually take something out of the experience? clearly, from his reaction (of running to mama) he does not see that he is in the wrong. he has not learnt that in an institution you do not have the right to resist punishment for failing to abide by the expectations and rules that constitute it. you are supposed to suck it up. i think it's reasonable to expect a twelve year old to begin accepting that. without having learnt that lesson, nothing is going to change. expect a new $60 haircut in a couple of weeks.

especially since his own mother fails to understand this as well. filing a police report and lodging a complaint to the ministry of education over a luxury haircut on a twelve-year-old. (some might be able to tell i'm getting a bit lazy to delve into specifics, but what i'm trying to show is) its laughable how full of themselves this mother-son pair is. and i suppose if i was her child i'd have difficulty accepting punishment too. i'm sure at numerous points in her life this mother must have been told that the world does not revolve around you. so what is this i don't even...

long story short, i feel that this incident goes to show how sheltered some children in singapore are, by schools and parents alike. i'll admit i'm one of them. fortunately while my parents are pretty lax they did bother to develop a sense of rational thought and agreeability in me so i'd do reasonably okay wherever i go. and i guess i didn't always have my shit cleaned up after. in other cases though this could result in a complete lack of conscientiousness which is... disgusting.

i was about to say okay lah primary school give chance and then i remembered the mother. oh man.

*ends abruptly*