Crackdown On Improper Student Uniforms, Hair Cut

[george]

Watch the hair

New dress, appearance codes to hit schools soon; punishment 'improper' dress

BANGKOK: -- Students wearing uniforms "improperly" will face punishment, if tentative Education Ministry regulations go ahead.

It's drafting new rules on student uniforms to replace decadesold rules. "This new regulation will cover students at both state and private schools," ministry permanent secretary Charuaypon Torranin says.

The new dress code requires schools to take disciplinary action against students for breaking it.

On Thursday, many schoolteachers, students and parents attended a seminar to air their opinions. "We will listen to their opinions before we conclude the details," Charuaypon says.

At the seminar, Suksanari School teacher Nualchan Boonart suggested new regulations should cover hairstyles too.

"If hairstyles are not controlled, students will compete with one another on looks and pay less attention to studies," Nualchan says.

Thanakarn Wipusmith from Mahidol Wittayanusorn School, however, says students should be allowed to do something with their hair.

"Children naturally want to try something different," she says, "But of course, they won't do anything that looks too bad".

--The nation 2008-05-02

[Smithson]

"If hairstyles are not controlled, students will compete with one another on looks and pay less attention to studies," Nualchan says.

--The nation 2008-05-02

It's the dept. themselves who is paying too much attention to hairstyles and not enough to education.

[onethailand]

At the seminar, Suksanari School teacher Nualchan Boonart suggested new regulations should cover hairstyles too.

"If hairstyles are not controlled, students will compete with one another on looks and pay less attention to studies," Nualchan says.

<deleted>...

Kru Nualchan - why not just get a bowl and cut the hair yourself... and charge the students for the haircut to supplement your income? Or were you perhaps trying to get noticed so you could become the next Culture Minister?

Is it me or are there a bunch of dimwits working in schools and government offices?

[Tony Clifton]

Ah yes, hair styles.

Meanwhile, my niece has become a 4000 dollar nuisance which the school is ready to take should the parents agree to cough up.

[ratcatcher]

At the seminar, Suksanari School teacher Nualchan Boonart suggested new regulations should cover hairstyles too.

"If hairstyles are not controlled, students will compete with one another on looks and pay less attention to studies," Nualchan says.

<deleted>...

Kru Nualchan - why not just get a bowl and cut the hair yourself... and charge the students for the haircut to supplement your income? Or were you perhaps trying to get noticed so you could become the next Culture Minister?

Is it me or are there a bunch of dimwits working in schools and government offices?

No it's not and yes there are!

[PeaceBlondie]

Uniforms are okay if you like robots.

Hairstyles? I've changed my hairstyle so many times I don't know what I look like. I thought in 2003 or 2004 they relaxed the hair length rules for students, but maybe it never happened.

[Scott]

I love words like 'improperly'; that sounds like something that can be enforced by anyone in power in any way they want to.

[alex_aka_P]

BANGKOK: -- Students wearing uniforms "improperly" will face punishment

Top-of-a-list problem to pay the immediate government attention to. Yeah....

PS: why _only_ Bangkok? Different step out of the city border = different general laws? Funny.

[Ijustwannateach]

I hadn't noticed a great deal of liberalism slipping in... don't they have better things to do? How about worrying about whether students are using drugs, have parents at home, eat well every day, get enough exercise, know how to study, have adequate educational resources available, know enough about how to protect their own health, etc., etc.?

I guess it's easier to worry about haircuts.

[lordsux]

Maybe they should also crackdown on female thai students in school uniform fighting in the streets. Not forgetting the ladyboy referee

See sig.

[geriatrickid]

Oh yes, they'll enforce this much like they enforce the helmet and seatbelt laws.

I hate school uniforms. Had to wear one for a decade, and I swore I would never wear one again. Enforce strict dress codes and the kids will always find ways to circumvent the rules. That's what being a kid is all about.

Edited May 3, 2008 by geriatrickid

[Seneque]

Another crackdown .... (uniforms and hair cut ... schchchcheeech) it's not thailand any more it is crackdownland !

Coming soon : "crackdown on crackdowns"

[selftaopath]

At the seminar, Suksanari School teacher Nualchan Boonart suggested new regulations should cover hairstyles too.

"If hairstyles are not controlled, students will compete with one another on looks and pay less attention to studies," Nualchan says.

<deleted>...

Kru Nualchan - why not just get a bowl and cut the hair yourself... and charge the students for the haircut to supplement your income? Or were you perhaps trying to get noticed so you could become the next Culture Minister?

Is it me or are there a bunch of dimwits working in schools and government offices?

I don't think it's you.

[thatguy]

crackdown hub

[freitag1]

so funny... what's next? students will compete who has the most fancy fingernails instead of studying? i'm sure the responsible ministry spent weeks to draft this proposal. so many other things are wrong with this education system...

[kittygal]

It saddens me that the Ministry of Education is choosing to focus on uniform issues instead of trying to tackle some of the very real educational issues faced by schools: the lack helping students develop critical thinking skills, the use of rote memorization instead of more student-centered teaching methodologies, and the overcrowding in classes (50+ students in some secondary school classes). I love living in Thailand but feel that the teachers in this country are not supported or helped in any way by the MOE...as shown by this example of odd prioritization of concerns.

[selftaopath]

so funny... what's next? students will compete who has the most fancy fingernails instead of studying? i'm sure the responsible ministry spent weeks to draft this proposal. so many other things are wrong with this education system...

I wonder if the : "If hairstyles are not controlled, students will compete with one another on looks and pay less attention to studies," Nualchan says - statement is based on opinion or research. I wonder what various "leaders" expertise is? And are there consequences to student's grades becoming poorer? Or, like I have heard repeatedly Thai students are given passing grades regardless of merit, because of the "saving face" mentality.

[MrSnrang]

What do they define as improper and what is this 'punishment'? Just more BS from a bunch of bored monkeys behind office desks.

[Scott]

Unfortunately, this is one 'rule' that will most likely be enforced. There are a lot of the 'old school' teacher's out--especially the old school marm types that can really get their knickers in a knot when they see anything that looks the least bit different. At our school, we have several that could easily work for the Saudi ministry of vice and virtue.

Boys, for example, are sat down and their is a swath cut in their hair, they are expected to come back the next day with it cut to that length--and it's pretty short--just a little bit longer than 'just entered the temple' cut. That's just one example.

I see the same thing when out on the street, so I know that we aren't alone.

[PeaceBlondie]

Notice how the students dress at the international schools, which are usually the very best academically, where you get real grades including failing grades, and foreigners come from thousands of miles away to attend. No strict dress code or haircut code, even at the missionary schools. I saw a 17-year old missionary kid today who would be sheared like a lamb if he attended a Thai school. Another foreign, Christian, international student has a short haircut, lesbian style, and is about to be admitted to a better school. Her missionary neighbor has a lock of hair down to his jaw, at age 10, and he's not gay. Academically, they would score higher on real tests than 95% of the Thai kids with proper length hair.

[robint]

Heh Heh

Gym slips, netball and navy blue knickers

whats wrong with that?

555

[Scott]

Actually, with some it's not the uniform, per se, but the fact that they don't include handcuffs and leg irons that bothers me.

[Gary A]

Here in Loei province we have teachers who enforce what they consider to be a proper haircut. The gal who runs my favorite watering hole has a 15 year old son. He came home from school with what I would call a reverse Mohawk. After several warnings the teacher cut a naked strip down the middle of his head. His mother was not very impressed but she basically said nothing and nothing was said to the teacher.

[BlackArtemis]

Talk to most 30 something year olds and they will tell you how slack the system has become.

[KireB]

Well, we can all ridicule the Taliban-like components of Thai culture, but I can understand this crackdown!

Can't stop staring down the crack sometimes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some of these Úni-girls', being 19 or 20 and all, are just too much. For me that is.

Told my cousins many times to come over and study here instead of back home.

[Scott]

GaryA: Yes, that's what I was talking about. They put a big 'swath' through their hair. It's a bit demeaning I think. They also arranged for some guy to come in and cut the boys hair--and they had to pay. It looked a lot like the 'coconut cut'.

[elkangorito]

BANGKOK: -- Students wearing uniforms "improperly" will face punishment, if tentative Education Ministry regulations go ahead.

......

"If hairstyles are not controlled, students will compete with one another on looks and pay less attention to studies," Nualchan says.

......

Thanakarn Wipusmith from Mahidol Wittayanusorn School, however, says students should be allowed to do something with their hair.

"Children naturally want to try something different," she says, "But of course, they won't do anything that looks too bad".

--The nation 2008-05-02

I remember at my High School, years ago, some control freak parents on the "P & C" committee tried to ban "slacks" for females because "Some girls wouldn't look good". They didn't seem concerned that in winter, when temperatures were sometimes just above zero degrees Celsius in the morning, girls froze their <insert required word here> off!

Luckily, these &lt;deleted&gt; were outnumbered by people who did think of the girls welfare, rather than the girls appearence.

At about the same time, the same group of draconian wowsers also wanted to ban the girls from wearing any type underpants other than "cotton tails", which are things worn by grandmothers & the like. Many people began to wonder, "The only way that you'd know if a girl wasn't wearing "cotton tails" was if you purposely looked up their dress."

Anyway, one day I caught one of the Masters (male teacher) standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking up the girls' dresses. Unfortunately for him, two of those girls were my sisters. I immediately asked him what he was doing. He glared at me & threatened me with punishment for being insubordinate. I bluntly told him, "Two of those girls are my sisters...& you are looking up their dresses. If you don't stop now, I'll tell my parents. Punish me all you want." Needless to say, this sick & perverse act quickly stopped.

Here in Thailand, these "moral" regulations are considered a part of that wonderful thing called "Thai Culture". To me, it is another form of government oppression. Any culture that is "enforced" is NOT a culture. It is oppression. True culture does not have enforcable rules for which people can be punished if they break those rules.

I think other posters have already said what I would've further said so I shan't repeat.

EDIT.

My 1st teaching job in Thailand was at a school in Klaeng (near Rayong). Before my time, my UK colleague, who had been working there for four years already, had told me of a story about this "moral" discipline. I actually witnessed it myself.

Every morning, the students would be lined up for assembly. This is when hair & fingernails were inspected...hair for length, fingernails for cleanliness. If either of these things were deemed to be "immoral" (not within the bounds of Thai Culture), the students would be caned. They weren't "tapped" with the cane...they were belted. If the hair was a problem, it would be summarily "hacked off" by a Thai teacher.

I do believe there was a case some time ago of a female Thai student, who had her ear severely cut as a result of this hacking.

Nonetheless, my UK friend protested about this "moral" discipline to the director. He was basically told to "mind his own business" because if he (my friend) didn't, the director had no guarantees for his (my friend) safety. Basically, my friend was threatened with bodily harm.

What a great "culture".

Edited May 4, 2008 by elkangorito

[elkangorito]

Old news but...

"BANGKOK, Thailand -- A teacher enforcing school regulations on haircuts snipped one girl's locks to ear's length Thursday but ended up lopping off a chunk of her ear as well, police said.

Laweng Yangpakdee, a teacher at Wat Dan Prachakorn school in southern Chumpon province, had been inspecting students after their morning assembly to ensure their hair was regulation length, said police Capt. Kamsingh Sriyapai.

"He was going to cut the hair of this girl who had a haircut that was against school regulations. ... Her hair was against her ear, and he just cut without being careful," Kamsingh said.

He did not know how much of 15-year-old Theedarat Pattong's earlobe was cut off.

But a report on the Kom Chad Luek newspaper Web site quoted plastic surgeon Dr. Wiboon Thongduang as saying that half of the earlobe was severed, and could not be reattached because the girl did not get proper medical attention quickly enough.

Theeradat's father reported the incident to police, but no charges have been filed against the teacher, who along with the victim was to be questioned Friday, Kamsingh said."

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...9/02/earcut.DTL

Other stuff I found on the web;

The Child Protection Act of 2003:

http://www.thaichildrights.org/autopage/fi...Act-2003(2).htm

I find the following parts of the Act interesting:

"Guardian" means parents, persons providing care, adopter and guardians according to the Civil and Commercial Code, including step parents, guardian of a child's safety, employer, as well as any other person providing care or shelter to a child.

"Torture" means any commission or omission of acts which cause the deprivation of freedom of, or mental or physical harm to, a child; sexual abuses committed against a child; inducement of a child to act or behave in a manner which is likely to be mentally or physically harmful to the child, unlawful or immoral, regardless of the child's consent.

This could be interesting:

Article 22. Treatment of the Child in any case shall give primary importance to the best interests of the child and any discrimination of an unfair nature shall not be allowed.

In determining if an act is in the best interests of or unfairly discriminatory to the child, guidelines stipulated in the ministerial regulations shall be applied.

So could this:

Article 23. Guardians must take care, exhort and develop a child under their guardianship in manners appropriate to local traditions, customs and culture but which in any case must not be below the minimum standards as stipulated in the ministerial regulations. They shall also safeguard the child under care against potentially harmful circumstances, whether physical or mental.

Articles 26, 63 to 67 are also interesting.

[selftaopath]

BANGKOK: -- Students wearing uniforms "improperly" will face punishment, if tentative Education Ministry regulations go ahead.

......

"If hairstyles are not controlled, students will compete with one another on looks and pay less attention to studies," Nualchan says.

......

Thanakarn Wipusmith from Mahidol Wittayanusorn School, however, says students should be allowed to do something with their hair.

"Children naturally want to try something different," she says, "But of course, they won't do anything that looks too bad".

--The nation 2008-05-02

I remember at my High School, years ago, some control freak parents on the "P & C" committee tried to ban "slacks" for females because "Some girls wouldn't look good". They didn't seem concerned that in winter, when temperatures were sometimes just above zero degrees Celsius in the morning, girls froze their <insert required word here> off!

Luckily, these &lt;deleted&gt; were outnumbered by people who did think of the girls welfare, rather than the girls appearence.

At about the same time, the same group of draconian wowsers also wanted to ban the girls from wearing any type underpants other than "cotton tails", which are things worn by grandmothers & the like. Many people began to wonder, "The only way that you'd know if a girl wasn't wearing "cotton tails" was if you purposely looked up their dress."

Anyway, one day I caught one of the Masters (male teacher) standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking up the girls' dresses. Unfortunately for him, two of those girls were my sisters. I immediately asked him what he was doing. He glared at me & threatened me with punishment for being insubordinate. I bluntly told him, "Two of those girls are my sisters...& you are looking up their dresses. If you don't stop now, I'll tell my parents. Punish me all you want." Needless to say, this sick & perverse act quickly stopped.

Here in Thailand, these "moral" regulations are considered a part of that wonderful thing called "Thai Culture". To me, it is another form of government oppression. Any culture that is "enforced" is NOT a culture. It is oppression. True culture does not have enforcable rules for which people can be punished if they break those rules.

I think other posters have already said what I would've further said so I shan't repeat.

EDIT.

My 1st teaching job in Thailand was at a school in Klaeng (near Rayong). Before my time, my UK colleague, who had been working there for four years already, had told me of a story about this "moral" discipline. I actually witnessed it myself.

Every morning, the students would be lined up for assembly. This is when hair & fingernails were inspected...hair for length, fingernails for cleanliness. If either of these things were deemed to be "immoral" (not within the bounds of Thai Culture), the students would be caned. They weren't "tapped" with the cane...they were belted. If the hair was a problem, it would be summarily "hacked off" by a Thai teacher.

I do believe there was a case some time ago of a female Thai student, who had her ear severely cut as a result of this hacking.

Nonetheless, my UK friend protested about this "moral" discipline to the director. He was basically told to "mind his own business" because if he (my friend) didn't, the director had no guarantees for his (my friend) safety. Basically, my friend was threatened with bodily harm.

What a great "culture".

Ah ...I think about the desire to CONTROL. If “the powerful” feel their control is threatened, their fear allows for reaction. If the “control” idea is looked at, possibly many things can be explained. Individuality might certainly “breed” disillusionment and desire for change. Now change certainly might send chills to those in control if they perceive their “kingdom” and power is being diminished. What would some managers - who think they are leaders – do if the population had choices?

[selftaopath]

Old news but...

"BANGKOK, Thailand -- A teacher enforcing school regulations on haircuts snipped one girl's locks to ear's length Thursday but ended up lopping off a chunk of her ear as well, police said.

Laweng Yangpakdee, a teacher at Wat Dan Prachakorn school in southern Chumpon province, had been inspecting students after their morning assembly to ensure their hair was regulation length, said police Capt. Kamsingh Sriyapai.

"He was going to cut the hair of this girl who had a haircut that was against school regulations. ... Her hair was against her ear, and he just cut without being careful," Kamsingh said.

He did not know how much of 15-year-old Theedarat Pattong's earlobe was cut off.

But a report on the Kom Chad Luek newspaper Web site quoted plastic surgeon Dr. Wiboon Thongduang as saying that half of the earlobe was severed, and could not be reattached because the girl did not get proper medical attention quickly enough.

Theeradat's father reported the incident to police, but no charges have been filed against the teacher, who along with the victim was to be questioned Friday, Kamsingh said."

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...9/02/earcut.DTL

Other stuff I found on the web;

The Child Protection Act of 2003:

http://www.thaichildrights.org/autopage/fi...Act-2003(2).htm

I find the following parts of the Act interesting:

"Guardian" means parents, persons providing care, adopter and guardians according to the Civil and Commercial Code, including step parents, guardian of a child's safety, employer, as well as any other person providing care or shelter to a child.

"Torture" means any commission or omission of acts which cause the deprivation of freedom of, or mental or physical harm to, a child; sexual abuses committed against a child; inducement of a child to act or behave in a manner which is likely to be mentally or physically harmful to the child, unlawful or immoral, regardless of the child's consent.

This could be interesting:

Article 22. Treatment of the Child in any case shall give primary importance to the best interests of the child and any discrimination of an unfair nature shall not be allowed.

In determining if an act is in the best interests of or unfairly discriminatory to the child, guidelines stipulated in the ministerial regulations shall be applied.

So could this:

Article 23. Guardians must take care, exhort and develop a child under their guardianship in manners appropriate to local traditions, customs and culture but which in any case must not be below the minimum standards as stipulated in the ministerial regulations. They shall also safeguard the child under care against potentially harmful circumstances, whether physical or mental.

Articles 26, 63 to 67 are also interesting.

If laws are not enforced what are they? So clearly many behaviors by "authority figures" are not acknowledged and therefore allowed. I love the adage: What we allow, we condone. To quote a professor who taught a class in Criminology, "If there is NO punishment, there is NO crime."