Thai pupils see glimpse of freedom from new hair rules

[HoudiniXLogic]

I went to an international school, and I remembered seeing people fret over the length of my hair when I met people with kids from Thai Schools.

But those hairstyles aside, give the students some young-adult clothes to wear, not children's clothes. Its an eyesore because in my western opinion, no straight man should every wear shorts that short. AND THEY'RE NOT EVEN CUTOFFS. I've seen some schools require students to wear leather shoes, but it looks even more ridiculous when coupled with ankle high socks and short shorts.

[chuenyongman]

So, the theory is, if the students have short hair, they will read and concentrate on their text books?

Possible we can take this a step further and insist on crew cuts all 'round, and they will give up their smart phones.

A lot of us went through this malarky in the 1960s, when hair was allowed to be longer than short back and sides. Can't see that it affected our concentration.

If the country is so worried about conformity, could someone please explain why 95% of the population do not conform with existing laws, and refuse to wear a helmet after dark?

Where I live one in ten have no rear lights and one in fifty have no lights at all. Too stingy to buy a globe, rather risk their lives.

[Krataiboy]

Maybe they should introduce barbers into the schools. That way, if they want it long it can be long but has to be exactly the same length and style. A menu with choice a ) short, b ) long. Allows for flexibility and conformity at the same time.

<yes, I'm being facetious>

No you're not. There are resident hairdressers at many Thai schools - or, rather, tonsorial butchers recruited to scalp children whose hair is judged to be longer than the regulation limit.

What is really sad is to see parents backing those schools which are refusing to confirm to the more liberal rules approved by the sensible human rights watchdogs.

They seem more concerned about what's on their children's heads than in them and are setting their offspring a bad example for when they have kids of their own.

A majority of parents and teachers at my elder daughter's private school has voted in favour of reintroducing the old regime for haircuts. My daughter and her friends are understandably upset at the volte-face - but, of course, nobody bothered to ask the students what they thought!

My 16-year-old son, who marginally infringed the hair length regulations at his vocational training college, was publicly shorn before their classmates in a humiliating display of teacher power.

Luckily he didn't take the experience too much to heart, but this kind of enforcement of conformity to an arbitrary norm is as silly as it is vindictive.

[Pinot]

I don't care what length the kids hair is. I just want to see "Driver Education" taught in schools.

[Scott]

I don't care what length the kids hair is. I just want to see "Driver Education" taught in schools.

You might want to rethink that idea. So very much depends on who is doing the teaching!

[culicine]

First it's haircuts...then heaven forbid, kids might actually start to think for themselves....well maybe not as that is actively discouraged in most schools here as it rubs against the cultural grain. Too bad the MoE chose to pursue this hair policy rather than more pressing educational needs of the students.

[mariegerro]

I just didn't understand their rules over the hairstyles..In fact it was predefined that if you have long hairs then it must be braided...or if you have short hairs then you can leave 'em as it is.. I recently read the articles about the different kinda hairstyles dig this

[lostinisaan]

The government still gives teachers ultimate authority to decide their school's hair policy.

Which is the ultimate pair of scissors. Had that problem with a Thai teacher, who always cut our son's hair in a way that he needed to cut it completely off.

That only had an end when I went to see the PE teacher, who wasn't liked at all, as he also hit the kids with a huge bamboo stick.

I said to him in his own language, if he'd do that again, I'll come and do the same, even worse to his almost hairless head,

I didn't speak loud, but he understood that I really meant it. He never did it again, is greeting me whenever he sees me.

Edited May 17, 2014 by lostinisaan

[marcusd]

Communism. Mao Zedong style. Enough said.

Marcusd. Via tapatalk