So I haven’t written anything in awhile, I’ve been busy, with finals and a certain cable company disconnecting my Internet (you know who you are ;). But I just finished my second last assignment for the year. Yay one more to go, and then I’m free…whoahhhhaaaahhaa…uhm sorry about that.
Anyway I got bored in the library, and stumbled upon a news story, no, I really did stumble upon it.
It’s about a school in Cambridge, England, who now give detentions to students who wear odd socks, or have ear buds showing. Found here v http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/04/08/u-k-school-cracks-down-on-bad-manners/
Now I went to school in England, once, a long time ago.
But now I think we have a problem, a social, generational, degenerate problem…and the British school system pisses me off, because it is just that, a system, that as a general rule, it runs the school uniform laugh like Red China’s clothing rules, under Mao.
Some of the parents think this idea is wonderful, teach the kids some respect. And that is where I will begin.
No Respect for anyone.
Did anyone, other then me, think that maybe respect works both ways? That maybe if the kids had some respect from the teachers (and its not all teachers some already do this, good for them :) that maybe if you treated them with respect, respected their rights to indaivuism and expression that maybe the teachers would have respect from them.
Ok so my school in England wasn’t the worst, but it was the best either, and there I learned respect has to be earned, by everyone, it doesn’t just happens. The teachers who were respectful of the students, got respect from the pupils too, even the kids who were ‘bad’, for example my history teacher who was the best I’ve ever had.
Punishing the kids will make them feel like they are in prison and then they will be bad again because they feel they are being unjustly punished. And when the teachers walk about with lots of make up on, or wearing hoop earrings or short skirts, for example my year 10 head of year, it can be very annoying, a slap in the face.
I see where the idea of uniform comes from, all the kids being equal in clothing and all that, but that’s got lost in the stupidity of it all.
Before anyone gets up in arms at me, they should know I went to school in North American for a time too. Which bring me to my second point.
Respect for everyone.
In the North American school, there was no uniform, and oh my god…problem solved…respect for everyone, teacher and pupil alike. And less class time spent going on about what people were wearing, in England Half the class, not even kidding I timed, was spent going on and on about what people were wearing and what they weren’t. If you want the kids to learn in school let them be comfortable in what their wearing, let them express themselves, other wise you have 1984 meets If… Meets Holes meets St. Trianins meets Red China and other craziness. In my North American school, there was the ‘Bin of shame’, this was a bin were there were nasty, ugly, clothes, from good will stores, if a pupils clothing was deemed to short, offensive, or dangerous, then they were made to wear these clothes for the rest of the day, and guess no one wore them, because no one wants to be embarrassed in old lady clothes so made informed choices about what wear.
And what’s more I expect/ suspect that this uniform thing is, A. the beginning of the problems Britain faces, socially, and B. because there are other things the schools have to deal with, but uniforms are easier to deal with then, art departments with no money for white paint (what it’s true), or not enough text books for everyone or any of the other things that are out of their hands.
I could write a book about this subject. But I’ll close by saying this, we face many crises in the world write now, Japan is a time bomb it would seem and some British schools are worried about odd socks? Really that’s very constructive, I’m sure when the kids are older, learning how to match socks, that will solve the oil shortage, the water shortage, the food shortage, the global warming crisis and all the other stuff that is looming on the horizon. In Canadian school I learn self-respect and respect of others, in British school I learn things from the teacher I had mutual respect with, other then that, I got to witness an interesting and disturbing experiment on social behavior in a dictorship, a microcosm of the worlds dictorship. With bring me my last point.
The British government goes on and on about freedom in other countries and people freeing them self’s from oppression. Well you only have only to look in the back gardens, parks, cinemas, bowling alleys, youth centre, shopping malls and schools, to find young people who feel oppression and punished, sure it’s not like Gafaii, Iran or anything, (don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful for where I grew up) but still, merits a look. I think it’s time to practice what you preach ladys and gentleman of the house. (Not all schools are like this, and I have great respect for them and the teachers who do a good job, keep it up! >I hope my aunt reads this and actually pays attention, because verbal argument is useless with her, she was my call out of the month.)
Ok my rant is over. Now I’m going to enjoy the sunshine. I’ll be posting my favorite summer outfits in awhile.
But for now, Pease bitches.
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