Crew cuts no longer required for students

Individual schools to decide own rules

Sirikul Bunnag

The decades-old rule on compulsory hairstyle for students is to be rescinded, said Kamol Rodklai, director of the Education Ministry's children and family rights protection centre.

With the new academic year starting next week, the military-style cropped hair for boys with the longest strand not exceeding 5cm, and neck-length hair for girls _ highly symbolic of uniformity particularly among state-run schools _ will no longer be enforced.

Mr Kamol said the ministry was happy to let individual schools decide what ``code of conduct'' they wanted altered with regard to student hairstyle.

``Times have changed and it would be unrealistic to expect boys to continue carrying the conventional bowl-cut,'' he said.

The ministry only gave a broad regulation governing student hairstyle. Girls may sport long hair but they must make a neat pony tail or plaits. Each school will determine its own restriction on hair length and the new hair rule would be set jointly by the school council and administrators with the agreement of parents.

Once the ``common agreement'' was reached, the ministry need not be informed of it.

Mr Kamol said many private schools had for a long time been allowed to dictate their own hair rules, with stringent regulations remaining only on state-run schools.

Mr Kamol said the new proposal is expected to be endorsed by education permanent secretary Khunying Kasama Voravan na Ayutthaya next week.

Most schools will open for the new term on May 16 and others on May 19.

The proposal, however, has drawn mixed reactions from school directors. Suwat Onjaikla, director of Thaweethapisek school, said students would raise ``endless'' demands for hairstyles and begin comparing discrepancies in policies advocated by each school.

``The next thing you know students will be asking why their school remains steadfast on short hair as opposed to their peers in other schools donning long hair and fashionable cuts,'' he said.

The ministry should institute a standard on hair length for all schools to observe, to prevent students going too far with their demands and schools compromising too leniently.

His was an all-boys school and he personally thought it best for boys in primary schools to retain the military-style haircut. High school students, however, could wear longer hair.

``Students allowed to drift with the tides of fashion would end up concentrating less on their studies,'' he said.

But the policy was welcomed by Prakasit Yungkong, director of Pathum Kongka school, who felt the discussion on hair rule would be a way of forging closer relations between parents and schools.

Sharing this view was Arunee Nakathat, director of Sai Nam Pueng school, who found the present rule obsolete and impractical. She said a review was appropriate provided it did not lead to students becoming obsessed with hairstyle.

Mr Kamol also said the permanent secretary had instructed schools to devise measures to look after the welfare of students.

Schools must maximise safety by improving facilities and ensure the environment was not hazardous or dangerous to students.

So what do you think?  Should children in this country be allowed (encouraged?) to use their hair as a form of self-expression?  Do hair styles separate children into classes as expensive clothes and shoes have been accused of doing?  If so, should standarized haircuts accompany the growing trend toward school uniforms?

Hairstyles can be an inexpensive mode of self-expression, when it is just the cut/style of the hair.  However, as I'm sure we all recognize, much more can go in to the issue than just the style.  Chemical processing (perms, coloring, straightening, extentions) also becomes part of the style and can be used to display status as in "I have the money to do this".  Up until recently the US military's hair policies allowed individual hair styles with restrictions regarding length and disallowing hair to be processed or colored.  Only recently have they recinded this policy and now allow hair to be colored a natural occuring color (hmm, no punk purple or orange, what a pity  ::) )

I personally think children should be allowed choices in their own image such as their hair but that some limits could be in place to prevent hairstyles from becoming a status symbol as clothing and shoes have become in so many US schools.

Our school has no restrictions for clothes (well, as long as it's not too revealing), shoes, or hair styles. No one treats others like they are richer or whatever because they have a better hairstyle or better clothes.

wrote on May 7^th, 2003 at 12:48pm:

Our school has no restrictions for clothes (well, as long as it's not too revealing), shoes, or hair styles. No one treats others like they are richer or whatever because they have a better hairstyle or better clothes.

Do you go to a public or private school?  I ask because in private schools the students are usually closer in economic status than in public schools.

I go to a private school. Most of the international children (it's an American International School) have parents who work in the embassy of their country and that's why they are here, so it doesn't really matter how much money their families earn because the embassy pays for their schooling. Our teachers are very good at letting us express our individuality - we have an excellent music, art, and drama program, as well as being allowed to wear basically anything to school as long as we don't wear skirts that are too short, tank tops, and anything revealing your midriff. The only rules, actually, that the school handbook gives, are: "Footwear must be worn at all times. Do not wear anything offensive to the culture we are surrounded by." Nothing about hair  ;)

Yes,I also went to an American school(in Nairobi,some twenty years ago  :P ) ,and I always felt sorry for my friends who attended the British schools-school uniforms and no fancy hairdos .We were allowed to wear almost anything and I remember sporting a purple do with spikes and then a VERY frizzy perm (it was the eighties after all).Well,these days I think that uniforms/no styling might not be a bad idea after all,definately distracts less from studying  :-/

Actually, I don't find my clothes or hairdo to be a distraction during the day. I get really good grades and when I look nice I feel nice all day long, and of course if you're in a better mood you'll perform at your best! I'm not one of those who constantly thinks about her appearance, I just make sure I look decent in the morning and I'm ok for the rest of the day  :D

Leia;
You are quite fortunate to be able to experience the private school environment and you are obviously thriving in it - good for you!  I think that what some of us are referring to is in some public schools (at least here in the US), there can be significant differences in the economic backgrounds of the students.  The "popular" kids tend to be those who "have money" and can afford to buy the latest, expensive shoes, clothes and other accessories.  This can make those who cannot afford the expensive items feel left out.  At times the environment can be very cruel.  When this situation occurs, the students may spend more time worrying about their appearance than their studies.  This is the rationale behind school uniforms and dress codes.  If students all wear the same clothing and abide by the dress code (which may include rules about hair), it is not apparent who "has money" and who does not.  Students will hopefully interact with each other and the teachers based on their intellect and personality rather than outward appearances.  We have a couple of public schools in my area that serve economically diverse areas that have instituted school uniforms and "appearance" codes.  They have found there is less gang activity, school performance has improved, and the general atmosphere of the school is more inviting.  

Being fashion challenged all my life, I would have appreciated school uniforms so that I would not have had to worry everyday about what outfit to wear and would I be ridiculed for it.

:-[ Ooops,sorry,I didn´t want to imply that people who take care of their appearance are all doing badly in school,quite the contrary.But my small daughter has just started school,and I´m sometimes rather surprised at how much these six year olds are already worrying about the ´right` hairdo,shoes etc.

Yes, I can see how in that situation, a dress code would be very appropriate.

Anne-Marie, most of the people in my school are from the same economic background and most of us can (thankfully) afford most things that we want. Because of this no one really cares what other people are wearing, and comments are hardly ever passed, even if someone is wearing dirty or trashy clothes. A friend of mine is in our school only because he's smart, his family is actually very poor and his clothes are different from ours, and he can't even afford to get his hair cut most of the time. No one looks at him any differently and he has a lot of friends, and he is very popular because he is smart. I think in some cases a dress code is a good idea but in some places it's not necessary.

my school is strict in what u can wear. although it is a public school we can't wear:shorter than knee-lenth shorts or skirts, no tight pants, no obsessed themes on clothing, no hair color streaks, no obscene or unusual hairstyles, no chains, no dirty clothing, no neon colors, no bright highlights, hats, headbands,flip-flops, no worn or ripped clothes, and no sleeveless shirts. WOW-not alot of headroom is there?