Dear Editor,
While I agree with the position taken in the Jamaica Observer editorial of May 25, 2015, with regards to the practice of students being locked out of school, I must object to one sentiment expressed in the otherwise sound article.
You state inter alia, that: "Jamaican teachers know from long experience that strict adherence to uniformity in dress code is a big help." Whereas there is clear evidence that punctuality is vital in developing discipline, there is no evidence that school uniforms serve any such purpose.
You state inter alia, that: "Jamaican teachers know from long experience that strict adherence to uniformity in dress code is a big help." Whereas there is clear evidence that punctuality is vital in developing discipline, there is no evidence that school uniforms serve any such purpose.
Uniforms are useful in that they remove the need for students to make decisions about what clothes to wear to school. In this sense, it is economical and prevents students from competing to dress better than each other. But this is about all that it does. It does not lead to conformity to the rules that really matter and there are students obedient to the dress code who still make themselves a nuisance. In the same vein, nor do long skirts encourage chastity and modesty among girls.
We have a tendency in this country to confuse appearance with reality. Nowhere is this more evident than in our approach to education. We believe that we solve problems by avoiding them. So the schools that are most successful are those that get rid of troublemakers claiming to have zero-tolerance and that they are demanding high standards academically. Hence, the most successful schools are the ones that are most successful in avoiding the problems that are inevitably involved in educating young people. What happens as a result is that more and more of our children are pushed into the margins because fewer and fewer people want to deal with them.
So we continue to lock students out of school for coming in late, regardless of where they live, and to expel them for fighting, or having sex on campus. By this, we say that they are not good enough to attend the school. However, the question that we need to start asking is why such schools are not good enough to educate our students.
R Howard Thompson
Mandeville
Locking out students doesn't encourage discipline
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While I agree with the position taken in the Jamaica Observer editorial of May 25, 2015, with regards to the practice of students being locked out of school, I must object to one sentiment expressed in the otherwise sound article.
You state inter alia, that: "Jamaican teachers know from long experience that strict adherence to uniformity in dress code is a big help." Whereas there is clear evidence that punctuality is vital in developing discipline, there is no evidence that school uniforms serve any such purpose.
You state inter alia, that: "Jamaican teachers know from long experience that strict adherence to uniformity in dress code is a big help." Whereas there is clear evidence that punctuality is vital in developing discipline, there is no evidence that school uniforms serve any such purpose.
Uniforms are useful in that they remove the need for students to make decisions about what clothes to wear to school. In this sense, it is economical and prevents students from competing to dress better than each other. But this is about all that it does. It does not lead to conformity to the rules that really matter and there are students obedient to the dress code who still make themselves a nuisance. In the same vein, nor do long skirts encourage chastity and modesty among girls.
We have a tendency in this country to confuse appearance with reality. Nowhere is this more evident than in our approach to education. We believe that we solve problems by avoiding them. So the schools that are most successful are those that get rid of troublemakers claiming to have zero-tolerance and that they are demanding high standards academically. Hence, the most successful schools are the ones that are most successful in avoiding the problems that are inevitably involved in educating young people. What happens as a result is that more and more of our children are pushed into the margins because fewer and fewer people want to deal with them.
So we continue to lock students out of school for coming in late, regardless of where they live, and to expel them for fighting, or having sex on campus. By this, we say that they are not good enough to attend the school. However, the question that we need to start asking is why such schools are not good enough to educate our students.
R Howard Thompson
Mandeville
Locking out students doesn't encourage discipline
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