Dress and discipline in schools have once again come into sharp focus, heightened by the no-nonsense stand of Garrison Secondary School principal Matthew Farley, who sent home over 100 of his students recently for flouting the rules.
Following on the heels of this, was Coleridge & Parry principal Vincent Fergusson’s sending back home a number of his charges for similar breaches.
The action brought swift outrage from parents and mixed reactions from the public. Those people who did not support the principals’ position were infuriated, questioning the correlation between dress and academic performance.
The two heads though, have the full support of the Barbados Association of Principals of Public Secondary Schools (BAPPS).
President Winston Crichlow, who is head of Harrison College, told the SUNDAY SUN that any punishment must be appropriate, reasonable, and must be enforceable.
He said he was assured the principals went about this exercise in a logical and reasonable manner.
“They [the two principals] have written to the parents, spelt out clearly what the school’s dress codes are and they have even had meetings with parents of the offending students, and they have given the parents adequate time to correct the dress infringement,” he said.
Crichlow noted that suspension was not the first response for a principal to take.
“There are a number of steps: writing of letters, meeting with parents and giving them time to make corrections,” he said.
He noted that the students sent home from these two schools were the ones whose parents did not comply.
Farley clarified that while it had been reported that he had sent home 50 students, the number was really 112. He also said that even though the students were sent on suspension for five days, most were back in the classroom before the time had gone, because the problem had been fixed.
Repeated efforts during the week to reach Fergusson on this issue were unsuccessful.
Crichlow said that because the two principals were the only ones highlighted did not mean their colleagues at other institutions were not themselves taking action.
“Regrettably the numbers were large in those schools, but one must recognise that all schools are different. I don’t want the public to feel that because these are two principals who had to take action, and it became a news item, that the other principals don’t do similar things,” he said.
Crichlow noted that heads all have to meet parents and children and spell out expectations.
“On a daily basis you will always have challenges; there will always be flouting of rules,” he said.
And this, he said, was across the board – among the male and female school population.
The BAPPS president said that two years ago heads attempted to streamline the rules as they related to dress. He noted that at the time it did not only relate to girls and uniforms, but it also touched on socks, shoes, hairstyles, scarves, tattoos, nail polish, make-up and shirts, to name a few.
“There was a launch at that time which BAPPS supported, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education. The ministry had endorsed our dress code. The dress code BAPPS sent out was to complement the rules which each individual school would have had, as well as the dress code the ministry itself had sent out to schools. It was not meant to replace the two,” he explained.
The principals’ actions also got support from the National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations.
Its president Rhonda Blackman said principals were responsible for enforcing regulations in schools.
“If you are looking at maintaining standards in schools, you have to set the standards. It could lead to other forms of delinquent behaviour if you don’t enforce the rules,” she said.
She also urged parents to work closely with the principals to ensure that the dress code was adhered to.
“Parents need to get back in control and take charge of their children,” she said.
Blackman, speaking on behalf of the PTA council, said society was also at fault in accepting certain types of dress. She said too, that adults needed to be more responsible, and urged teachers to make sure they were appropriately attired in the classroom.
“There is a time and place for everything. I don’t expect people to wear long skirts at the beach, but we have to know when and where,” she added, stressing that students are being moulded for the workplace and the future.
To answer the many critics who questioned the link between dress and discipline and academic achievements, BAPPS head Crichlow said there was one.
“There is a correlation between the two. Dress is one aspect of discipline within a school. People need to understand what we mean by discipline. It means training in a certain way.
“When one is disciplined, one is trained in obedience. Rules and regulations are important constraints on behaviour.
“You don’t only have rules in schools, but you also have rules in the workplace. I tell my students I don’t own the school. I tell them I manage the school on behalf of the Government, and there are policies set out that I have to comply with.
“People may feel that since you are a manager you are a law unto yourself. You are not. Teachers also have to abide by rules and regulations as well,” he said.
Crichlow noted that discipline served many purposes in a school, including fostering socialisation and character development, as well as adding to effective instruction.
But he said the rules in schools didn’t only deal with discipline, but also spanned areas such as safety, health, security, community spirit, while facilitating the teaching and learning process.
