AS an educator for over twenty years I am very concerned by recent comments made by state minister for education Alando Terrelonge and the ministry’s posture on the grooming policy.

Minister Terrelonge said a new grooming policy will soon be rolled out in our schools which will prevent school officials from disallowing certain “Afrocentric” hairstyles, as well as certain types of attire.

Based on his statement it seems the new grooming policy is almost ready and seeks to protect a child’s right to self-expression.

As the dean of discipline at Alston High School in Clarendon — a school with a disproportionately challenging set of boys — I felt disempowered and devalued while listening to state minister Terrelonge.

To the best of my knowledge, key stakeholders in the education system were not consulted; at least all the principals I have spoken with seemed unaware of the contents of this new grooming policy and I have not heard it mentioned at the National Association of Deans of Discipline.

This seemingly free-for-all policy is a slap in the face to those of us who have been trying to uphold discipline and proper conduct in our schools, especially among our boys, most of whom need guidance.

Rules are rules and they are designed to regulate conduct. Life without rules is solitarily poor, nasty, short, and brutish. Rules help us to maintain order and encourage discipline, decency, and respect.

I have no problem with children embracing their Afrocentricity as Minister Terrelonge said, but schools should be allowed to set grooming standards. Students should not be free to wear what they want in the name of Afrocentricity and self-expression.

There are rules everywhere. Even Satan has rules in hell, Minister Terrelonge, and there are limits to self-expression in democratic societies.

We now run the risk that the ministry’s posture and the new grooming policy will embolden rogue students to come to school in slippers and ‘spangy’ pants; piercings of the nose, tongue, lips, eyebrows; bleached faces; mini skirts; pants below wasits; etc, and school officials will be duty-bound to accept them in the name of Afrocentricity and self-expression.

The Supreme Court has ruled that it is legal for schools to set grooming standards, as demonstated in the Kensington Primary School case; therefore, the argument about violating students’ righs to self-expression does not hold.

A child is a child and should be treated as such. A child should not be treated as an adult. It is my humble opinion as a dean of discipline that the new grooming policy as posited by Minister Terrelonge is flawed and can only serve to erode the discipline in our schools, especially among our boys. Schools are socialising agents and should be empowered to function as such.

I am calling on all men and women of honour, the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools, the National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica, the Association of Deans of Discipline as well as the Opposition spokesperson on education to address this critical national issue before the planned reopening of schools in September. Let us speak out to save our children and rescue our society from the pitfalls of political correctness.

This is a ridiculous policy and all well-thinking parents and teachers should reject it. Call me old-school, but this is a retrograde step on the path towards a kinder, gentler, and more disciplined society.

Teachers are governed by a strict grooming policy at school, the Jamaica Constabulary Force has a strict grooming policy, the Jamaica Defence Force has a strict grooming policy for its soldiers, and most employees and professional groups have strict grooming policies in the workplace. Yet children are expected to get a free ride in the name of Afrocentricity and self-expression, and then we wonder why our children are more interested in bling, rather than books.

It is my view that the majority of parents who are clamouring for a relaxed grooming policy cannot discipline and control their children who are spoilt brats who dictatate to them what time they leave home for and return from school; what style and design they want in their hair and how their uniforms are made; the brand of shoes they wear to school; and the tone and content of the language used in the homes. This lack of parental authority in the homes turns our students into anti-authority subjects at school.

Relaxing the grooming policy without assessing its potential impact is not a smart way of preparing our children for the adulthood. In many cases school is the only place where boundaries are set for our children and where they are required to abide by rules and show respect for authority.

Let us not spoil our children by turning them into adults before they grow up. I have strong views on this as a father of two teenaged children.

We must provide the leadership that will protect their future, and leadership is more than mirroring and accepting what is popular. Leadership is inspiring and stimulates an understanding and embrace of the common good.

My unsolicited advice to Minister Terrelonge and the Ministry of Education is that our schools are capable of designing individual grooming policies which do not violate any rights to self-expression. The grooming policies have worked in the past and are only in need of refinement to make it clear that respect must be given to an individual’s religious preference, for example the Rastafarian religion.

However, we must not confuse self-expression with self-destruction. The evidence is there to suggest that when parental supervision and authority are exercised in tandem with the school’s intervention and autonomy, our children turn out to be disciplined, smart, respectful, successful, and ready for the adult economy.

Don’t damage and destroy the childhood experiences of our children by granting them adult rights and privileges, Minister Terrelonge. Don’t water down the disciplinary structures and culture in our schools to the extent that it disempowers our educators and cause many hard-working and committed teachers, who want to serve their country and can serve well, to leave.

It would have been better if the Ministry of Education had onsulted with the main stakeholders and organised structured disciplinary and parenting workshops designed to empower our parents and educators to address the behavioural challenges of our children.

Let me hasten to add that the views I have expressed are my personal views as a parent and a dean of discipline and not that of Alston High School or any other associated body.

Andre Wellington is the dean of discipline at Alston High School in Clarendon. Send comments to andrewellington344@yahoo.com