There has been much discussion, within Jamaica’s public forum, about the way in which one’s appearance does influence another’s judgement. This is nothing new, really, as we Jamaicans have always loved to comment on that man’s exposed briefs and this woman’s tight-up skirt. However, more recently, the ‘dress-code’ within our schools has been in the forefront.

On a radio programme, which aired at the end of August, it came to my attention that the head of a school had rescinded a job offer upon noticing that the said hired teacher, who was qualified for the job, had a tattoo. On another radio programme, which aired a week later, it became apparent that a girl student, who attended another school, was refused entry due to the school citing that her skirt was too short, even though the skirt’s length was indeed within the school’s rules. It also came to my attention that what the school did was in fact wrong, as any student registered to a school cannot be refused entry. On the same day, I read an article, which was in one of our newspapers, that informed us of a parent of a very young boy being told that she had to cut his hair or else he would not be allowed to join the school.

If any of you are nodding your head in agreement with what happened in these three cases, I would like to know why. Like seriously, why? For those of you who think that all of the above is r@@s (a Jamaican expression, for all you foreigners) ridiculous, congratulations on moving past the last century.

Let’s get back to the tattoo. The principal of that particular school said that he felt an exposed tattoo would send a negative message to the students, hence why the policy was in place. At the interview of the teacher whom he hired, the tattoo had not been seen. I am desperately trying to view all of this from the principal’s perspective, but I am finding it incredibly difficult. How does a tattoo on someone else influence a child’s behaviour or performance? Are tattoos magical? Do they somehow jump off someone’s skin, draw a knife on a kid and force him or her to hand over lunch money or cell phone? Are they able to mystically climb through a student’s ear, get into the brain, then tell him or her to be rude, disrespectful and mean? Do they force people to steal? Pay attention, people, I am still talking about tattoos. The teacher is qualified, yet what he chooses to put on his skin affects his qualification and capability? I was under the impression that one’s upbringing, and the way in which they are treated and taught, are the main aspects that influence a child’s actions and academia.

Now to the skirt. Uniforms are chosen by schools, and in many cases places of work, so that those in attendance may be identified as going to that institution, they appear ‘uniform’, and they aren’t exposing private parts of their bodies. Hence why it is best to wear the uniforms as intended – a certain length, buttons done up, pants pulled up, etcetera. However, as a minister stated, the girl should have been allowed into school and her parents should have been contacted, so that the matter could have been discussed and dealt with appropriately and without discrimination and media attention.

Finally, the hair. A photo of the little boy was printed in the paper. Firstly, I fail to see how his hair was considered long. Secondly, had hair been even longer, why would this matter? I’m back to the question about magic. Does long hair (on a boy) mean that said child magically becomes a bad person? Are girls at this school allowed to have long hair? I’m actually laughing as I type this blog. Seriously…..LONG HAIR. Why do you care?