Top 10: Getting rid of one rule in your school. But which one?

Here’s our readers’ responses on the school rules that they don’t like:

My school has restrictions against fashionable hairstyles. I think we should abolish the rule. Students should have the right to choose their own hairstyle, just like teachers can choose their dress and wear their own hairstyle. It’s a way for teenagers to boost their self-esteem, not to mention that well-groomed students give the school a positive image.

I want to get rid of my school’s uniform policy. School uniforms can be expensive, depending on the quality of the fabric and workmanship. Since a student goes to school five days a week, they need at least two to three sets of clothes, and this could be a financial burden for some families. Furthermore, since teachers have the right to choose what they wear to school, students should be given the same right to make their own choice – not to mention that students could boost their self-confidence by wearing clothes they enjoy.

My schools has a spectacle frames policy that bans thick temples, large logos or trendy symbols from our eyeglasses. This limits the styles that students can wear to school. But I can see my teacher’s spectacle frames are very different. Some are plastic and colourful, while some are silver and stainless steel.

I think this is discrimination. It is not fair that students need to stick to rules while teachers can enjoy their freedom. Campus life is like a small society, so we must be fair and just.

If I could get rid of a school rule, it would be the restriction on using mobile phones on our school campus. Mobile phones are more affordable than iPads. Every student has a mobile phone of their own, and they can use them to record lectures so they can recall lessons quickly and easily. Not only is it a device for communication, but it is also a tool for learning.

Students should also be allowed to play games and watch news updates on their mobile phones during recess. It is an inexpensive entertainment device, as well as an indispensable part of students’ daily lives.

My school has an interesting rule which requires all Form One to Form Three students to have lunch with their teachers in the classroom. They are not allowed to leave campus for lunch. I think this is a peculiar request. Schools should respect students’ preferences, whether they choose to have lunch in school or off campus.

Junior secondary students are mature enough to take care of themselves. Also, they need time to develop their social skills, and lunch hour is the best time to do so. Restricting them to staying on their school campus all day long could be counterproductive to their emotional development.

Rules are in place for a reason. However, there are some I don’t quite understand. For example, when I was in middle school, we were not allowed to use phones in the hallway. However, sometimes I urgently had to call my parents about family matters. Perhaps that rule could have been altered to make some exceptions.

One of our school rules doesn’t allow us to borrow textbooks from one another. I once forgot to bring a biology textbook, so I just sat there listening to the teacher who explained some important topics. A textbook would have helped me better understand the lesson.

What’s the problem with borrowing or sharing a textbook with your classmate? I don’t get it.

Students should be allowed to use the school lift at their leisure. In the summer heat, I understand that teachers want to have the lift for themselves – they wouldn’t want to share it with a lot of students. But there is a solution to the problem. There could be one lift for students and another one for teachers and people with injuries. This way, lifts would also be less crowded.

I would get rid of a rule that’s getting in the way of my sleep. At the moment, my tutoring room at school is also the textiles room, which is always locked because of our school rules. I get to school early in the morning and I used to sleep in my previous tutoring room, because I don’t sleep enough at night. However, due to this rule, I cannot get into the room to sleep, so I need to find somewhere to hang out before class starts.