Tuesday, September 18, 2012

$60 Haircut

Recently 39-year-old sales manager Serene Ong filed a police complaint after a Unity Primary School teacher cut her child’s hair for being too long. The mother is now at the centre of a row as Education Minister Heng Swee Keat has cited Madam Ong as an example of a demanding parent.

Some Singaporeans agree with the minister while others disagree with the action of the school. Now I never understood the need to cut student’s hair because in no way whatsoever do I believe a haircut will install discipline in a student but I think in the midst of the midst of all the argument; everyone has missed the big point of this story.

The school cut the hair and destroyed a $60 haircut!

Mdm Ong’s boy has a $60 haircut! Seriously, I remember when I was that age and my haircut cost way less than $10.  And this 12 year old boy has a $60 haircut? Is the kid a budding movie star or something?

Forget about questions on the right of schools to cut the hair of its students; the demanding overbearing parents of Singapore; this is the big question. Should a 12 year old boy have a $60 haircut in the first place?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

If the parents can afford it, and think this is the right thing to do, why not and who are we to cast the first stone?

I remember the first time I ever had a Japanese meal was after I started work, in my 20's. Thats how "luxury" an experience it was then.

Today, most children are exposed to sushi etc from young. Some mothers (and you can find these on their blogs) even take pains to decorate lunch boxes so that they look like eloborate bento boxes. Well to do children are used to foie gras, uni, otoro, skiing trips etc. Hardly anything counts for a "special experience" anymore.

Every parent wants the best for their children. Very hard to judge where's the fine line.

Ghost said...

A $60 haircut is a fine line? Really?I can only say I must be way way behind the times.

Anonymous said...

The money belongs to the mother (or father) and the hair belongs to the son. So I think it is none of my business to ask wehther the boy should have a $60 haircut.

Ghost said...

However the police report was made on the destruction of the $60 haircut! i don't think you can fairly say it's none of anyone's business when it was the mother who made the thing public. You cannot make thing public and then expect the public not to talk about it.