Towards a More Liberal School
(Edited and revised by David MacKay) by Robin Cappucino

The process of education is a topic which is undergoing a major reform and
revision by educators everywhere. "Free" schools have been e~tablished;
other schools have become "ungraded." These and other revolutions in ed-
ucation have for the most part, met with great success. In the series of
articles to ~ome entitled "Towards a More Liberal School," I hope to en-
lighten you one various aspects of the transformation of our school system.
I intend to make several suggestions with a view to improving the position
of the student and his relations with the administration.

On Hair

First let'3 examine the ultimate aim of this school: to prepare each st-
dent to go out into the hard cruel world and successfully "do his thing."
"His thing" may be building electronic computers or it may be writing plays
but whatever it is, to succeed he must be able to think for himself, make
l decisions, and accept responsibility.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, let's examine what the administration is
doing: they are telling us that "sideburns must not be below the earlobes
and hair must not touch the collar." Did I say they wanted us to learn to
think for ourselves, make decisions, and accept responsibility? Balderdash;
as far as I can ascertain, they are more interested in impressing our
parents.
What is the administration accomplishing by this rule? Nothing but bitter-
ness and resentment. Quite often, a disgrunted student is less inclined to
[" give a darn about his work than he would be otherwise; and so he develops
and nurses a grudge against authority.
What should the administration do about this rule? Having talked with many
people from other schools in the Montreal area, I know that the administra-
tion of our school is relatively broad-minded; so I hope that they will
consider my suggestion that they modify the rule to read just as I under-
stand the school board specifies: that "hair should be kept near, tidy,
and well-groomed." Assuming that the school board leaves it to the admin-
istration of each school to interpret this rule, I believe that our admin-
istration has misinterpreted the well-meaning rule. I could well under-
stand students being advised to keep their hair clean and tidy. In some
rare cases it may even be necessary to throw down an ultimatum and force
the student to keep his hair clean.
Will this modification of the rule effect a change for the better? I think
so. You might say students should learn that they will not be able to get
away with such things as long hair in the world outside; however, I main-
tain that if they don't already know that, they will find out mighty fast.
Most people are willing to comply with a rule which is reasonable. Resent-
ment would be lessened if the rule were modified and the generation gap
between students and administration would be narrowed by just that much.
A step in the right direction, you have to admit.