Odd socks and headphone trouble.

I was reading the Metro the other day and I saw an article which was describing how a school in southern England was obscenely strict.  The pupils of this particular school were being given detention for wearing odd socks, listening to headphones inside of the school building and not ‘taking their school uniform seriously’.  These rules were implemented in order to allow the pupils to understand that in a real working environment – there is not room to be ‘slacking off’.  At one stage, there were over 300 students who had been given detention as they were all wearing odd socks. 

Now, I believe in discipline.  I think discipline is important in certain aspects in life such as; taking care of one’s self from a health point of view (eating well, regular exercise), cleanliness and undoubtedly adapting behaviour in any given circumstance – you would not adopt the same persona with your best friends as though you were in an office…or at least I wouldn’t.  My comfort zones do not branch out to being boundless in an office environment.  I have tried though and people just don’t seem to understand what I’m all about.  My point is I concur with people who are disciplinarians, like Fabio Capello.  However, at the same time, being punished for wearing odd socks or listening to music when it is perfectly acceptable to listen to music is extreme.  Preparing school kids for something they are no doubt going to eventually learn themselves is just plain stupid.  I am yet to hear of any office manager scrutinising everyone’s socks before they check in for their 9-5 job just to see if they are wearing matching socks made of cashmere and must be designer to quell the need for the manger to shit-can the culprit!  Also, in every office environment I have worked, all two of them, my colleagues ALL have headphones in when they are working away.  From what I have seen it allows people to draw out any external noise, carry on with their work and we all seem a little more productive….so, riddle me that(!) headmaster of some shitty school in Cambridgeshire who seems to be clutching at straws to find something to piss these students off royally. 

I used to have a theory that teachers had quotas to meet with regards to sending kids to detention.  I have had my fare share of detention time where I sat and reflected about how much I hated the teacher that put me there.  My conclusion would often be “what a total dick!” and I would reach that, usually, in the first few seconds of being in detention.  To spite the teacher I would just sleep and not do the work that I had been assigned.  Yeah, badass since the eighties, baby!  In fairness though, I would go to detention for actual, proper reasons, not for trivial bullshit.  My most usual was ‘for disrupting a lesson’….if being myself means I am dysfunctional to normal society, then society can kiss my whole ass!  I have also had ‘foul language’ which was issued to me after the head teacher watched us play a rugby match.  What I had said was “Look at their forwards guys, they are fuckin’ knackered!”  It was bittersweet for me as everyone had seen me kick ass and then DETENTION!  What in the blue fuck was he thinking?!  I know pretty much the WHOLE school was watching and he wanted to make an example but, seriously, it’s not like he has never sworn.  I would go as far as saying I bet he has sworn on some sort of sports field before realising that he was old and crap and bad at sports.  So my reasons were the full fat versions of what these school kids are getting punished for.  I feel for them.  The teachers in that school are just on a power trip/mid-life crisis/contemplating suicide and trying to take as many with them as possible/genuine cunts. 

I almost nearly got ‘dismissed’ from my last day of school because my friends and I were having a bit of fun – kicking a rugby ball around on a rugby pitch.  A member of the ‘senior management team’ – a fancy way of saying ‘elder executive cunt crew’ came up to me, took MY ball away and said – no joke – “this is neither the time nor the place” and walked off with my ball.  That quote is a total gem…for a wanker!  So I took it upon myself to go up to him, take MY ball out of his hands and as I walked away yelled ‘WANKER!’  I did get a total bollocking for that….worth it if you ask me.  Felt good to let him know what I thought of him. 

These are real reasons to be punished.  I guess teachers will try to find anything to be as suppressive of students as possible.  It is becoming an age old trait and it is very, VERY tedious. 

Much love,

Jackson L.