Category: Education

Mastering the Art of Off-Grid Living

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For kids in Vietnam, school is a lot like school for kids in the United States. It starts early, between 7:00 and 7:30 in the morning, and classes last until around 4:00 in the afternoon.

Vietnamese students learn a lot of the same stuff kids in the US learn, too, except the languages are different. In Vietnam, children study the Vietnamese language in depth, just like American students study English. Students in Vietnam often study English, too, although as a second language.

Kids in both countries must start school at the age of six. This is a law in both countries. In the United States, children must stay in school until they are 16 but Vietnamese education laws only require a student to attend school until they are 11. Even though kids can leave school after only five years of study, most of them don’t quit school because Vietnamese students and their families understand how learning more means they’ll probably earn more money when they finish school and get a job. Better jobs mean life is easier and a lot more fun than being poor.

Many kids in Vietnam choose to stay in school even after they turn 11 but the students’ families must pay the cost of their education after that. In the United States, public schools are free for grades one through 12.

Vietnamese children as young as 18 months old can go to kindergarten, where they learn the Vietnamese alphabet and simple math skills. Most of the kindergarten students in Vietnam live in the cities because there aren’t as many schools in the country and not every small town or village has a kindergarten.

Kids in both countries can go to college after they graduate from high school, called secondary school in Vietnam. In both countries, every student must pass an important exam before they get accepted into college. When a Vietnamese student passes the test, college is free. Each student can take the test four times to qualify for a free college education.

One thing that makes a public education in Vietnam very different from a public education in the United States is that Vietnamese children stay together, as a group, all through their public school years but American children often have different classmates each year.

Another difference is that teachers in Vietnam change classrooms each year so they can teach the children who stay together in the same classroom year after year. In the US, teachers have just one classroom and they stay in it year after year, with a different group of children coming to the teacher’s classroom every year as they progress through the education system.

Education experts believe this difference in classroom progression influences children in different ways. The Vietnamese system is thought to make students comfortable and happy with their classmates, who don’t change throughout their education, but shy with strangers. The American system focuses more on the child as an individual, a concept that contrasts from the Vietnamese way of placing more value on the group than the individual student.

Students in Vietnam are encouraged to listen carefully and take lots of notes but they cannot talk freely or ask too many questions in class. In the US educational system, children are, in many classes, encouraged to participate and offer their opinions, ideas, and questions.

There should be certain amount of decency in girls school uniform, articulates the school dress codes.

Several reasons have compelled the schools to follow strict school dress codes that require boys and girls school uniform.

School dress codes may vary from country to country and school to school, but generally the school dress codes require the certain things in the girl school uniform. According to most of school dress codes—

• The girl school uniform should include polo or button-down shirts in navy, light blue, white, red, or another solid color.
• The slacks, shorts, skirts, or shorts in the girls school uniform should be black, khaki, or navy, but not jeans.
• The girls school uniform skirts must be knee-length or longer.
• The girls school uniform pants must fit properly and be belted at the waist.
• The girls school uniform shirts must be tucked in.

Additionally the school dress codes require the girls’ hair to be neatly groomed, and they don’t allow excessive jewelry and long earrings in girls school uniform.

But, parents and educators are divided on the issue of rigid school dress codes. Generally the girls dislike school dress codes. Particularly middle and high school girls hate conformity and hate looking exactly like everyone else. They feel like being robbed of their personal identities. The strict school dress codes do not permit any peculiar personalization and accessorizing in girls school uniform, yet there are school dress codes that are pretty lenient and liberal about girl school uniform.

Japan modernized japanese school uniform under its modernization program. The western style school uniform was introduced in Japan in the later 19th century.

Today Japanese school uniforms are almost universal in the public and private school systems and in some women’s colleges.

In many elementary schools in Japan, the tiny tots are not required to wear school uniforms, but some do require. Japanese school uniform for elementary school boy students includes white shirts, shorts, and caps, and Japanese school girl uniform include gray pleated skirt and white blouse.

Japanese school uniform codes require the boys and girls wear brightly colored caps to prevent traffic accidents.

Traditional Japanese school uniform for junior and senior high schools consists of a military style uniform (gakuran) for boys and a sailor dress (sailor fuku) for girls.

These traditional Japanese school uniforms are based on Meiji era formal military dress. These uniforms are still in use, but most of the Japanese schools have adopted more western pattern parochial school uniform styles.

The western style Japanese school uniform for boys consists of a white shirt, necktie, blazer with school crest and dress trousers (often not of the same color as the blazer), and western style japanese school girl uniform consists of a white blouse, necktie, blazer with school crest and tartan skirt.

All Japanese schools have summer version of the uniform that usually consisting of just a white dress shirt and the uniform slacks for boys and a reduced weight traditional uniform or blouse and tartan skirt with tie for girls.

Additionally, some Japanese schools have sports activity uniform that includes a polyester track suit for year round use and a t-shirt and shorts for summer activities. Some Japanese schools have rules regarding hairstyles, footwear, and bookbags under japanese school uniform codes.

The uniforms in schools are the distinctively designed clothes worn by school pupils. The uniforms in schools are aimed for the undifferentiated identification of pupils. The uniforms in schools nowadays are important part of School dress codes and uniform policies, which determine the type of uniforms in schools.

There are several styles of uniforms in schools, which include traditional school uniforms, western school uniforms, japanese school uniforms, public school uniforms, catholic school uniforms, etc. Generally, the uniforms in schools are classifies as boys’ school uniforms and girls’ school uniforms. The boys’ uniforms in schools may include dark pants, light-colored shirt, tie, belt, cap, shoes, and a jacket in cold weather, and the girls’ uniforms in schools may include skirt or kilt, blouse or shirt, tie, belt, cap, shoes, and a jacket in cold weather.

The uniforms in schools of Japan are an established part of Japanese life. Introducing the Western-style uniforms in schools in the late 19th century, Japan presently has traditional as well as the Western-system of uniforms in schools. Malaysia introduced the Western style uniforms in schools in the late 19th century during British colonial era until post-independence. Today, the public and private school systems in Malaysia have uniforms in schools universally.
The South Korean schools have strict rules regarding uniforms in schools. The South Korean secondary education students wear uniform called “Gyobok;” some private elementary schools, kindergartens and most of the public/private middle, high schools have uniforms in schools.

The New Zealand intermediate and high schools follow the British system of uniforms in schools. The public (state-sponsored) schools in the continental Europe do not require uniforms in schools; however, there are strict dress codes on uniforms in schools that are private. In United Kingdom & Ireland, the uniforms in schools are usually formal looking. Malta necessarily requires uniforms in schools. In Philippine, the uniforms in schools (Elementary and High School) and a few colleges are pretty common. Israeli schools follow the norm of uniforms in schools.

Most public schools in the United States and Canada do not require uniforms in schools, but the schools usually have strict rules against indecent or offensive clothing. However, private schools in the United States, particularly Catholic schools have uniforms in schools.

The “uniforms in schools” is a highly debated subject nowadays. There is often a debate on “should students have to wear school uniforms?” School uniforms are highly debated in the United States, UK, and several other countries of the world.

The former President Clinton advocated school uniforms for students. The President Clinton’s State of the Union address, “public schools should be able to require their students to wear uniforms,” kicked up a row in 1996. It really fired up the debate on “should students have to wear school uniforms?”

General public and the experts are divided on the issue – “should students have to wear school uniforms?” The advocators on the both sides have strong arguments. The supporters of school uniforms opine that school uniforms solve the school discipline problems and bring conformity that is essential among the students, but on the other hand, the antagonists view school uniforms as symbol of servility, violating right to freedom.

According to the advocators of school uniforms, the school uniforms hiders the activities of gangs in schools; they stops gangs from displaying their colors and garb. School uniforms help stopping violence. The uniforms inculcate sense of pride and discipline among the students. Uniforms help bringing conformity among student. Uniforms give an identity and status and promote a sense of respect and security among students. School uniforms help bringing economic, psychological, and social equality among students. The advocators of school uniforms include people from all segments of the socio, economic, and political structure.

The opponents on the other hand feel that school uniforms infringe the right to liberty, personal identity and self-expression. According to opponents, Uniforms are regimental, militaristic, and faceless. Uniforms are symbol of submissiveness that affect the psyche of students and obstruct the free development of personality. The students should be given the complete freedom of self expression for the development of their real personality.

The arguments of both sides, on “should students have to wear school uniforms“ sound to be genuine, which has made the issue rather complicated. What comes out is that there are several merits and little demerits associated with school uniforms. Some of liberal experts suggest a middle path to pacify the debate on – “should students have to wear school uniforms?” They recommend school uniforms for right up to junior standards, but they should be freed from school uniforms when they enter senior standards.

School uniforms are one of the most discussed, most debated, and most controversial issues associated with the schools and education systems. Some people no longer view school uniforms as symbol of discipline and necessary for learning in schools. They don’t acclaim school uniforms for their positive benefits in schools. However, on the contrary, some people still feel that school uniforms are necessary for the efficient working of schools. This has created hot debate between exponents of school uniforms and opponents of school uniforms.

The exponents of school uniforms review school uniforms as necessary for schools. They help creating safe and conducive climate of learning in schools. They inculcate the sense of responsibility and discipline among students. The advocators of school uniforms review school uniforms as instrumental in creating safe atmosphere in schools; they help reducing and curbing the activities of gangs, trespassers, and outsiders in schools.

The proponents of school uniforms review school uniforms as necessary because school uniforms make students realize that they are in schools just for learning and studying. School uniforms make students concentrate more on their studies than other activities. To support their argument, the exponents offer the some statistics of US Department of Education, 1996, which say that “school uniforms helped decreasing school crimes by 36%, school violence by 51%, and vandalism by 8%.” They also offer the NAESP’s (National Association of Elementary School Principals) study in 1998, which revealed that schools with active uniform policies had almost 20% better discipline rate, and 10% better results that the schools with non-active uniform policies.

School uniforms however get harsh treatment from their staunch critics. The critics of school uniforms review school uniforms as unnecessary and evil, violating the student’s right to liberty and self expression. According to critics, right to liberty and self expression is constitutionally guaranteed, but school uniforms infringe the student’s right to liberty and self expression, which should not be tolerated.

The critics of school uniforms review school uniforms as the biggest stumbling block in the student’s personality development. According to critics, school uniforms just make students submissive and servile, and the submissive and servile students cannot be the thinkers of tomorrow. The critics of school uniforms review school uniforms as a great financial burden on parents of pupils, who bear costs of school uniforms because of their constantly growing children. The critics of school uniforms feel that school uniforms should be banished for the real benefits of students.

The ongoing school uniforms debate is all about the issues, such as – School uniforms are good or bad? School uniforms are necessary or unnecessary? School uniforms are beneficial or baneful? It is a debate between the people supporting school uniforms speaking for school uniforms and the people against school uniforms speaking against school uniforms.

The school uniforms debate is actively participated by academicians, school authorities, legislators, and parents, who stand divided on the school uniforms issue. There are numerous voices for school uniforms and there are numerous against school uniforms. The school uniforms debate is fierce and sounds to be unceasing.

The people speaking for school uniforms in school uniforms debate feel that school uniforms are requisite for smooth working of schools and creating climate of learning in schools. According to school uniform advocators, school uniforms helps reducing “ganging” in schools and make it easier to identify trespassers; thus help creating safe atmosphere in schools. The US Department of Education in 1996 articulated that “Crimes in schools decreased by 36%, school violence decreased by 51%, and vandalism decreased by 8%,” just because of school uniforms.

School uniforms promote sense of responsibility, discipline, dignity, and pride, and always make students realize that they are in schools just for learning. According to NAESP’s (National Association of Elementary School Principals) study in 1998, schools with active uniform policies had almost 20% better discipline rate, and 10% better results that the schools with non-active uniform policies. School uniforms help students concentrate more in studies and school assignments. School uniforms help erasing socio-economical barriers and cultural & economic disparities among the students. Former President Clinton’s State of the Union address, “public schools should be able to require their students to wear uniforms,” fired up the school uniforms debate even more in 1996.

The people speaking against school uniforms in school uniforms debate view school uniforms as unnecessary. According to school uniform opposers, school uniforms stand for tyranny of schools and make students servile and submissive; they hinder personality development of students. School uniforms violate the fundamental right, right to liberty and self expression, of students. School uniforms are economic burden on parents, as school uniforms are very expensive. The people against school uniforms in school uniforms debate go to the extent of holding school uniforms evil and unnecessary, which should be banished from schools.