Felicia Chiuh
How far should schools insist on conformity?
It is not human nature to conform to everything and anything; if it was, there would not be any progress in the world and we may all still be living as cavemen. Hence, when agreeing that schools should ensure that students conform, we do not mean conform to everything. However, it is also highly impossible for any institutions to allow their students to do whatever they want and to be given unrestricted liberty to their whims and wishes. The essential thing to note is that although conformity in a system is important in schools, unyielding conformity would destroy individual expressions; the same as how an extremely laid-back attitude and behaviour would ruin the schools. What then is the appropriate solution?
Schools are crucial in the society as schools provide the function in educating and shaping the youths in the nation. Thus, they should understand that what may be considered reasonable in the present may be looked down upon in the future. Therefore, insisting on conformity as the main ideas of schools may do more harm than good as youths may grow up to be resistant to changes and this may cause them to remain stationary in the progress of their lives. In addition, by forcing conformity on young students or people, the plan may back fire and these youths may be more drawn to breaking loose and challenging the system. Hence, there should be a balance between the two ideas, as youths should be taught to exercise their pro-activeness and initiative to bend and break the rules when time calls for it.
Schools and institutions should also prepare students to live in the future where there are always constant changes to be explored, where the society will continue due to what we conform to. For example, the prosperous nature of Singapore’s society can only be furthered if the youths of today are taught to accept the decisions made by the government. While it is essential to agree to what the...