Post-primary school kids rebel against the system

With a lot of schools forcing children to follow strict uniform regulations, there’s very little room for them to express themselves through hair and clothing.

 

This is why children’s advocacy group Voices of Youth organised an event to inform youngsters of how they are being denied of freedom of expression and what they can do about it.

 

The ‘What Rules Rule You’ event saw over 60 secondary school kids from across Ireland in the streets of Dublin to tell educators that they want some input on how pupils can present themselves in schools and how issues such as bullying should be tackled.

 

Child advocate Joanna Siewerska (17), thinks that pupils are punished for not adhering to strict rules that they are expected to follow even though they have no say in the making of these rules:

She said: “The way that rules are written, they're for us, but we're not consulted in the making (of them).”

 

As co-chair of the event, Joanne called on school management across Ireland to “move with the times” and “facilitate the needs and desires of young people”.

 

She thinks that legitimate communication between pupils and educators is in order.