St. Margaret, Shaved Heads & Wigs - Hiding a lighted lamp under a bowl?

People can sometimes place too much importance on others' external apperance, instead of on others' character and motivations. This was my conclusion after I read in today's Straits Times ("Girls' bald move a no-go at school", 2 Aug 2013) that St. Margaret Secondary School had apparently insisted that three of their female students, who had shaved their heads bald for a charity event, wear wigs when they were in the school. Reportedly, Mrs. Marion Tan, the school's principal, was concerned that if the three girls did not hide their bald heads with wigs, they would start a "fad" amongst the other students of the school to have "punk, unfeminine or sloppy hairstyles".

If the three girls had shaved their heads bald as an act of youthful rebellion or experimentation, I would agree with Mrs. Tan's concern. However, in this case, the girls had shaved their heads bald as part of the Hair for Hope (HfH) charity initiative by the Children's Cancer Foundation (CCF). For those of you all who may not know, the HfH initiative, beyond having donors donate to the CCF and to fund the research of cancer treatment, involves donors shaving their heads bald as a symbolic gesture of solidarity and support for young cancer patients whom have lose their hair due to their undergoing of chemotherapy. It is thus most ludicrous that Mrs. Tan should view the shaved heads of the girls as a potential negative example which should be hidden from view and not be encouraged.

Mrs. Tan should have instead allowed the girls to come to school with their shaved heads unhiden. If I was her, I would have invited the girls up on stage during school assembly to proudly announce to the whole school that it was a charitable and courageous act for the girls to shave their heads bald in support of a cause and that what they have done was an act worth emulating. If she had done this, Mrs. Tan would have been able to teach the whole school something worthwhile.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Tan instead decided that despite the charitable and courageous nature of the girls' motivations behind shaving their heads, their shaved heads were "punk[ish], unfeminine" and unbecoming of a "young lady". As a result, instead of teaching them something worthwhile, Mrs. Tan had instead perhaps "taught" the students of St. Margaret that it was more important to have a "feminine" external appearance, rather than a charitable and courageous heart.

What a pity.