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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday February 15, 2008 - 7 Rules should be followed Continued from page 6 are meant for general application (i.e., everybody) and rules in school prepare our children for laws as adults. Learning to obey the rules, whatever they are, and particularly the ones we do not like, is often just as important as the content of the rules themselves. Failing to enforce the rules is, again, failing to give our children the skills that they need for life. That is to say nothing of the numerous studies in this particular case, which demonstrate that school uniforms are less expensive and promote better learning by removing the social inequality which accompanies expensive running shoes and fashions. Children can concentrate on developing their individuality and creativity from within, not through clothes, and isn't that the objective anyway? It is not Generation Whenever that is to blame for this lack of responsibility, discipline and disobedience. The children did not make the late assignment policy; indeed, Sabrina Shaheen recognized the inherent unfairness in it. The children did not rebel against the uniform policy; it was the educators and parents in each instance. And I am guessing that they are Me Generation Boomers, who seem to face every issue as if it was still the '60s and as though civil disobedience and lack of personal accountability were still cool and required. However, society has changed and the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of individual preference. It needs to swing back in the direction of individual responsibility. Many amongst this largest cohort seem to still go through life focused entirely on their individual preferences and fail to reflect on the example that they are setting for their children. Whether it is something as seemingly trivial as not sending their children to school in uniform or walking through traffic against the light (anyone who has observed the supposed adults scampering across Trafalgar and Cornwall after the 530 Go Train in a snowstorm, when the cars can't stop if they had to, knows what I mean) or something more serious like ENRON, WorldCom, or just about anything happening in the United States or Canadian politics in the last two decades, the common element is that for the Me Generation, rules do not need to be obeyed. Individuals do not have to be personally accountable and societal conventions and norms do not have to be followed if the rules are inconvenient, being accountable is unpleasant or the norms require consideration for others. Of course some rules are ill-conceived and perhaps some laws cannot be followed in good conscience. But then do something, as provided in a free and democratic society, to change them -- don't just disobey them. Disobedience is habit forming. Today the dress code, tomorrow the criminal code; the small stuff does matter because it sets the pattern. We need rules such as getting assignments in on time for our society to function, and we need those rules to be enforced and sanctions for those who do not comply. If a few do not obey the rules and there is no penalty, why should anyone else obey the rules? So before you ignore the uniform policy, yell at the referee, advocate for no homework deadlines or cross a busy street against the light, remember that your children are watching and learning. The next rule they ignore may be yours or worse. JOEL WATSON Don't Pay Retail! Factory Outlet Sale We Install Columns Wainscoting Over 70 Smooth or Patterned Profiles Visit our website or showrooms for prices, design ideas. 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