4-Year-Old Boy Suspended From School for Months Because His Hair Is 'Too Long

stovelid · 14-01-2010 06:37PM

plein de force wrote: »

if schools spent more time teaching then faffing around with immaterial matters such as the lenght of someone's hair then maybe education wouldn't be as bureaucratic as it has become

If the length of your hair is so immaterial, then maybe it's as well to be short as long, and is not worth getting kicked out of school for?

plein de force · 14-01-2010 06:42PM

stovelid wrote: »

If the length of your hair is so immaterial, then maybe it's as well to be short as long, and is not worth getting kicked out of school for?

no, what i'm saying is that the lenght of your hair is immaterial to education it neither hinders nor advantages you to learning, some people want their child or the child themselves may want to have their hair like that. your appearance and the way you want to appear helps shape individuality.

phasers · 14-01-2010 06:42PM

His hair is really bloody long... another pic:
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gen/127078/thumbs/s-CHILDS-HAIR-large.jpg

I just thought of something from my old (all girl) primary school.

Hair had to be tied up in plaits or a ponytail at all times for neatness/ because there was always nits going around. There was no big deal about it.
I saw a video that says the school would let him come back if he tied up his hair. Grand so, everyone wins. His parents are just idiots.

Evolute · 14-01-2010 07:26PM

m@cc@ wrote: »

A kindergarten school is a step too far. But as far as secondary school, I understand having rules on appearance as when you're in school uniform, you're representing the school. Our school had a rule on hair length also and you'd probably be sent home for long hair.

Did you go to an all boys school or private school?
When I was in school which was mixed I had long hair and by long it was down to my lower back.
It was always kept clean and in a ponytail the only time it was down was when I was asleep in the back of the class.
Never had one thing said to me

Kipperhell · 14-01-2010 07:44PM

m@cc@ wrote: »

But as far as secondary school, I understand having rules on appearance as when you're in school uniform, you're representing the school. Our school had a rule on hair length also and you'd probably be sent home for long hair.

Well how about the school being accurate about the representation of how young pupils want to have. It is all well and good if it something that can one way or the other on circumstance. The hair length cannot be altered.

I still don't get how mixed schools can have different hair length policies based on sex and not be classed as discriminatory. In the real world you can't do that legally.

Mike 1972 · 14-01-2010 08:06PM

Schools come up with all these flimsy and nonsensical justifications for their uniform policy and then completly contradict themselves by having a no uniform day.

Kipperhell wrote: »

In the real world you can't do that legally.

Schools do all sorts of things which wouldnt happen in the real world and justify it by saying its necessary to prepare students for life in the real world.

spurious · 14-01-2010 08:16PM

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Schools do all sorts of things which wouldnt happen in the real world and justify it by saying its necessary to prepare students for life in the real world.

Most of the schools in Ireland are privately-owned by religious orders and can set whatever rules they want for an acceptable 'dress code'.

I work in the public (VEC) school system. We don't have an issue with long hair unless it is a health and safety issue. It would always have to be tied back near machinery (esp. lathes) and tied up and under a net in the kitchens.

mink_man · 14-01-2010 08:20PM

Kipperhell wrote: »

What was the situation so?

there was a rule about the length of hair...also the vice principal was old style and she didnt think about the consequences of people bringing things to court to sort the problem..

stovelid · 14-01-2010 08:37PM

plein de force wrote: »

your appearance and the way you want to appear helps shape individuality.

Paradoxically, it appears to be the parents refracting their own idea of individuality through their child.

It's basically their beef with the authorities with their child acting as proxy rebel.

Redpunto · 14-01-2010 08:42PM

Maybe he had nits

sceptre · 14-01-2010 08:50PM

stovelid wrote: »

Paradoxically, it appears to be the parents refracting their own idea of individuality through their child.

It's basically their beef with the authorities with their child acting as proxy rebel.

I suspect that's the case. They're finally old enough to stamp their feet and scream themselves and are finally up for doing it but no-one cares what they look like.

Lord ButterSlip · 14-01-2010 08:58PM

Just cut his hair.

CrazyRabbit · 14-01-2010 09:06PM

My friends 7 year old son attends a school where the students are not allowed to physically make contact with each other in any way. Even accidentally bumping into another student can get a student in trouble.

They have a strict dress code as well, and also forbid certain hair cuts.

There was a time when I would have said 'Only in America', but I guess we are just as bad now.

plein de force · 14-01-2010 09:07PM

stovelid wrote: »

Paradoxically, it appears to be the parents refracting their own idea of individuality through their child.

It's basically their beef with the authorities with their child acting as proxy rebel.

i think they're rightfully standing up to people sticking their noses in where their remit doesn't need them to do so, as a future teacher i believe it's a schools role to teach a child, not enforce regulations on their appearance as this has damn all to do with education

soups05 · 14-01-2010 09:14PM

monkeypants wrote: »

And Tater Tot is just another way of being called "Spud."

in america there is a comedian called ron white, better know as tater salad. his son is refered to as tater tot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7WLfY2455o

:D:D:D

Thrill · 14-01-2010 09:48PM

plein de force wrote: »

i think they're rightfully standing up to people sticking their noses in where their remit doesn't need them to do so, as a future teacher i believe it's a schools role to teach a child, not enforce regulations on their appearance as this has damn all to do with education

The school has rules and the rule regarding hair is quite clear. If the parents did not like it then they should have sent their kid somewhere else. As they decided to send their child to this school then the childs appearance falls within the remit of the school.

If you become a teacher you will be required to enforce the rules of the school that employs you. Make sure you get a copy of the rules of the school that is prepared to hire you and check to see if any of the rules have anything to do with the childrens appearance. That way you can decline the job and find a school that doesn't give a toss how a child turns up for school.

Good luck finding one.

plein de force · 14-01-2010 10:00PM

Thrill wrote: »

The school has rules and the rule regarding hair is quite clear. If the parents did not like it then they should have sent their kid somewhere else. As they decided to send their child to this school then the childs appearance falls within the remit of the school.

If you become a teacher you will be required to enforce the rules of the school that employs you. Make sure you get a copy of the rules of the school that is prepared to hire you and check to see if any of the rules have anything to do with the childrens appearance. That way you can decline the job and find a school that doesn't give a toss how a child turns up for school.

Good luck finding one.

never said i wasn't going to get a job in one,it's usually principals who enforce these , i know many teachers who don't agree with silly, arbitrary rules enforced by many schools, if a child is clean why does their hair lenght matter?it's not like they're coming in with flies swarming them and ponging.

stovelid · 14-01-2010 10:42PM

plein de force wrote: »

i think they're rightfully standing up to people sticking their noses in where their remit doesn't need them to do so, as a future teacher i believe it's a schools role to teach a child, not enforce regulations on their appearance as this has damn all to do with education

Fair enough.

I don't particularly like reactionary notions of what constitutes proper appearance myself, but I - as I'm over 16 years old - also don't see the length of my hair as being a mandatory beacon of individuality for which I'm prepared to up cudgels and turn down decent jobs or schools.

The point here is that the school are stupid to care about his hair, but they do. They run the school; they impose the standards - however dumb.

The parents should find a school that accept his appearance or cut his hair. All they are doing is disrupting their child's education on the basis of a crusade which they have little chance of winning.

Opposing genuine discrimination and ill-treatment in schools and the workplace is a different story, but going to war over your hair (or worse: your child's hair) seems a little pointless to me, however well-meaning and laudatory it may be.

sock puppet · 14-01-2010 10:53PM

Thrill wrote: »

The school has rules and the rule regarding hair is quite clear. If the parents did not like it then they should have sent their kid somewhere else. As they decided to send their child to this school then the childs appearance falls within the remit of the school.

If you become a teacher you will be required to enforce the rules of the school that employs you. Make sure you get a copy of the rules of the school that is prepared to hire you and check to see if any of the rules have anything to do with the childrens appearance. That way you can decline the job and find a school that doesn't give a toss how a child turns up for school.

Good luck finding one.

When a school is funding a child's education with it's own money then they can make as many rules as they like. If they're taking government money, they shouldn't be allowed to enforce ridiculous rules like this.

Also the parents are paying the teachers' salaries whether they send their child to the school or not, so they can feel rightly pissed off.

jif · 14-01-2010 10:55PM

tiny explosions wrote:

4-Year-Old Boy Suspended From School for Months Because His Hair Is 'Too Long

thats a pretty extreme punishment to hang him up like that.

kowloon · 14-01-2010 11:20PM

I went to a reputable Jesuit Secondary school that and was brought to the headmasters office and threatened for having long hair. Now by long hair I mean Beatles as opposed to Metallica, but the regulations were strict. The Jesuits do believe in 'moulding the boy' though and I had to get it cut.

I got it cut, but the fuker still wasn't happy with that and my folks were called in. After the meeting my parents admitted to me that they hadn't believed me when I told them how how bat-shlt crazy this particular priest was but that they would now let me look for a new school to do my leaving cert in. Other students had it far worse, so I can't complain.

It's a power thing; but ultimately I think my negative reaction to their bull**** did me a world of good. I'm not sure if they're as strict today.

Thrill · 15-01-2010 12:26AM

sock puppet wrote: »

When a school is funding a child's education with it's own money then they can make as many rules as they like. If they're taking government money, they shouldn't be allowed to enforce ridiculous rules like this.

Also the parents are paying the teachers' salaries whether they send their child to the school or not, so they can feel rightly pissed off.

What good is it to teach boys to keep their hair cut short anyway? We all know that most employers are looking for young men to show up for job interviews with long hair tied up in a ponytail, right.

I think it's only fair to teach boys to keep their hair cut shot when going to school because that's what will be expected of most of them throughout their working life, unless they intend to be in a heavy metal band of course.

If kids are not thought that appearance is important then schools would be doing the children a big disservice.

philiy · 15-01-2010 12:35AM

I was sent home so many times while I was in school for having long hair. I did eventually get it cut but I was my decision to get it cut not because the school rules said so.

My brother went through the same thing in the same school so one day him and a few other lads in school who also had long hair got some money together and got a solicitor to send a letter to the school saying the school was sexually discriminating against the males in the school and if it continued, that legal action would be taken. The school suddenly became tolerant of blokes with long hair after that.

Aisling(",) · 15-01-2010 12:43AM

Just looking at the schools dress code
Theyre not allowed anything with zippers?
id hardly be able to wear anything i own!

Lukker- · 15-01-2010 12:45AM

My English teacher refused to teach me because of the length of my hair (which is fairly short, no ponytails etc). I think it was because she was so attracted to my golden locks, she made me cut it so she wouldn't pounce on me on the middle of class ..

kowloon · 15-01-2010 12:57AM

philiy wrote: »

My brother went through the same thing in the same school so one day him and a few other lads in school who also had long hair got some money together and got a solicitor to send a letter to the school saying the school was sexually discriminating against the males in the school and if it continued, that legal action would be taken. The school suddenly became tolerant of blokes with long hair after that.

School kids who assert themselves like that should be rewarded.

Dull and Boring · 15-01-2010 01:00AM

Tiny Explosions wrote: »

I think I remember reading a thread on here a while back about a junior cert student being sent home from school because of the length of his hair!

That was a school in Offaly. I live up the road from the principal....he got a really hard time after it...think he regretted it....

sock puppet · 15-01-2010 01:02AM

Thrill wrote: »

What good is it to teach boys to keep their hair cut short anyway? We all know that most employers are looking for young men to show up for job interviews with long hair tied up in a ponytail, right.

I think it's only fair to teach boys to keep their hair cut shot when going to school because that's what will be expected of most of them throughout their working life, unless they intend to be in a heavy metal band of course.

If kids are not thought that appearance is important then schools would be doing the children a big disservice.

That's a ridiculous argument. Everyone has to attend school. This includes our future writers, musicians, actors etc. Or does having long hair stop someone from becoming a farmer or fisherman say? There are plenty of jobs where hairstyle doesn't matter.

Ollchailin · 15-01-2010 01:02AM

I absolutely haaaaaaaaate long hair on boys/men, but I wouldn't tell any of my students to cut their hair (I'm a teacher in a boys' secondary school). Couldn't be bothered really, I've too many other things to be getting on with and there are people in higher positions than me getting paid far more to deal with such things.

However, it is part of our school rules that the lads have to have short, neat hair cuts- a lot of them have that flopsy surfer dude fringey thingy (yep, I'm down with the young people!) and no one seems to have a problem with that, although a few of them have been called up on it if it got a bit crazy.

At the end of the day, if you sign the school rules saying you'll abide by them, then you have no grounds for complaint if you break them. Parents that whine about the big bad school trying to control their little darling should have a look at the school rules before sending them there.

OutlawPete · 15-01-2010 01:04AM

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

My friends 7 year old son attends a school where the students are not allowed to physically make contact with each other in any way..

I would have liked that at school.

I'm very very very claustrophobic and in the primary school I attended we had acres of grass and if you were lying down reading a comic or the back of your free milk carton or whatever - you could suddenly have one guy jump on you screaming "PILE ON !!!!!!!!".

Before you could say "Please no, you don't understand I'm claust,," you'd be smothered by a dozen sweaty preteens with your face mashed into the grass convinced death was imminent.

4-Year-Old Boy Suspended From School for Months Because His Hair Is 'Too Long

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