Kindergarten Boy Suspended for His 'Distracting' Mohawk

[Anonymous]

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/kinder ... 03876.html

WTF?

 

[Jillybean]

No, really. WTF? Why suspend a child over a hair style? What kind of crap is this?

 

[Gen]

Aw it's so cute though! This makes me sad for that little kid, he was probably so excited about his haircut

 

[Rebecca Buck]

It's a wonder the people at NASA could even get any work done with this guy around :roll:

I'd sue. I really would. Hair is not a distraction. Fuck that noise, seriously.

 

[Rose]

If Spawn wants to grow his hair out long "like a girl" and go to school and someone tries to say something, I will cry sexism from the building tops! 'Weird' colors not being allowed makes sense, but long hair or a tame mohawk being banned is just flipping stupid to me.

BJ and I had a conversation about this earlier when we first saw the headline and we both agree it's ridiculous. Why can't a boy have long hair and why can't a girl wear a mohawk? So long as their hair isn't impeding their ability to see well, is clean and maintained to some level of propriety then who cares? It's hair for cripes sakes! And yes, I will be THAT mother who barges in to the school demanding to see the principle until shit gets fixed.

 

[AnaVictoriaXO]

:shock:

What a bunch of BS. This isnt the first story of this kind that Ive heard.

"They seen his hair like it was," she told WHIO-TV on Friday. "All the little kids were going over and feeling on it and everything."

Superintendent Gregg Morris says that's exactly why they had to send little Ethan home.

Seriously? Because the TEACHERS couldn't do their job of telling the kids to pay attention? Sure, its not as simple as just saying it but if you cant control a group of five years olds over a hair style I really question their ability to control behavior over much more serious issues.

They're young children easily excited over little things....this should've been pretty easy to control compared to other small things.

:snooty:

 

[Mirra]

Seriously? Because the TEACHERS couldn't do their job of telling the kids to pay attention? Sure, its not as simple as just saying it but if you cant control a group of five years olds over a hair style I really question their ability to control behavior over much more serious issues.

They're young children easily excited over little things....this should've been pretty easy to control compared to other small things.

I wouldn't want to try to control a classroom of 5 year old kids no matter what their hair styles look like. That said, I suspect the "distraction" of his mohawk would have worked itself out pretty quickly. The novelty of the hair cut would only last so long. This is some real bull shit, though.

 

[AnaVictoriaXO]

Seriously? Because the TEACHERS couldn't do their job of telling the kids to pay attention? Sure, its not as simple as just saying it but if you cant control a group of five years olds over a hair style I really question their ability to control behavior over much more serious issues.

They're young children easily excited over little things....this should've been pretty easy to control compared to other small things.

I wouldn't want to try to control a classroom of 5 year old kids no matter what their hair styles look like. That said, I suspect the "distraction" of his mohawk would have worked itself out pretty quickly. The novelty of the hair cut would only last so long. This is some real bull shit, though.

:lol: Me either, man...me either.

Exactly my point though, lol. It would've worked itself out, they're making it seem like it would've caused some horrible, unending disruption....I just honestly dont see any legitimate reasoning on their part. Like you said, bullshit.

 

[Lintilla]

Back when I used to live in Indiana I was a school portrait photographer, and I'm not sure there was a single school I visited that didn't have rules like this (there'd many times be a teacher supervising to make sure no one in violation would make it into the yearbook).

It was a bit absurd to me. I remember dying my hair with cherry Kool-Aid in grade school, and all sorts of colours after that. I don't remember being a distraction. Maybe SEVERAL minutes combined worth of "hey, what did you do to your hair?" Hell, I don't remember anyone really giving two shits about me in general

Either way, the real world is full of distractions. Maybe they should use it as a learning opportunity... The outside world isn't going to conform to some arbitrary standards. Although certain workplaces may enforce the same sort of thing, which is also BS. Then again, that's what we're preparing them for...

 

[JickyJuly]

The problem is parents agreeing to the rules these schools pile on. Our public school system is so bent on teaching kids to be uniform cogs in the machine that it can't be assed to teach them how to read or write. It beats all the wonder and creativity out of them and doesn't even fill the emptiness left behind with knowledge. Children are treated as 2nd class citizens. Nowhere else in life will they be bullied and told to deal with it because it builds character or expected to raise their hands in order to tinkle. We pay tons in taxes to fund these schools. It's an outrage.

 

[Neudiin]

I agree with what the grandmother said about it being a bit harsh for what it is(paraphrasing) but if there are established rules about hair and clothes, sorry they have to be followed by everyone. School is out in 2 months or so, she could have made him wait and gotten it in the summer when most people buzz their kid's hair anyway. As far as a distraction, I dunno if it would have been one past the first day but now that its on the interwebs how much of a distraction is it now? lol

 

[VeronicaChaos]

Neil says it perfectly. These kids WERE learning by feeling his hair. Everything they do is a learning experience. By forcing children not to explore and be curious you are actively discouraging them to learn as much as they can.

 

[VenPerv2]

might be slightly off topic but..

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_s ... ivity.html

pretty much sums up exactly how schools are today apart from a few select ones that use techniques such as the Montessori system (giving a child the tools to learn, not giving them a question and answer and letting them choose their own syllabus from a range of activities)

as for the topic, yes its stupid that the kid was suspended but if the school had the set of rules in place (albeit how stupid) you have to abide by them, Lintilla pretty much said everything i agree with :thumbleft:

 

[sweetiebatman]

Madness..

Everytime I hear one of these ridiculous stories I think of this song...




Teacher leave those kids alone!!!

 

[SatanJonez]

I almost got suspended back in my junior high days for dying my hair a multitude of colors. Some loop hole in the rules kept me from getting kicked out of school for a few. And the novelty didn't last long at all as others have mentioned. It's just hair, once you get used to looking at/seeing something no one really gives a fuck anymore and it ceases to be a distraction (if it ever was) because you get used to it.

 

[GemmaMarie]

I agree with what the grandmother said about it being a bit harsh for what it is(paraphrasing) but if there are established rules about hair and clothes, sorry they have to be followed by everyone. School is out in 2 months or so, she could have made him wait and gotten it in the summer when most people buzz their kid's hair anyway. As far as a distraction, I dunno if it would have been one past the first day but now that its on the interwebs how much of a distraction is it now? lol

I agree with this BUT on the same token- school policies are beyond ridiculous now-a-days. I agree with the others that policies within the schools now aren't encouraging anything except mindless uniformity. I wish MORE stories like this would make the media in the hopes that they would force a change in the school systems nationally. That enough people would be become angry and more important ACTIVE in the school system to force a change for the good in them. From curriculum to appearance the policies just aren't where they need to be on a national level. My sons starting kindergarten next year & while I fully plan on putting him public school, it also scares me because I know the state of the public school system. Things need to change & if reporting stories like this helps to raise awareness then I'm all for it.

 

[sweetiebatman]

As time goes on we will get less and less great innovators out of the school system if this bullshit is enforced, might as well go the whole hog and give each pupil a number.

There is absolutely no room for original thinking and/or movement in a rigid curriculum with strict rules. feel sorry for our terribly underfunded and underpaid teachers that have to enforce this to produce "results" rather than free thinking people..

 

[SweepTheLeg]

A small anecdote, when my dad was in high school he grew out a very large afro and they tried to suspend him for being a distraction and all that jazz and brought in his mom to tell her about it and expecting her to take care of it. Instead she noted that the rules only said his hair couldn't grow passed the bottom of his ears and that she wasn't going to do anything and if they tried she'd fight them along the way. Needless to say, he graduated with a huge ass afro that was pinned down to see to it that his cap would stay on.

And I was told this was before it really got out of control. Way to go dad.

As for the kid in kindergarten it's sad how they try to beat the individuality out of everyone at such a young age. I say the rest of his class has their own non-violent protest- mohawks for everyone!

 

[BlueViolet]

This is one of the reasons I'll never send my children to any sort of public or private school system.