Kindergardener suspended for mohawk

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I nominate this school for the next Asshole FuckFace Round-Up.
But i don't think they'll make it, there's quite a few serious Asshole FuckFaces out there.

You have got to be joking. There was a warning, followed by months, and then a third infraction. I nominate the mother for wasting a colossal amount of time doing what she should have done in the first fucking place; re-enrolled her child somewhere that attention-grabbing antics (on the part of the mother, mind you, I don't blame the child at all) wouldn't gain traction.

Seriously. What did you expect them to do? You can't continuously flout the mandates of a place of education due to your personal whims.

I love idiots.

i saw "dress code", "uniforms" and "proper grooming" and immediately thought assholes.

public schooled over here

I'm confused by the suggestion that the haircut presented a sudden and urgent threat to classroom stability. If the child has had a mohawk since the fall, then you'd think the student body would be somewhat less enthused by the style now following several months of exposure to it.

And if the hair doesn't present a threat to the content of education, then there's no grounds for the suspension.

That being said, seeing schools and parents quibble over this shit at the expense of a child who is likely more attached to his friends and the structure to which he's grown accustomed than to his hair is sad, and as far as I'm concerned both parties ought to be ashamed. The mother, though, certainly bears a larger responsibility to act in her child's best interests, so I'd side with having the kid get a more "appropriate" haircut as soon as possible rather than trying to turn this into some kind of civil rights issue.

Wow. What a non-issue.

Me too. Tons of public schools have dress codes now.

Not to mention the child's mother must've made a particular choice to send her child to that school.

While I think saying how a child can or cannot wear his/her hair is bull crap, it is school policy. Her argument of 'that rule doesn't apply to me' annoys me to no end. It was school policy, she was duly warned, the kid is the only one who suffers here. If anything I come out of this annoyed with the mother, not the school.

I wonder if they have a rule against mullets, too? That should be a nation-wide, mandatory regulation. Not just in schools. In life.

so if the subject of uniforms, dress codes, grooming, etc. were brought up, it seems that most above are cool with it, as long as it's a school policy.

i find this a little odd, seeing as how we're on SuicideGirls.

You guys don't mind everyone not only looking the same, but being mandated to?

To be honest, I'd look down on any educators who have themselves played a part in hindering or halting the education of the child, at least when the stated reason for doing so is something so minor as a hair style.

And furthermore, I tend to think the kids would be better off if they were taught to accept rather than reject people with obvious differences. It sends a mixed message, after all, when you tell children to be inclusive but practice discrimination right before their eyes. Personally, I always took my lessons from the actions of adults rather than their words, and I know that's not unusual.

I believe most people are taking the school at their word when they say the policy is in place to facilitate a better learning environment. If that's the case (and I don't necessarily think it is), then they are justified.

A charter school is a public school, but it operates like a private school.

A haircut is not worth your child losing the opportunity to go to a small charter school where they're assured the highest level of education possible.

God, yes. I've got a friend who is a baptist pastor, whose son wanted a haircut that is "short in front and sides, and long in back".

His parents tried in vain to get him not to get it cut in that fashion.

He is marked with a mullet now.

Agreed. Save the haircut for the summer.

I gotta say I'm a little confused by this too. Yes, charter school, with uniforms and all that crap...but who's to say that "grooming" is only in one specific style? A well-groomed mohawk takes just as much, if not more, effort and will to maintain.

Besides, this sounds like a parent-admin dispute, not one in which the child should be punished.

I went to a public school and wore a uniform (am in the UK), and it certainly didn't affect my education or civil rights.
In fact I looked pretty damned hot. Sort of.

If the kid were trying to make a statement of individuality, fighting against an actual oppresive force, trying to enforce arbitrary rules, yes, we would be more likely behind him. But it isn't the kid making the statement. It's the mother. The rule has a purpose (avoiding distraction), and the mother was given several chances to abide by the rules she had agreed to when she decided to send him to a charter school. This is not the only option she has for sending her child to school. If making a statement, through her child's hair, is that important to her, then she can make it somewhere else. But she was given a handbook, which specifically states the rule concerning mohawks, before enrolling her child. She chose not to abide by that contract, so she gets no sympathy, at least from me.

Besides . . . mohawks look stupid on 5 year olds.

Unfortunately both sides seem to be ignoring that.

The handbook, according to the article, doesn't specifically say anything against mohawks. It's a charge that he isn't properly "groomed."

I also lack sympathy for a mother who gets surprised and pissy when a school takes action over a rule they'd made at least three formal attempts to enforce

Feh! You clearly have not been following the scandals involving Ohio charter schools! There's no reason to assume this school is any better than Parma public schools. There are numerous excellent public school systems in the Greater Cleveland area.

Troof. If both the Columbus Dispatch and the Akron Beacon Journal have extensively reported on--and editorially agreed on--an issue, it's as close to gospel as you can get.

In short; charter schools are a 50/50 bet in Ohio, sadly.

Could you maybe let those of us who don't live in Ohio in on these scandals?

Poor oversight has led to unfit educators, fly-by-night scams, and poor performance in a significant number of Ohio charter schools. Add the Cleveland Plain Dealer to Toku's list. Being a charter school in Ohio is no guarantee of excellence. It's not like "private" schools where odds are you're receiving a superior education. I mean, if you told me "Send your child to a charter school chosen at random or Parma City School District" I'd choose Parma.