6 year old suspended for a mohawk

Let me just say first that I think mohawks look moronic.

With that said, suspending a child for having a strange hairstyle (and mohawks aren't even that strange these days) is ridiculous. Distraction my ass. Looking at another kid's funny hair was probably the last thing distracting me when I was 6 years old, or any age. And even if it did, I'm sure I got used to it and stopped caring after a couple days of looking at it.

This has nothing to do with any actual threat this kid's F***ING HAIRDO poses to his classmates' education. The teachers and administrators don't like it, so they make up a reason to ban it.

Chester wrote:

Public schools are just that; public. And if a kid wants to wear a mohawk then why not? This country has gotten ridiculous. Only a private school should be able to tell a kid what kind of haircut is appropriate.

So in your world, public means no parameters? The point of school is to get an education, NOT to be a place to express yourself via a non-typical hair cut. Research has show that appearance affects behavior. It is difficult enough to mass educate 30 kids in one room with out the added influence of popular counter or sub culture.

If you want to participate in mass education (public or private), then you have to give up some rights in order for it to be administered in an orderly way. Every student abides by behavioral rules, time constraints, a discipline code, etc. that they don't typically abide by at home or on the streets hanging out. Why is that? Because those rules are needed in order to run the school in an effective way. A hair code is no different. Sure, some policy is crazy and may not make sense to you, but trust me, there are reasons. If you don't like it, you can either run for school board and change the policy or find a different school on your own dime.

macs are so emo wrote:

You can wear clothing that has beer, or drug paraphernalia on it. You can wear clothing that is sexually suggestive.

Not at the schools I have taught at. If a kid came to class wearing a suggestive shirt, they were sent to the office to get disciplined and change. If it happened again, there were stiffer punishments. Kids have been suspended from my school for wearing suggestive shirts.

The kid went to school with the "Mohawk" flattened. It really didn't look that strange. It must be part of the "zero tolerance" policies that are in place in many schools.

This mother is retarded. Changing his hair isn't an option because "he really likes it". So you are going to change schools? My kids really like playing video games so they are going to bring them to school and play them there because they "really like them". I don't care if its against the rules.

Howdy wrote:

Not at the schools I have taught at. If a kid came to class wearing a suggestive shirt, they were sent to the office to get disciplined and change. If it happened again, there were stiffer punishments. Kids have been suspended from my school for wearing suggestive shirts.

I know I was making a point that clothing is included in school uniform codes because it can have messages like that. Whereas hair isn't advertising.

Who cares if the mother is dumb, this is a point about whether kids should be suspended for cutting their hair in a certain way. I like how some of you argue that public school isn't a place for individualization because it's too difficult. So freedom of expression should be compromised because it's not easy to teach. This kid isn't speaking and screaming during class, and he's not going to an extreme in trying to disturb the class. He has a haircut. I just think that's a bit extreme. Every kid can't look exactly the same. I understand the no beer t-shirts or pot t-shirts. But saying haircuts are distracting or suggestive is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

What if the kid had Six Nations(Iroquois) blood in him. Then the school would be in a world of shit... That would be like asking a Christian kid to go home after wearing a shirt that said Jesus rules!! That wouldn't be very nice. Granted the kid is most likely not mohawk. I think the school is having a power trip and it sounds like a Nazi camp, or some very very conservative right wing school. To me it sounds borderline illegal.

The school is playing into her hands. Anyone that wears a mohawk (or worse, makes their kid wear one) is begging for attention. If you ignore it they have to stay up nights thinking of something else "non-conformist" to do.

There is nothing a punk, or a goth or whatever wants more than to have people notice them and make a big deal out of their supposed freakishness.

In my experience working with kids 6-18 the most distracting haircut to the kids was when an 8 or 9 year old girl had her hair cut real short. She was made fun of and harrassed longer then any kid who had a mohawk or anything else. So are the schools going to demand the girls hair be a certain length? I don't think so. This decision is simply because as stated above the administration and teachers do not find favor with such a haircut. They stereotype those kids with mohawks are the ones who cause trouble therefore they don't allow it. Another example is if a kid were to wear something that the kids could classify as "dork" like or whatever they want to call it that would cause as much of a distraction as baggy pants. But you won't see turtle necks outlawed by the school.

yeah since public skewls are public kids should be able to wear whatever hairstyle they want, and if they want to show up wearing electrodes on their nipples, a dildo around their neck, and a swastika shaved into the side of their creative little heads they should be able to do that too. kewl argument.

Chester wrote:

Public schools are just that; public. And if a kid wants to wear a mohawk then why not? This country has gotten ridiculous. Only a private school should be able to tell a kid what kind of haircut is appropriate.

i think most schools make exceptions for religious expression, ie if they have a no hats rule they let people wear various head covering gizmos if it is part of their religion.

kewl argument wrote:

i think most schools make exceptions for religious expression, ie if they have a no hats rule they let people wear various head covering gizmos if it is part of their religion.

Which is a mistake, there should be no exception for religious reasons. If one kid can wear a beanie b/c he's Jewish then everyone should be allowed to.

No one can honestly say that no haircut can be distracting, that's an absurd position. Hair can easily be distracting. If it can be then schools can regulate it.

Of course, the real answer is to abolish public schools, that way this wouldn't be an issue. But that premise opens up a whole can of worms.

I don't buy the freedom of expression argument. This is a six-year-old kid; what exactly is he trying to express by sporting a mohawk? Ask him for the definition of freedom of expression, and if he comes up with one, I guarantee it's a recitation of what his mother told him.

One of my kids goes to public; the other is private. All schools will have rules that leave you scratching your head. At the same time, it's a rule, and it's wise to instruct your children to follow them. I'm certainly not advocating teaching one's children to not stand up for themselves, but they have to learn what's a real issue and what's not. The adult world is full of rules and regulations that seem stupid (how many of us work in offices with a few dumb ones?), but so long as they are not illegal and don't discriminate against a particular group, you end up having to follow them. Certainly some are worth making the effort to change. Unfortunately, what this mother has taught her child is, if you do disagree with a rule, what you do is just blatantly ignore it, rather than take up a discussion to resolve the problem.

kew argument wrote:

yeah since public skewls are public kids should be able to wear whatever hairstyle they want, and if they want to show up wearing electrodes on their nipples, a dildo around their neck, and a swastika shaved into the side of their creative little heads they should be able to do that too. kewl argument.

Chester wrote:

Public schools are just that; public. And if a kid wants to wear a mohawk then why not? This country has gotten ridiculous. Only a private school should be able to tell a kid what kind of haircut is appropriate.

At no point in my post did I mention clothing, dildos, or swastikas. I am talking about a haircut. Haircuts should only be enforced if there is a health problem (lice) of if someone shaves words or inappropriate symbols in their hair.

Yes, public schools must have rules regarding dress. It should be the school's policy as approved by the school board. But outlawing haircuts is starting to really cut away at kids' self expression.

People are suspicious or scared of those that are different.

It is because said scared people are insecure and not that bright. Therefore they get worried that anything they can't relate to, or don't understand might be dangerous or threatening to their status quo.

Open your minds people. Think.

But that's what I don't get about this whole situation. This kid isn't really doing anything that out of the norm. I mean, maybe a couple decades ago a mohawk would have been a real oddity. And back in 70s and 80s a mohawk was often a counter-culture statement meant to threaten authority. These days, mohawks make no such statement. They are hip and cute. Even the popular kids and jocks are sporting mohawks these days. Most kids are non-commital about it though and simple sport the "faux"hawk.

Either way, it's just a hairdo. It's not threatening. It's nothing to get in a tizzy about and start expelling kids over. It is, however, a good reason to smack your buddies in the back of the head and tell them how dumb they look. But that's about as far as it should go.

Yeah, you're right. And this whole culture thing is so distracting-kids should be taken away from their families and educated in prison camps so that nobody is distracted. Everyone should have the same haircut. Boys and girls should dress the same-so that no one feels sad or bad. Everyone should take the same classes because everyone is the same.

What? Just because people are too young to know the law they shouldn't be protected the same? That makes no sense. I bet this kid can't tell you a thing about the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments but it doesn't mean he can now legally be a slave.

Just because there are rules doesn't mean they aren't bad rules. You sir are a sheep. If you follow everyone around doing things just because they are the rules you've already submitted alot of your personal freedoms.

This kid had a mohawk, he didn't carry a gun into school. He didn't start a fight or riot. He didn't even shout out in the middle of class or throw something at someone. He simply cut his hair. That's the basis for expelling someone? I bet you could go through that same school with loose restrictions such as those and find plenty of girls hair that distracts young boys. Man there were plenty of hot girls when I was in high school who distracted me all the time with their dress and hair. Should they be suspended?

It's a ludacris claim.

Freedom of expression is a concept that I don't think a six -year old quite grasps, nor is prepared to defend on a national news station. By the way - I doubt very much HE cut his hair. I'm willing to bet SHE (meaning mom) did. That is my point. This was her idea. I doubt he had much to do with any of this. The school had a rule about grooming and dress, and they chose to enforce it. They have every right to do so. If she thinks it is too strict, dumb, a violation of a constitutional right or suppressing a religious freedom, then she needs to start a dialogue with the powers that be at the school, not IGNORE communications warning her of the violation of the rule. It's called teaching life skills to your child. If your boss tells you one day that you can't post on letsrun anymore while at work, are you going to ignore him and continue posting to the point he fires you, or are you going to go into his office and plead your case (maybe negotiate 15 minutes a day for freedom of expression)? There's no law against someone posting on letsrun at work, but there may be a rule. There are rules in many places that aren't enforceable by an existing law. Your own example... there's no LAW against shouting out loud during class. Does that mean the school can't make a rule to keep you from doing it? After all, the shout could be one expressing his or herself.I'm a parent, I've volunteered in many a classroom setting. These are charged up little creatures and that get distracted by EVERYTHING! It's not easy to keep their attention. Yes, I can very much see how 6 year olds would be distracted by a haircut. And no, I am not a sheep. I recognize bad rules and bad laws, and feel to change them you need to approach things in a constructive way. The mother chose to ignore the warnings until her child was expelled, then appeared on the news to get her 15 minutes of shame (no, I didn't mean fame). Bet she could have reached a compromise if she had just talked it over with the school board.