To think schools should be concerned with things other than kids haircuts.

[DroningOn]

metro.co.uk/2019/01/20/mum-says-school-is-culturally-biased-after-banning-son-from-playground-over-haircut-8365293/

Sounds like the haircut policy of North Korea.

Do educators really believe this is an appropriate use of time and energy? Time that could be used teaching and developing kids.

You can tell which parents on here have got the kids with the terrible haircuts

I work at a very expensive private prep school. The boys have hair like you wouldn’t believe - long, short and everything in between. A kid of them look quite unkempt in spite of expensive uniform.

Their learning isn’t affected - the head would’ve made a policy had it been an issue.

It’s another way and forcing people to suppress their individuality.

Sadly most parents don’t bother teaching their children how to present themselves so schools are forced to. Better that these children at least know how to dress than end up unable to get a good job because of their hair

I don't understand this argument. Surely it is subjective and also context based. This little boy's haircut would look perfectly smart on an adult man in a suit and tie and would not hold him back from getting a job. Equally, nicely done box braids of a reasonable length on adult woman look smart and shouldn't hold them back from getting a job anywhere.

And does this boy even want to work somewhere with a prescriptive dress code? He's five ffs. He probably wants to be a superhero or an astronaut or if he's anything like my child he wants to be a dog when he grows up.

The time to teach kids about dressing smart for interviews and the workplace is not when they are five years old and only interested in climbing trees and getting dirty.

‘Hairstyles don’t change learning’ is a lie i’m afraid. If a child came in to my class with coloured hair, it would be all my kids talk about. One day a boy came in with shaved sides and it was all they could talk about during English. On an own clothes day they can’t sit still, simply because they’re wearing jeans! Believe me, small differences make a BIG impact on learning!

Amanduh

If schools allowed dyed hair and non uniform every day, it would become the 'norm' and therefore boring. It wouldn't be a talking point. I don't think schools should allow either of these things but just wanted to point out that it's not the dyed hair or the clothes that affect learning just the fact that these are uncommon situations at school and so cause attention to be drawn to them.

My DC go to a (state) school where all kinds of haircuts are allowed. No one bats an eyelid. The school concentrates on learning and behaviour and don't try to suppress students individuality. My youngest DC has a haircut straight out of peaky blinders. He's in the top set of every subject and absolutely no one is interested in his hair!!

But they only react to the wearing of jeans because it's a one off. I had no uniform at primary school. Jeans didn't distract us.

That kid's hair looks like a perfectly sensible haircut. I fail to see how it's going to interfere with anyone's education. Unless the school decide to make an issue of it. It's the school causing the problem.

This focus on rules for rules sake only exists to drum into children that there's only one acceptable way to be, and that any difference is shameful or negative.

Yes.

I don't see anybody offering convincing justification for the important purpose of these rules that must be followed or else. "Just follow the rules" is a brainless argument.

Children in schools around the world manage to learn just fine without uniforms. It is the novelty of a non-uniform day or new haircut that is the distraction, not some inherent characteristic of denim.

Rules like this are about social control and conformity. They do not serve any justifiable purpose.

It's worth remembering that a lot of what drives schools to insist on smart appearance is the fact that they know full well that it attracts parents, many of whom are convinced by the 'formal uniform = good school and well-behaved kids' nonsense. Then do nothing but whinge about the draconian rules once their child actually goes to the school...

Parents on MN who complain about things like this seem to be convinced that teachers actually care about ties and hair length and enjoy going on at kids about it. Nope. It's school policy and they are just doing their job. Most of them would probably love to get rid of uniform so they don't have to waste time and effort hassling kids about it. But jeans and a t-shirt don't look nearly as naice on the front of a prospectus.

Children in schools around the world manage to learn just fine without uniforms.

I agree but I'm glad that schools have uniforms here. I think secondary school without uniform would be even more of a nighmare for many children than they already are.

I went to schools with no uniforms and dyed hair was allowed and quite a bit of classtime was lost to people discussing them throughout my school years. I think that may have something to do with teachers not being supported to, able or willing to take control (one science teacher I had, a good 10 or so minutes every day at the start of lessons was lost to this, it was so draining) and I'm not sure very strict uniform rules are the answer, but the idea there would no issues if there weren't these rules on appearance and it's all about novelty doesn't make sense. Someone will always try to push the boat even with lax rules, people will always talk about it if they can.

I agree with the mother in the article that different hair types should be considered more in these kinds of rules, but I think all schools who get caught up in these sorts of new articles do concern themselves with things other than hair and are often as they are because that's what most of the parent seems to want.

Rules like this are about social control and conformity. They do not serve any justifiable purpose.

Exactly.

I did my a levels at a state college where people could wear anything, no one was remotely bothered by what others wore.

Selines post is spot on!

Beyond safety measures (long hair tied up for practical science and pe) or anything OBVIOUSLY offensive - eg a swastika shaved in its none of the schools damn business!

Having looked at the article that's a perfectly acceptable neat and tidy haircut that would be accepted by all but the most stringent employers (I can only think of military who'd actually want it even shorter on top). Utterly ridiculous to single this child out and I highly suspect (as clearly does the mother) that the person who objected has some other reason to pick on the lad! Quite possibly racist reasons!

"Don’t choose the school if you disagree with their policy." This particular school doesn't even HAVE a clear policy with stupid wording

"must not have ‘hairstyles that will detract from learning’." Wtf does that even mean?!

And I REALLY can't see how that can even apply to the boy concerned! There's no "trendy" shapes or colours, it's short, neat and tidy and completely inoffensive! Some utter jobsworth needs their arse handed to them for objecting to it!

I've attended 5 schools and a college with varying approaches to uniform, 2 very strict (military schools) and this haircut would have been perfectly acceptable even welcomed compared to many others! At all of them!

Amanduh sorry but if behaviour is deteriorating that much due to such minor differences the problem isn't kids not adhering to school uniform policy it's poor classroom control! And I'm not necessarily blaming just the teachers there but also class size etc.

Billions of children around the world - even some in the uk - attend schools without a uniform at all and do perfectly well educationally! It's utter nonsense that what they're wearing (again aside from obvious safety issues) makes ANY difference whatsoever, indeed ime schools and teachers sometimes focus on uniform & rules to the detriment of teaching and addressing issues like bullying!

Frequency
I completely agree. There is a while world of work out there that doesn't require corporate dress and prescriptive hairstyles. Feels sometimes as though children are being taught that the only careers with value are in business. He may well want to be an astronaut as you say, or a musician, or a plasterer or electrician or a lecturer or so many other things, none of which demand specific hairstyles!

How the fuck does that haircut "detract from learning"? The boy looks about 5! What a ridiculous school. The mum would be better off finding him a more welcoming school than this one run by a wannabe Hitler!

I had a look at the article and the school is being ridiculous. Nothing at all wrong with that boys haircut. It looks very smart, tidy and suits him. I really can’t see what would be distracting about it?

I’m with the mum on this that it is being culturally biased. The boy has Afro hair and it has been styled as such, by I imagine someone trained specifically in cutting and styling this type of hair. It’s not like they have shaved zig zags or bloody Spider-Man into his hair. It’s not dyed bright pink or styled in a ludicrous manner. It’s short on the sides and longer on the top. It’s not shaved to the extreme of being all scalp, the top of his hair isn’t too long or big. He looks smart and tidy. The school need to get a grip.

i agree with @Graphista The first thing that always springs to my mind when i see things like this is wondering what their anti bullying policy is like.

No, it's really not. What if everyone decided they could wear and do what they wanted in a xchool? You couldn't do it in a work place. It annoys me that so many of you think educators put rules in place just because they have nothing better to do.

School rules are irrelevant. Only law matters.

A school who would discriminate against a child over a haircut is failing in it statutory obligations.

It’s great when parents stand up to Head Teachers who think they are above the law.

Hoopaloop You can tell which parents on here have got the kids with the terrible haircuts

What all the parents that think the haircut looks fine? The parents that think hair is just hair and we shouldn’t judge people or make assumptions of them based on thier appearance. The parents that understand different cultures with different hair types used different styles and haircare practices from the ‘white’ norm in this country. That in some cultures hair is more than just hair and can have a religious significance.

In that case you will be calling me one of those parents and my 9 year old DD will be really disappointed to hear her shoulder length Bob is a terrible haircut.

I can understand people not liking certain styles of hair. The teenage boy llama look that is popular round my way. Do I think it looks silly? Yes. Do I think they should be excluded from school for it? No. Do I think they will look back at photos of themselves is 20 years and wonder what they were thinking? Yes. Is their hairstyle any of my business? No.

No, it's really not. What if everyone decided they could wear and do what they wanted in a xchool

Massive stretch from wear what they wanted to doing what they wanted.

“The time and energy comes from having to deal with parents and students who think they are above school rules”

I AM above school rules though and so are my children. Schools are there to provide a statutory service to the public, not the other way around.

If a school rule is reasonable I will follow it and ask my children to do likewise. If not, then not.

What the fuck is extreme about that haircut? It looks perfectly ordinary to me. I wonder what that school would make of my boys' hair, cut by me and usually very badly.

I don't understand what's extreme about that haircut.

Streetwise, I'm sure your children are a delight to teach and I'm sure you are a parent who teachers love chatting too. 🙄