Afro hair is not allowed in primary school

[Mumkris]

Hello everyone,
I am really struggling to understand why my son’s hair is not allowed in school. He is biracial and he loves his gorgeous curly hair. His primary school, however insists that he should cut it or plait his hair as it’s causing a distraction and they “cannot have that”?!
I read their hair policy and there is nothing against that. His hair is long but not long enough to be tied back. It is what it is - natural!

Well you can't work at slaughter and may with hlbig hair. The school is just teaching them good habits early. If they are taking issue with it it must be because it looks messy. Either grow it shorter or plait it so it isn't sticking up.

Saying your DSs hair looks
Messy is discrimination. It’s not messy it’s how his hair grows. It’s not like unbrushed Caucasian hair that will look messy unless it’s brushed. You can’t brush Afro hair ffs. If DS physically can’t tie it up as it is then it’s short enough not to be a health and safety risk or flopping over his eyes. I like the suggested letter and neither your DS or you should pander to this request from the head. It’s the sort of shit people with Afro hair have endured down the centuries and needs to stop right here. And to anyone saying that lice don’t thrive on black hair. My SIL spent hours trying to treat hers when she got nits from one of her pupils. It was a really really long and tedious job to sort out

Yeah, just grow it shorter OP!

The talk about it being “distracting” is absolute bollocks - how the hell can a head of hair be distracting.

Read my post two above yours. Plenty of ways. Nothing to do with race, however.

How silly are the people who assume 'its an afro' means it's a huge afro that blocks out vision? It's good that you have awareness of racism OP, and know that a lot of people both black and white do see it as it is.

We don't have to fit our hair to white standards or cut it off(!) to be 'acceptable' they can piss right off with that supremacist mentality.

Reminds me of the 70s when I had a medium afro and was sent home from school for 'promoting black power'. My hair was neat natural and cut into a style. Such a stupid statement. My dad was at the school within minutes of me being sent home, never heard any talk about my hair again.

Decades later, here we are still with racists who can't admit their need to (try to) control, and have taken it upon themselves just like that to deem that acceptable hair must look like the white man's, and if not should be flattened down into braids or cut off.

If a child goes to school and is compelled to stare at someone's hair all day then they've the attention span of a gnat and arent predisposed to learning. A parent should've already noticed and dealt with that. Another child's hairstyle is the least of it

I understand the problem that ‘curly = messy’ mentality, and I agree it’s discriminatory and racist.
Afro hair has a lot of shrinkage. I’ve met very few mixed race people with 4c hair, usually their hair is curly, and stretches a lot, so if it’s a case of needing the hair tied back then, I mean, as soon as you run a brush or comb through it it will stretch enough to be tied back. Go over with a bristle brush if you want, sorted.
I’m conflicted, because school rules that say all hair should be tied back, I don’t know how I feel about them. If that’s the rules all over the school, I don’t think your ds is being picked on by the rule because of his race, if anything, it seems as though you are trying to exempt him from the rule because of his race, because believe me, you can tie back curly hair that’s very short (I’ve done it with dd after a white hairdresser trainee cousin took ‘an inch’ off dds hair to get rid of the split ends, when it curled back up half her hair was gone!!)
Saying that, I think the rule is stupid, and don’t see how anyone’s hair can be distracting, and don’t believe children should EVER be made to feel bad or ashamed about the way their hair grows out of their heads!! That’s so abhorrent to me!!

you can't work at slaughter and may with hlbig hair.

You can’t work there when you’re 10 either.

You can’t work there when you’re 10 either.

🤣🤣 dead!

Ach, they can fuck right off. This is the 21C. We are done complying with the white man’s rules.

If it’s not long enough to tie back, he’s not breaking the rules. Tell the Head his racist views are distracting your son from learning and you can’t have that. Challenge every utterance on its illogic, because the bottom line for the school sounds like acceptable hair is Caucasian hair carried a certain way.

Is this a catholic school? The Pope’s missionaries converted half of fucking Africa!

Yuck. These people make me so angry (can you guess?).

Yes it hearts, Iamagreyhoundhearmeroar
Because I look European I don’t have any problems. My son, however despite being born in London will have to face this sort of problems about his looks. Why?
Our biracial children are being taught only to cut and manipulate their natural hair as if they are some scary beasts. And they will grow up and feel that way in professional and casual environments that subscribe to rigid European beauty ideals. I heard people saying that they have to work harder and prove they are not stupid just because they aren’t European looking. I get it. Sad.
The assumption in some schools is that black or mixed children don’t do well in school and in life. Unless every teacher has high expectations of every child and non-judgemental approach, we wouldn’t have to discuss this.

Love this video

In summary - normal for ‘white hair’ is not normal for ‘black hair’

Someone I knew had a mixed race son at a Catholic school who had the same issue. She said it was racial discrimination and fought them on it and won. It helped that she was a lawyer.

It scares me how someone in charge of a school, who should have each and every child’s interests at heart, could behave like this.
Your DS must be allowed to be himself and not made to conform to an arbitrary rule, made for no other reason than to enforce a narrow unreasonable conformity.
Good luck!

My DD is top student in her year and that is with her curly afro 😀. Long may it continue!

And I would like to thank MN cos here is how I learnt to care for her natural locks 😀

I’m shocked and horrified that this is happening in a British school on 2018. OP I hope you can make this HT see sense.

Can't he just get it cut? Teacher's surely have his best interests at heart

What?!
Why should he?

If his hair gets long enough to tie back then it should be tied back in line with school policy.
Nothing more.

Celtic - why should he get it cut? To appease an unreasonable head ?

@Mumkris
"My son is in year 6 and can decide what he wants to do with his hair"

Not a good attitude to pass to your son. The school has rules, he's a child. Don't ruin him by giving him an attitude problem.

I would just like to point out, as a teacher, that hair (whatever its type or texture or colour) CAN most certainly be a distraction.

I think that what you have described is more a behavior issue than a hair issue.

Celtic- what is your definition of neat and tidy for afro hair? Afro hair is by its nature deemed untidy by some who don't understand afro hair and therein lies the problem. How is it a distraction?

I can't believe the nerve of the school, suggesting he sits for hours getting braids because their privileged white sense of aesthetics is offended! They are being racist and must not only back down but apologise to your DS. I'm outraged on your behalf!

Jesus fucking Christ. Has Britain got more racist since I left 7 years ago?

And read the thread properly ffs.

*ITS NO LONG ENOUGH TO TIE BACK.
*

Honestly, I was wish Mumsnet would ban racist posters, I'm sick of seeing it.

"Why would you fell hurt op?" *tinkly laugh. You really, honestly lack any imagination, empathy or compassion or are you just a racist, goady twat?