Posted on 02/27/2008 4:56:15 AM PST by E Rocc
PARMA, Ohio -- A kindergarten student with a freshly spiked Mohawk haircut has been suspended by school authorities who said the hair was a distraction for other students.
Michelle Barile, the mother of 6-year-old Bryan Ruda, said nothing in the Parma Community School handbook prohibits the haircut, characterized by closely shaved sides with a strip of prominent hair on top.
"I understand they have a dress code. I understand he has a uniform. But this is total discrimination," she said. "They can't tell me how I can cut his hair."
An administrator at the suburban Cleveland charter school first warned Barile last fall that the haircut wasn't acceptable. The school later sent another warning to her reiterating the ban.
Mohawks violate the school's policy on being properly groomed, school Principal Linda Geyer said. Also, the school district's dress code doesn't mention Mohawks, but it does allow school officials to forbid anything that interferes with the conduct of education.
Ruda's hair became a disruption on Thursday when Ruda arrived freshly shorn, Geyer said. Administrators called Barile on Friday telling her to pick Ruda up from school.
"This was his third infraction," Geyer said Tuesday. "We felt that we were being extremely patient."
Rather than request a hearing to appeal the suspension, Barile said she'll enroll him at another school. Changing the hairstyle is not an option, she said.
"It's something that he really likes," Barile said. "When people hear Mohawk, they think it's long, it's spiked, it's crazy looking, and it's really not."
Or hey, why not let the kids come in with blue hair?
Get real yourself. There has to be some decorum.
snort. they can’t stop the kids from looking around. And blue hair, there’s worse.
I would croak and not let my kid get a mohawk, i admit, but it’s CRAZY to suspend a little boy for it. It’s crazy.
You see, I think she’s saying you should not mindlessly lay down to pettiness and nonsensical bureaucracy.
Do you really want kids to not deal with distractions when they grow up? Is that the only way they can control kids, if there is no distraction, they are so bored out of their skulls that there is nothing to gain their attention?
I only think it’s crazy if the school doesn’t specifically have a policy against it. If they do, they’re toast.
I’m not saying this is acceptable. To me as a parent, it’s not. But I’m saying that you can’t legislate taste (or poor taste) out of their lives. You can NOT keep all distractions out of their sight and it’s far better to teach the children to ignore the sillier distractions. Of course when kids are warehoused in large groups, that is hard, but that’s what they do, it’s the school’s choice and responsibility.
Absolutely. Give the other kids a few minutes to gawk and snicker, then get on with school day. The school has now made it into a much bigger deal that it would have been otherwise.
No. Of course not. You might draw the age-line differently than I, so I'm going to make a general point. These kids are only 6. It's tough enough getting 6yo's to move in the same direction. If the kid was 16, I'd be more likely to agree with you. And if the kid had a good reason -- say religious grounds -- I'd probably also agree with you. This is just a case where the parent has somewhat frivolously picked a fight with the school.
I am much more worried about the violence, drugs & what is being taught etc. If the school has rules against this haircut then the mom should have known that. However when my sons were in middle & high schools both boys & girls had these haircuts & although I personally don’t care for them..I don’t think its such a big deal. In fact I think its just a phase & most boys I knew that had them lost interest in them rather quickly.
Keep in mind that this is a charter school, which means that child had to meet a set of requirements to be admitted. If the school has a policy against weird hairstyles, so be it, that’s their prerogative.
But you’re right, no one can make a rule against any and all distractions to education...that’s impossible.
I believe it’s spelled Kieska. I know the other words....
Who stole a Kieska?
Who stole a Kieska?
Who stole a Kieska from the butcher shop (hey!)?
Round and firm and fully packed
It was standing on the rack
Someone stole a Kieska when I turned my back!
(ha ha - brings back memories of my Ghoulardi days).
I totally forgot. There IS a street in Parma named Amrap.
I can’t remember if it was Ghoulardi or the Ghoul who always went crazy mocking out Dorothy Fuldheim.
I lost my kielbasie down the sewer
I lost my kielbasie down the drain
I can’t find it in all that manure
My heart is full of kielbasie pain.
Of course, I’d much rather the boys were wearing fedoras (real hats) inside than those stupid ugly ubiquitous baseball hats any time.Hard core Muslims think that the girls should be wearing burqas. Why should either of your opinions matter one bit?
"Ettiquette" changes with time. It used to be polite to belch at the dinner table, in some cultures.
-Eric
“Dorty Fuldheim?”
That was Ghoulardi. He blew up one of my model cars once! My father thought his son was surely insane for watchin’ Ghoulardi! Pa Pa Ooh Mao Mao!
Thanks! I thought so....
Too funny about your model car! I loved Ghoulardi. I saw more bad “B” movies back in the day but I loved Ghoulardi (Ernie Anderson of course)!
It says that he should mindlessly stand up to those in authority over him.It used to amaze me when "conservatives" seemed to think than "decency", "decorum", and conformity matter more than individuality. That approach is not only contrary to the basics of conservatism, its contrary to the principles that built this nation.Better that they mindlessly cower those in authority over him, eh Commrade?
The generation currently between 40 and 50 or so went to school when prayer, regimentation, and chickencrap rules were largely gone, but before PC and "sensitivity" took over at the expense of personal responsibility and way before this new regimentation kicked in. It was a time when "public school uniforms" was an oxymoron.
That generation was Reagan's strongest support. Without a draft, they staffed a military that won one of the most one-sided wars in history and played a huge role in defeating an evil superpower without even having to fight. They spearheaded the explosive growth of the computer industry and information technology. They remain the most conservative voters (Bush's strongest support in 2004).
Sometimes I wonder if the liberal educrats are fully aware of this, and committed to preventing recurrence....
-Eric
I think you may be right!
Although I’m only half Polish (and much of that is Prussian), I can never get it right!
I loved that one!
Aw geez, I want to go home!
>>“I understand they have a dress code. I understand he has a uniform. But this is total discrimination,” she said. “They can’t tell me how I can cut his hair.”
I object to most of that too at public schools. Often this is a government response to suppress individuality as a means of maintaining control more easily.
Yes its a bit hard to teach when the kids are individuals but the results are more satisfying.
When I was a department head I found it best to focus on education and those things that truly disrupt. When there was a hand cuff craze I said simply “Handcuffs will not be shared at school, used to attach more than one limb or used to attach a person to an object - if its your idea of fashion, fine but we are here for education.”
Okay, now you’re taxing my memory. What is Rockside Road called on the West side? (poo, I lived on the West side and can’t remember)
Brookpark becomes Granger, right?
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