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."
I don’t understand, she was just teaching her child to rebel. That he doesn’t have to follow rules. Geeze, what’s wrong with that. /sarc
I’d have to agree with mom here. Although the school has a requirement for good grooming, grooming really describes the attention to neatness. If the boy’s mohawk was tidy, then he didn’t fall short of good grooming. It seems like the principal wants to include tastefulness and stylishness into her definition of grooming.
And the mother said it “really wasn’t”.
Sorry, but I tend to side with the individual first in these cases.
If she proves to be in the wrong later, I’ll gladly take back my position.
I had friends in high school with mohawks, and I teach high school now.
Mohawks do not bother me as much as nose rings and visible tattoos. On teachers and students alike.
It is a haircut.
That haircut looks more like a mullet which is the number one sign you’re a knuckle dragging lowlife. All the kid has to do now is get a tattoo, and he’ll be well on his way to a lifetime at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. The school made a wise decision to get rid of this kid and his mother (who probably has a two foot beehive).
Parma? White socks! Turn blue kid!
When children who are in public schools belong to the state, as the courts have ruled, then yes, they CAN tell you how to cut his hair. Thank your ever-expanding imperial government for that.
Don't know if mom "spiked" his hair with gel before school or not.
Plenty of soldiers I know wear those things.
If it’s within the regulation for the Army, why would the school complain?... oh... I think I just answered my question....
I wouldn’t have a problem with the haircut in the photo.
Only for a short while. Then, it’s on the the chick with the pierced nipples.
Just another example of the man keepin’ a little kid down!
It's not the hair that makes a punk a punk.
It's the little idiot that lives inside the dome.
Heh, only if the mohawk walked in first! Otherwise, he’d be a non-story.
Distractions to the learning environment ARE within the realm of regulation. Long hair, in-and-of itself is generally not about trying to get attention. A spiked mohawk IS ALWAYS about getting attention.
And by the parent’s response, I strongly suspect that the parent knew there would be a problem and chose to push the issue to get attention for themselves in the first place.
This coming from a 14 year veteran in the classroom.
That kid you’re showing needs a pop in the mouth.
Scratch glass, climb walls and do it while you can but don’t get caught.
On another thought Ghoulardi, this is a charter school. They can set the standards and do.
See...
“An administrator at the suburban Cleveland charter school first warned Barile last fall that the haircut wasn’t acceptable”
She should feel blessed that her kid is in a charter and not in Cleveland Public. My nephews go to a charter on Puritas. Best school in the world.
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