Yeah, I get it. Nothing the poor child was wearing existed in biblical times.
I suppose they have something like the following in mind:
I’ll bet there is more to this story than a haircut.
The government school will have her using the boys’ room within a month.
Absolutely NONE of which apply to this little 8-year old kid.
You know darned good and well parents and guardians were told upfront what the expectations were for dress and conduct. Why do people think they’re “special” and they don’t have to abide by them? If you can’t respect the school’s rules, then don’t send your kid there.
I wasn’t aware that the bible had dress codes for 8 year old children.
Wait....Let’s see what the rest of the kids look like....cuz I think we’re having our chain pulled.
Whether or not the school was right to warn the parents—or grandparents—I have absolutely no sympathy for parents who run whining to the press about the standards of the Christian school they wanted to send their daughter to.
Either go along with the rules, or leave.
The press, of course, is eager to take any opportunity to bash Christian values.
The school is wrong. That is fundamentalism, and it’s wrong.
long hair = scarf = hijab
I have little sympathy for the family.
Both my sons attended a local Catholic high school. Both my sons wore fairly robust sideburns. Between the graduation of my first son and this year, my younger son’s senior year, the new rector has tightened hair standards. The sideburns with which my older son graduated are no longer acceptable, and my younger son was asked to “trim” (more like “truncate”) his sideburns. He came home, told us, and then shaved his sideburns off.
No muss, no fuss, no crying, no complaining. No newspaper coverage, no nothing.
The school has a right to have and enforce dress and grooming standards.
Just gee whiz, some people are drama queens.
Always wonders me how stories like this get in the news.
Sure the school can do what they want. But I will tell you straight out that having short hair does NOT make one non-Biblical ( yeah I know the scriptural reference). Too bad this school cannot see belief in one’s Savior as more important than the ‘do dos’.
And that's the point. On the surface, this seems like a silly situation, and barring any other evidence, the school was probably silly to have created an scenario where the girl was pulled out. But religion is voluntary in our society: you don't have to participate, and if you don't want your child in a particular private school because of its particular sectarian rules, then don't put her in there, or pull her out of there, and send her somewhere else, and then let it go.
I am an LCMS Lutheran. Given the option, I did not put my children in a Catholic school, because I did not want them to have to participate in that part of Catholic ritual which runs counter to Lutheran teaching. But I didn't try to make the Catholic school accommodate my Lutheran children, nor would I expect the Lutheran school to be forced to accommodate Jehovah's Witness children, or Christian Science children, or Sunni Muslim children, or Theravada Buddhist children, or logical positivist atheist children. It's called religious freedom.
It sounds to me this is all over dress code violations, if the school has a dress code and the grandparents are violating it them’s the shakes kid.
Now if the school does not have a formal dress code, then maybe its time they make one. Though I suspect highly they have one on the books.
Dress code:
TCS employs a uniform system of dress for grades K - 12. First and foremost, we want to help the students focus their attention on the most important issues before them—their spiritual well being and academic progress. Regulations listed here do not imply that those who disagree with these rules are sinful or wrong. These are institutional standards that TCS authorities believe are necessary to maintain a healthy learning environment as well as a positive Christian testimony.
In light of the counter culture represented, tattoos (including temporary ones), and body piercing of any kind (other than ears for girls) are not permitted.
All TCS Students
• Must wear TCS uniform shirt from TCS uniform vendors.
• May wear an extra tee shirt or turtleneck underneath their uniform shirt that does not have the TCS logo as long as only the collar and/or sleeve areas show, and the shirt is of a solid color, like a uniform shirt, with no printing.
• May wear any official TCS jacket, fleece, sweatshirt, or sweater over uniform shirt. Students may also wear a solid color fleece, full-zippered sweatshirt (no pullovers), jacket or sweater over the uniform shirt but these items must have no writing, printing, or pictures. Jean jackets are not acceptable for classroom wear.
• All oxford style shirts must be worn tucked into the pants, slacks, or skirt with no shirttails hanging out.
• No hats, caps, sweatbands, sunglasses or visors are to be worn in the school buildings.
• No extreme hair styles or unnatural or extreme hair colors.
• Shoes with laces must be tied.
• No flip-flops, shoes with wheels in/on them, or bedroom shoes may be worn.
Elementary Boys (K-5)
• May wear classic, traditional pants including a neat, conservative cargo style (no oversized pockets). Younger boys may wear an elastic waist. Acceptable colors are khaki/sand/stone, navy blue, gray, brown, and black. Elementary boys may also wear plain style jeans (no carpenter, painter, cargo, etc. styles, nor bleached out, extremely faded, sandblasted, or indigo looks). Jeans must be in good condition.
• Grades 2 – 5 must wear shirts tucked in and a belt if pants have belt loops.
• Must wear regular shoes. Tennis shoes must be clean and in good condition. Socks are to be worn at all times. No sandals are permitted.
Elementary Girls (K-5)
• May wear solid navy, khaki/sand, white, brown, gray, or black skirt or jumper or a denim jean skirt that is in good condition (no patches, no “destructed,” bleached out, or extremely faded fabric). Jumpers must be worn over a TCS shirt. These items must come at least to the top of the kneecap (grades 3-5). Skirts must have straight hems—no diagonal or handkerchief hems are permitted.
• May wear slacks in khaki/sand/stone, white, brown, navy, gray, or black (no jeans or denim pants). These must be classic, traditional pants (no warm up or sweat pants). Capri’s, gauchos and culottes are not permitted for regular school day dress.
• May wear casual shoes—flats, loafers, sandals, conservative boots, tennis shoes in good condition, etc. No athletic-sandals, shower/water sport shoes, slippers, or combat-style boots. Girls may not wear any backless shoes/sandals or shoes with heels over 1 inch.
• May not wear make up.
The school did not kick her out, her grandparents pulled her out, probably smelling lawsuit
Frankly, I don’t see why she’d even want to go there. Some of these “Bible-believing” schools rival Muslims for their weirdness about female dress. I see a lot of them here in the South, the little girls trailing around in their long denim skirts, their navy-blue long-sleeved tops and their long, lank hair...but that’s their choice and the choice of their parents. And I’m sure the school, as misguided and silly as I think it may be, put this in their requirements.
If the grandparents (who seem to be paying for this) don’t want to abide by the dress code, I’m sure they could find another school for her.
I don’t think the school should make an issue of this that embarrasses the little girl...who seems perfectly normal and is not exactly a cross-dressing freak...but the grandparents should back off and just find another and no doubt better school. They’re only making it worse this way.
A lot of kids who go to these very repressive “Christian” schools end up doing heavy rebellion (I’ve known some), so maybe they should actually be grateful that she’s getting out now.
Generally, Christians have no problem with ‘Tom Boys,’ girls who are girls but like to do boy things. There are such girls/women without a doubt. I think it is a great characteristic. My mom worked on a farm with my dad and she could care for the livestock and work in the fields as well as any man. Yet, every day she was also a loving mom and thought the world of us four kids. She worked her heart out with dad every day at her side to make a living for us. I never thought anything was wrong with a woman being willing and able to get her hands dirty and work along side a man. I am hopeful there is more to this story than a young girl just being a ‘Tom Boy.’
Yeah, I get it. Nothing the poor child was wearing existed in biblical times.
I suppose they have something like the following in mind:
