Parents, School Tangle Over Boy's Long Locks

[280plus]

 

http://www.sphere.com/nation/article/texas-school-suspends-taylor-pugh-for-long-hair/19285015?icid=main|main|dl1|link1|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sphere.com%2Fnation%2Farticle%2Ftexas-school-suspends-taylor-pugh-for-long-hair%2F19285015

[Perd Hapley]

Stupid parents.  Cut his hair.  "Pinkie promise."   

[280plus]

A pinkie promise is a pinkie promise, you don't break a pinkie promise, that would be teaching bad values. 

 

[BridgeRunner]

Stupid school.  His hair is gonna disrupt classroom discipline?  Show me a single four year old anywhere who really cares what his classmates' hair looks like.

[Perd Hapley]

A pinkie promise is a pinkie promise, you don't break a pinkie promise, that would be teaching bad values. 

 

Oh yeah.  Sorry.  Forgot.

But I do find it amusing that the parents cause the kid to violate school rules, then complain that the school is keeping him from learning.  Or whatever they said.  Way to screw your kid before he even starts kindergarten. 


BW.  If the parents have a problem with the school rules on something this minor, maybe they could lobby to have them changed.  But to put their kid in the middle of it like this is just stupid.  I guess morons like these are why we need so many lawyers. 

[280plus]

Right into the permanent record with this one. His life is forever ruined... 

I don't know, maybe it reeks of the old analogy about schools being meat grinders that take in individuals and spit out a homogenous goo. They're going to suspend a 4 yo because mommy and daddy don't feel like cutting his hair? Seems a trifle overboard to me.

[BridgeRunner]

I guess morons like these are why we need so many lawyers. 

Could be.

There is no excuse, whatsoever, on the other hand, for people who gratuitously insult the chosen profession of others.

[charby]

Stupid school.  His hair is gonna disrupt classroom discipline?  Show me a single four year old anywhere who really cares what his classmates' hair looks like.

Kind of how I feel.

[Chrissy]

Is this a public school or a private school?  If it's a public one, they shouldn't have a thing to say about how long the boy's hair is.  Sorry, but I'm all for long hair on guys.  My boyfriend has gorgeous long hair - almost down to his butt.  We're both heavy metal lovers and if I had a son, I wouldn't care if he wanted to grow his hair like his dad and would tell his school off if they were trying to force him to wear his hair a certain way.  What's next?  Why not tell the girls to cut their hair too.  Ridiculous.  Unless, like I said, it's a private school and they have certain rules about a dress code.  Then that's different.

[zahc]

I can't even a imagine a public school having a policy on cutting hair. That's practically a body modification. There are multiple religions that prohibit hair-cutting. Unfortunately this boy probably doesn't belong to one of them so he doesn't get the special privileges. He's probably just a normal WASP kid with no special victimization capital.

[RoadKingLarry]

If this is a public school I think the school is seriously screwed. Private schools can have what ever rules they want and if you don't like 'em don't go there.
Now if they make al students, boys and girls conform to the same grooming standards they might have a leg to stand on.

[Perd Hapley]

There is no excuse, whatsoever, on the other hand, for people who gratuitously insult the chosen profession of others.

Let's not get childish. 

[Perd Hapley]

According to the article, it's a public school.

Now let's see here. 

The school district appears "more concerned about his hair than his education," said Taylor's father, Delton Pugh. "I don't think it's right to hold a child down and force him to do something ... when it's not hurting him or affecting his education."

The same could be said of the parents.

The follicle fight came to a head last month when Taylor's parents received a signed letter from Floyd Elementary School's principal, threatening to withdraw the boy from school if his hair didn't comply with district standards.

When Taylor's parents didn't budge, their son was suspended.

Then cut his hair already. 

His parents say the boy plans to eventually cut his hair and donate it to a charity that makes wigs for cancer patients. And they are not happy with the district's rules.

Which is a convenient alibi for them, isn't it? 

I can't even a imagine a public school having a policy on cutting hair. That's practically a body modification. There are multiple religions that prohibit hair-cutting. Unfortunately this boy probably doesn't belong to one of them so he doesn't get the special privileges. He's probably just a normal WASP kid with no special victimization capital.

Generally, to get a religious exemption, you have to demonstrate that you are a member of a religious group with said beliefs.  You can't just claim anything and everything on a whim. 

[BridgeRunner]

Let's not get childish. 

Let's not rescind our previously issued invitations.

[roo_ster]

I despise drama queen parents like those in this article.  A good beatig with a 2x4 ought to make up for using their kids as a pawn in their drama game and for general principle.

Either cut the kiddos hair to comply with the ISD or find another school that has no restrictions.

[Sergeant Bob]

I guess morons like these are why we need so many lawyers.

There is no excuse, whatsoever, on the other hand, for people who gratuitously insult the chosen profession of others.

Moron is not a chosen profession, it's a state of mind.

[Perd Hapley]

I despise drama queen parents like those in this article.  A good beatig with a 2x4 ought to make up for using their kids as a pawn in their drama game and for general principle.

Either cut the kiddos hair to comply with the ISD or find another school that has no restrictions.

Or change the rules in some reasonable fashion, not by trying to induce a guilt trip over your precious little goldie-locks.  

In any case, isn't a Really, Really Bad Haircut a good reason to take the kid into state custody?  I mean, look at that poor kid.  

Moron is not a chosen profession, it's a state of mind.

Never said lawyers were morons. 

[jackdanson]

I despise drama queen parents like those in this article.  A good beatig with a 2x4 ought to make up for using their kids as a pawn in their drama game and for general principle.

Either cut the kiddos hair to comply with the ISD or find another school that has no restrictions.

It is a PUBLIC school.  If I allow or want my child to have long hair it's none of your business, I pay taxes just as you do.  There is absolutely no reason to have this rule in a public school.  His hair doesn't even look bad.  The fact that they enforce these stupid rules is more of a "distraction" than the long hair would ever be.

Mind your own business folks.

[roo_ster]

There is no excuse, whatsoever, on the other hand, for people who gratuitously insult the chosen profession of others.


Moron is not a chosen profession, it's a state of mind.

That's funny right there.

It is a PUBLIC school.  If I allow or want my child to have long hair it's none of your business, I pay taxes just as you do.  There is absolutely no reason to have this rule in a public school.  His hair doesn't even look bad.  The fact that they enforce these stupid rules is more of a "distraction" than the long hair would ever be.

Mind your own business folks.

We both pays taxes, we both vote for public school suck-ups to be on the board, and those suck-ups we elected make such rules.  Welcome to federalism.  There are other ISDs with other, less restrictive regs and private school options, if hair is that stinking important to the parents.

I've made my choice and send my kids to private school with a more restrictive dress & hygiene code than that at the ISD in question.  I'd rather have a 100% voucher system, dispense with school boards and their rules entirely, but we got what we got.

Oh, I am sure that the school board has plenty of reasons, some of which might even make sense. 

I feel for the poor kid not only because he has pinheads for parents, but he looks more like a mop than a moppet, and constantly at risk of being picked up by janitorial staff, upended, dunked into a mop bucket, his head crushed by the mop wringer, and his head, hair, & brains slathered across the floor.  Poor little bugger.

Honestly, his hair & attire make him look like a refugee from some 1970s sitcom, where he'd play the precocious tyke for yuks.

[jackdanson]

I'd rather have a 100% voucher system, dispense with school boards and their rules entirely, but we got what we got.

And I agree.

But IF you are going to have a publicly funded school you must accept that all types of the public are going to be utilizing it.

Furthermore the rule is stupid.  My public (went to public and private) schools never had any type of hair code.  I was never thinking "oh my God, if this guy in front of me didn't have a mohawk I totally would have aced that test".  These rules are stupid, and make controversy out of nothing.

Once again, as long as it's publicly funded they shouldn't have rules that are based off of cultural preferences.  I think his hair looks fine.  Everyone should mind their own business. 

[sumpnz]

I seem to recall school dress and hygine codes being held up in numerous court rulings. 

According to the district dress code, boys' hair must be kept out of the eyes and cannot extend below the bottom of earlobes or over the collar of a dress shirt. Hairstyles "designed to attract attention to the individual or to disrupt the orderly conduct of the classroom or campus (are) not permitted," the policy states.

Not so unreasonable.  It's not like they require a high and tight.  I'm sure that with a little creativity the kid could even keep his hair long without violating those rules.  IMHO the parents are spoiling for a fight here and the kid is just a pawn in their game.

[Balog]

Bad parents, stupid school. Everyone's a loser here imho.

[MicroBalrog]

What's a four-year-old doing in a school anyway?

[280plus]

Not much apparently... 

[KD5NRH]

I despise drama queen parents like those in this article.

Sorta like the drama queen parents who teach their kids to play sports, hold any particular religious beliefs, etc.

Generally, to get a religious exemption, you have to demonstrate that you are a member of a religious group with said beliefs.

How does one "demonstrate" membership in a particular religion?  Star of David embroidered on clothes?  Sikh decoder ring?

Do you really want the schools determining whether someone is faithful enough to their religion to be permitted to exercise it?  Little Timmy's just going to have to eat tacos on Friday: he can't be Catholic anymore because his parents had an Obama/Biden sign in their yard last year.  Levi must participate in the pep rally crawfish boil because his mother was seen wearing pants.