What Planet Do These Parents Live On?

[youngmafbog]

Rules are there for a purpose, this is plain ridiculous and as for spending that much on a kids hair just what are they teaching the child?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3877806/Father-s-fury-daughter-13-sent-home-school-having-140-waist-length-bright-white-DREADLOCKS.html

[andy-hughes]

Bazile - referring to a post that descended into some nastiness, and is now best left alone.

[vulcan42]

This might be the answer
http://daycaredisposablesupply.com/store/images/boufWHITE.jpg

[jno]

goodness, was there something offensive in that link I posted? My apologies if so.

[Tilly2]

Aside from all the furore, I think she looks dreadful! Just my opinion.

[andy-hughes]

jno - The extremes of hair lengths at either end lead to 'fashion' appearances which detract from the overall image of the school.

A foundation of uniform for schools is to avoid the embarrassment for pupils whose parents cannot afford fashion haircuts or clothing, which can trend very quickly.

They may not have referred to pupil safety, but it is another factor involved in the decision making.

[jno]

I don't mind them enforcing uniformity, andy; I'd just like them to say so, and enforce it equally. If there are Jamaican girls with similar hair (and the Mail would be extremely unwise to photograph them), the school needs to make up its mind.

[Lunol]

Yes schools should remain cold dark faceless places of learning where fun and fashion do not exist run by the military with an iron fist. Maybe we can take tips from the Kim-Jong-Un and how he runs North Korean schools?

She's a teenager, teenagers especially girls like to look glamorous experimenting with hair, makeup, clothes as those of you with daughters know.

The only problems I see with her hair is if having the hair affects her learning in which case she should then be asked to remove them, the other problem would be her participating in classes like woodwork or science where the health and safety aspect becomes a worry but in my old school girls had longer hair and had to tie it back so assume she would too in those kinds of classes.

[Lunol]

In fairness she was wearing her uniform and looks well presented.

[andy-hughes]

jno - The point about Jamaican children having dreadlocks is something the parent has asserted, but we don't know if it is actually true.

As I said earlier, there is a cultural and religious precedent there, if that is the case, whereas this is purely a fashion statement, and therefore does contravene the uniform policy.

[andy-hughes]

Lunol - I don't think any school would want to be seen as joyless, and lacking understanding of normal teenage rebellion, which has gone on for decades.

I think the school has to balance the economics of various children's backgrounds, together with safety, and the school image.

It is a difficult balance to reach, but you'd have to agree that in this instance, the parent has gone some way past what the school would be able to accept within its stated uniform rules.

[youngmafbog]

Lunol, if you think the school is out of N Korea you have a very warped view on life.

And as for being in uniform, the hair forms part of the required uniform so she is not in it.

This is clearly an outrageous style which I suspect the parent has encouraged to wind up the school.

[Lunol]

But the real crux of the matter is..Do hairstyles affect childrens learning?

If so I'd like to see a scientific study on this matter but as we know it probably doesn't exist.

[andy-hughes]

YMB - I think you are giving the father credit where none is due!

I think he succumbed to his daughter's wishes (and as a dad of three, I entirely sympathise with that) - and in doing so did not for one moment consider any consequences. If he had, he wouldn't have wasted his money.

[jno]

andy, my guess is that if it wasn't true, the school would have swiftly denied it. But news photographers would I believe be breaking the law if they went looking for her; so I'm prepared to take the parents' word for it until I see some rebuttal.

[andy-hughes]

Lunol - do hairstyles affect children's learning?

No, but conforming in school teaches then valuable lessons about the wider world they will soon be joining, where rules have to be obeyed.

[andy-hughes]

jno - Fair enough, we will see.

But we have seen enough of these instances to know that they are two-day wonders in media terms, so whatever is resolved will be done away from anything we see or hear about.

[Prudie]

I'd call that style corn rows. School rules have a purpose in that they teach pupils that there are rules in life we all have to adhere to even if we think they're wrong or unfair. So no lesson for her here. Furthermore what's his first reaction - get pictures of his daughter plastered all over the mail.

[Lunol]

What was funny was these quotes.

"But Mr Benson has accused the school of 'double standards' - because a friend of hers of Jamaican-descent is allowed dreads"

"'One of her friends at the school, who has Jamaican heritage, has the same style of hair cut but with a red stripe in it rather than white and she has been allowed to remain."

Well if she's been growing her locks since childhood as she's from the Rasatfarian religion then I'm not sure what exactly his arguments is vs multicoloured plaits.

"Mr Benson from Scarborough added: 'I’ve read the policy regarding haircuts - and I can’t see what rule she has broken.'"

And the school said

"A policy document on the school’s website states: 'Please note we do not allow extreme, unnatural hairstyles or colouring. Any hair accessories should be of a practical nature and should not be decorative"

^ I didn't see that earlier as my phone was hard to scroll down.

If those are the rules then he should clearly adhere to them.

I'll bow out now.

[andy-hughes]

Prudie - your point is the deeper concern here.

The father should have thought ahead about his daughter's return to school, but plenty of parents don't do that, and no real problem but -

schools are an extension of family - a place where you learn that you can't do what you want all the time, there are rules, and disliking them does not make them vanish.

This father does no-one any good with his actions - he gives his daughter the wrong message that you can ignore rules if you don't like them, and he gives the school, his employers, and the wider world, the impression that he doesn't think rules apply if he spends money, and that media attention for a child is a wise way to get his dispute solved.

As Al Murray's Pub Landlord is prone to say when coming up against dissent in his establishment - "My gaff, my rules!"

[Sammy48]

Putting the hideous look aside, it could be dangerous. She could get them caught in something or strangle herself when sleeping.

Poor kid, if she really wanted them, then match her natural hair colour and perhaps at the weekends she could use a colour spray to jazz them up and wash it out for school days. Sorted !