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Mesquite, TX (AHN) - A Texas mother said school officials have threatened to kick her 4-year-old son out of school because his hair is too long by school standards.
Elizabeth Taylor said her son, Taylor Pugh, has been separated from his prekindergarten class at Floyd Elementary School and has been learning in another room since the principal at the Mesquite, Texas, school told her that her son's hair was too long.
Read more: Long Hair Lands 4-Year-Old In Trouble | AHN (http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017284231?Long%20Hair%20Lands%204-Year-Old%20In%20Trouble#ixzz0ZwgHJ7KU - broken link)
This less than mediocre school district is frequently in the news for its extremely strict dress code. Last month it was a boy in high school wearing skinny pants.
If you know the dress code rules up front, what's the problem?
At our award-winning, internationally recognized high school, boys weren't allowed facial hair, no one was allowed shorts that didn't come two inches from the knee, and no one could wear tank-tops. We all suffered horribly from it. Not.
Seems us in the area have found this thread. Another Dallasite here. Saw this in the news yesterday. Saw the parents........ wt. Granted, the kids hair isn't THAT long at all. Beats the kid I see at the Stars games. Parents seem "distant" even from each other. Kid is not kindergarten age yet but he has this LOOOOOOOONG braid down his back. Rest of his hair is short but for this one part that is braided. Looks goofy, imho. Just cut the thing off and be done with it.
Mesquite might not be a great school district but at the elem level they have some very good awesome caring teachers. I have friends that teach there. Academic wise they try to reach high which has to be commended. They are doing more than some "better" districts in that regard.
As for these people. Put the kids education before the length of his hair. Their priorities are out of whack.
Here's the problem: some of us find it disturbing that a public district is in the business of deciding things such as appropriate length of hair for boys. What does that have to do with their educational mission? That should be up to the parents. If parents want a strict dress code that's unrelated to safety or actual educational concerns then they can send their kid to a private school. It makes me highly uncomfortable to have public officials (as this is presumably set by the school board) deciding on this.
My problem is not with the school enforcing the dress code equally, it's that there is such a ridiculous code in the first place. It has been held up as legal in the state of Texas (other states have different rules), but that doesn't make it right.
I would put the kid's education first. That's why I find it so terrible that the school district is focusing so much of its energies on enforcing and defending its overly strict dress codes. Tat's not to say that the teachers aren't great; I'm sure many of them are. But I assume that most of them have more pressing needs and have greater concerns than a little boy's longish hair and would prefer that the administration and school board spend their energies dealing with issues that actually matter.
It would be different if this was a private school, but it's not.
Here's the problem: some of us find it disturbing that a public district is in the business of deciding things such as appropriate length of hair for boys. What does that have to do with their educational mission? That should be up to the parents. If parents want a strict dress code that's unrelated to safety or actual educational concerns then they can send their kid to a private school. It makes me highly uncomfortable to have public officials (as this is presumably set by the school board) deciding on this.
My problem is not with the school enforcing the dress code equally, it's that there is such a ridiculous code in the first place. It has been held up as legal in the state of Texas (other states have different rules), but that doesn't make it right.
I would put the kid's education first. That's why I find it so terrible that the school district is focusing so much of its energies on enforcing and defending its overly strict dress codes. Tat's not to say that the teachers aren't great; I'm sure many of them are. But I assume that most of them have more pressing needs and have greater concerns than a little boy's longish hair and would prefer that the administration and school board spend their energies dealing with issues that actually matter.
It would be different if this was a private school, but it's not.
Exactly.
Who cares if a boy has long hair. My brother had long hair when he was in elementary school, and he didn't distract the class or do poorly in school.
I think schools long ago starting over stepping their boundaries as to what is, and isn't appropriate in class. Does anyone else find it disturbing that the government can tell you what you can, or cannot do to your own body in school? When it affects no one else?
-If it's an obvious distraction to learning, I can understand it. Like a kid bringing in beepers or pagers. Or if a kid wears a very offensive t shirt, like with the nazi symbol.
But how do schools take the leap from that, to deciding how long someones hair should be?
I think the unwritten rule is that they start restricting your freedom of thought at a very early age (in this case 4!).
-Another issue is that the rules are so arbitrary. Maybe at this location, maybe not. It conditions students to accept more arbitrary rules later on in their school life.
I think schools long ago starting over stepping their boundaries as to what is, and isn't appropriate in class. Does anyone else find it disturbing that the government can tell you what you can, or cannot do to your own body in school? When it affects no one else?
-If it's an obvious distraction to learning, I can understand it. Like a kid bringing in beepers or pagers. Or if a kid wears a very offensive t shirt, like with the nazi symbol.
But how do schools take the leap from that, to deciding how long someones hair should be?
I think the unwritten rule is that they start restricting your freedom of thought at a very early age (in this case 4!).
-Another issue is that the rules are so arbitrary. Maybe at this location, maybe not. It conditions students to accept more arbitrary rules later on in their school life.
"I think schools long ago starting over stepping their boundaries as to what is, and isn't appropriate in class."
It started in the eighteenth century, so that is a long time.
Or stop crying that your special snowflake is being abused by the school system. The district has rules, your kid is in violation of them. End of story.
When I was in school, I got sent home for ripped jeans. Did my parents run crying to the school about how awful it was?
No, they asked me why I was dumb enough to do something in blatant disregard of the school rules.
It's not the fault of the school for having the rules, it's the fault of the parents for expecting their child to be an exception.
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Another Dallasite here. Saw this in the news yesterday. Saw the parents........ wt. Granted, the kids hair isn't THAT long at all. Beats the kid I see at the Stars games. Parents seem "distant" even from each other. Kid is not kindergarten age yet but he has this LOOOOOOOONG braid down his back. Rest of his hair is short but for this one part that is braided. Looks goofy, imho. Just cut the thing off and be done with it. 
