Poor kid. I had long hair until I was almost 30, and only cut it because I got sick of the upkeep. If they’d told me in school I couldn’t have my hair long, I’d have been super pissed. I hope the Mesquite Texas Independent School District comes to their senses and realize how fricking stupid this policy is. It was probably written in like 1950 or something and never changed. Otherwise, I have a feeling young Taylor’s parents will have a pretty good lawsuit on their hands.
Knowing a teacher who works in the Dallas ISD. It includes both public and private schools, and it’s not unusual for 4 year olds to be in school, either as part of head start (or more commonly) pre-k.
Here’s something else I don’t get. Since when do 4 year olds (who are still 4 in December) go to school?
I was in kindergarten at the age of 4 and first grade by the age of 5. My brother was even younger when he started.
Anyways, yeah I have sympathy for this family. I really don’t care if it’s a public or private school, to threaten to expel him on account of some long hair is pretty damn retarded on their part, and this is especially true if it’s a public school, as general schooling should be a right, not a privilege.
The things that bother me the most about this are thus.
One, the school (which is a public school) said that they want to keep the pre-kindergarten class free of distractions. Okay, but like the father said, it’s not like his hair is in Liberty Spikes or is bright green. It’s a well-kept medium-length style. Oh, and what about the girls? Their long hair isn’t a distraction how? To me, that sounds like gender discrimination, and will be the basis of the lawsuit if you ask me.
The other is that the school has made a compromise…if you can call it that. The little boy can still go to pre-K, but until or unless he cuts his hair, he’ll be, and I quote, segregated from other kids. To the best of my knowledge, the very point of pre-K is so kids can learn to socialize with peers in a structured environment. How will this kid learn to do that in a class by himself? Seriously. And what kind of precedent does segregating this kid set? Do we segregate a girl because she likes blues more than pinks, or for being a tomboy who shaved her head? Or how about the white kid that listens to hip-hop? The black kid that likes country music? The Latino kid who loves metal? Do they get their own class too? Maybe in Mesquite, they will…
I believe schools have the right to establish dress/appearance codes, retarded as some of those codes may be. It may not be convenient or feasible for them to do so, but parents who find these kinds of rules objectionable can always withdraw their kids and look for other options.