Suspended For Hair Color

I would seriously consider dying the bottom half of my hair pink if I thought I could pull it off and if I wasn’t worried it would clash with most of my clothes.  But then, my house does not have a strict dress and grooming code.  If we did, look out, I’d be in serious trouble most days.

But lots of schools do have strict dress and grooming codes and that’s just what got a Texan 12-year-old suspended for getting some bright red and blond highlights in her brown hair.  Her mom took her to the salon for some birthday fun and, although the highlights were a little brighter than expected, they were both surprised when the young girl was sent home on suspension for hair that was distracting and against school policy.

Click here to see the video of her "shocking" new style.

With all that’s going on in the world of education, this seems like they’re making a mountain out of a mole hill. However, if I were a school administrator in America right now, where my collective bargaining rights were at risk of being revoked, where kids came to school with guns, where I didn’t have enough money to adequately staff my school, and where things in general seemed to be spinning out of control, it might feel good to have a rule I could actually enforce.

There has to be a sense of empowerment in saying, “Bam!  Your hair’s too red.  You’re suspended.  Bam!  Your skirt’s too short.  You’re suspended.”  And as an administrator, I admit it might feel good to exercise what modicum of control I had left.

Kathryn Thompson is a mom to two school-aged kids, a toddler, and a deceased betta fish. She can also be found at The Parenting Post, DaringYoungMom.com and occasionally the gym.

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