Kicked out of school for long hair.........

[ABikerSailor]

You know.........even though the school has rules on the length of hair for boys (a rule I disagree with by the way), they should make exceptions for this young man......

A few inches of hair stand between J.T. Gaskins and an education.

The 17-year-old, who had been treated for cancer and said he now wants to grow his hair to give to Locks of Love -- a charity that provides wigs for kids who lose their hair due to chemotherapy and other treatments -- was recently suspended from Madison Academy, a charter school in Burton, Mich., for refusing to trim his tresses.

Gaskins told The Flint Journal that he was diagnosed with leukemia as an infant and has been cancer-free since age 7. “This is something I want to do, and I feel very strongly about it.”

The school’s dress code policy, spelled out in the student-parent handbook, says hair must bair must be kept “clean, neat, free of unnatural or distracting colors, off the collar, off the ears and out of the eyes” for boys.

Gaskins’ hair, which resembles the windswept bangs of Justin Bieber, dangles at his eyes and covers his ears.

His mother, Christa Plante, told the Journal she supports her son and remembers his cancer fight as a small child. “The fact that he’s ready to talk about everything he went through, his strength ... I can’t deny him that. He’s ready to speak out about what he’s been through,” Plante said, according to the newspaper.

U.S. News - School suspends cancer-survivor boy for growing hair for Locks of Love

Me personally? I hope the parents are able to sue the school over this bullshit behavior.

 

[gallantwarrior]

While his thoughts are commendable, the school has rules that predate his decision to grow his hair. He's 17. He'll graduate HS soon enough. If he just cannot wait, he should transfer to a school with more lenient rules. If he's enrolled in a charter school, he's there by choice, not by necessity.

 

[chanel]

Exactly. The school administrator may have been a prick about it, but you can't sue someone for being a prick.

Also, as a school employee, I know for a fact that we only hear one side of the story. Locks of Love needs a min of 7 inches. It doesn't sound like this kid is even close. His desire to donate his hair could be complete BS.

 

[koshergrl]

Locks of love is a great charity. I had a boss who had beautiful black hair that grew preternaturally fast and was naturally curly. She'd grow it out until she had 18 inches to whack, then have it whacked, then do it again. She's been doing it for years.

But if this is something he's committed to, perhaps he should attend a school that doesn't have this particular code.....I'm not much for suing schools when people have the right to move their kids.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Exactly. The school administrator may have been a prick about it, but you can't sue someone for being a prick.

Also, as a school employee, I know for a fact that we only hear one side of the story. Locks of Love needs a min of 7 inches. It doesn't sound like this kid is even close. His desire to donate his hair could be complete BS.

Because he's a cancer survivior, I don't think so.

And do you know how long it takes to grow hair? I've been growing mine out since a year after I retired, and its still only around 12 inches.

That was 8 years ago.

 

[koshergrl]

Lol...some people grow it a lot faster. My boss cut hers about once a year, and that gave her the full 18 inches.

Mine grows almost that fast.

 

[gallantwarrior]

I can get a good six inches annual growth, it's about waist length right now.

 

[chanel]

The kid won't have enough hair til he's well out of school.

Given a choice to be EXPELLED, or to grow your hair for the next five years or so, seems like a no brainer to me. There is def more to this story. My hunch is that he was on thin ice to begin with. Even Principal Prick would want to keep a great kid when his rep is on the line.

 

[gallantwarrior]

The kid won't have enough hair til he's well out of school.

Given a choice to be EXPELLED, or to grow your hair for the next five years or so, seems like a no brainer to me. There is def more to this story. My hunch is that he was on thin ice to begin with. Even Principal Prick would want to keep a great kid when his rep is on the line.

Troo dat!

 

[georgekr]

Yea there's always more to the story, but I don't think anyone should be expelled for that.

 

[xotoxi]

I think the school should have turned this into something positive and encouraged any kid that wanted to grow his or her hair to be donated on the last day of school.

It would have made national news on the good side of the feel-good spectrum.

 

[edthecynic]

What is funny to me is, back 60 years ago I was suspended for getting a crew cut for the warm weather that was beginning at the end of the school year. Catholic schools require conformity, so both long and short hair were punished.

 

[California Girl]

Kid has options. He doesn't like the rules, he can leave the school.

 

[koshergrl]

Why should the school make exceptions for some people, but not others? They either have a code or they don't. In this case, they have one. If he doesn't like it, he can attend a school that will embrace his uniqueness. Some schools encourage conformity, and it has its place to, as it levels the playing field. Kids are there to learn, and the rest can be a distraction, and if that's the sort of attitude they have, that's okay...it's beneficial to many students.

And if that isn't the sort of school he wants to be in he has the option of moving to a different one.

 

[Big Black Dog]

When I was in high school, they had a dress code and your hair could only be a certain length. Also, no facial hair. Shirts had to have a collar. No jeans and tennis shoes could only be worn in gym class. Apparently, we survived it.

 

[koshergrl]

And not all schools have rigorous dress/hair codes. Many encourage individuality and artistic creativity. It's silly to take on a school and try to make it change it when there are other schools available.

Now if it was a rural area, and the only school available to the kid, I'd say he might have more of an argument.

 

[hortysir]

I think the school should have turned this into something positive and encouraged any kid that wanted to grow his or her hair to be donated on the last day of school.

It would have made national news on the good side of the feel-good spectrum.

Ya beat me to it, X.

The school could embrace the idea and have a huge donation drive.

Win/Win

 

[Ernie S.]

Exactly. The school administrator may have been a prick about it, but you can't sue someone for being a prick.

Also, as a school employee, I know for a fact that we only hear one side of the story. Locks of Love needs a min of 7 inches. It doesn't sound like this kid is even close. His desire to donate his hair could be complete BS.

Because he's a cancer survivior, I don't think so.

And do you know how long it takes to grow hair? I've been growing mine out since a year after I retired, and its still only around 12 inches.

That was 8 years ago.

Slow growth there guy. Mine's been growing for 10 years and it's about 6 inches above my waist. I have the ends cut about every 6 months and just had 5 or 6 inches cut off. In the 80's, I went 6 years without cutting it and sat on my pony tail or tucked it under my belt when I rode the Harley.

 

[Montrovant]

All you fast hair growth people fill me with sadness. Hell, my hair started getting shorter eventually when I didn't cut it for many a year.

I agree that the kid should have either gotten permission beforehand or waited till he graduated. He may well not have been aware of the dress code beforehand (I seem to remember being fairly oblivious at that age), but it was there before he decided to grow out the hair. I also agree that the school COULD have used this as a good pr thing, but they certainly had no obligation to do so.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Our schools are zero tolerance zones and we all know that zero tolerance = zero intelligence