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Mum claims school has 'breached her daughter's human rights' after hairstyle ban

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    LakieLadyLakieLady Posts: 19,722
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    Hmm...some kind of rules that were subjective in nature but allowed all pupils and parents to know what was and what wasn't permitted? What could they be I wonder...

    http://www.forgevalleysheffield.org/uniform.html

    I don't think "subjective" rules are helpful. The school policy refers to "extreme haircuts and colour", and "extreme" is open to a wide interpretation.

    That girl's haircut certainly wouldn't be extreme in Brighton, where weird haircuts are so common I can't remember the last time I saw a haircut I really thought was "extreme", and I don't think the colour is extreme either: it's not fluorescent pink or bright turquoise (colours currently sported by 2 senior managers at work, one of whom has been nicknamed "Swan Vesta" as a result). Again, bright and multicoloured hair is common down here, to the point where my hairdresser is urging me to have my sleek blonde bob dyed a lovely, steely blue (I ruled this out because of my fear that, now that I'm 60, it might be mistaken for an old-lady blue rinse).

    A better drafted rule would specify, perhaps, "hair coloured a shade or pattern which does not occur in people naturally", but that would rule out dip-dyed hair, which is no way extreme. It would also specify what length (or lack of!) is acceptable, and could even rule out Mohicans or mullets.

    "Extreme" helps no-one, it's a judgement call, and as such is bound to lead to disputes.
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    LakieLadyLakieLady Posts: 19,722
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    Extreme would be this sort of thing

    Yes, I agree that's extreme. I think it's beautiful though!

    Shame about damn great grommet she's got in her ear, but each to their own.
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    LCHLCH Posts: 53
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    I've no problem with it either but there is a time and a place for it. As I wrote above the issue is if you let children at school do whatever they like with their hair you trigger a scenario where they all start to try and out do each other in their hair style department. Suddenly kids are turning up with bright red hair.. shaved heads.. patterns shaved into their hair.. etc etc.. everyone turns around, starts talking about it... and guess what.. class disrupted. And as a teacher that's very difficult to fight against.

    That's why school uniforms exist. It removes the potential for kids to be distracted by what other kids are wearing. And it also helps enforce the message that you're at school to learn and work hard.. not make a fashion statement.

    Usually by 6th form age kids have grown out of the "If X is doing it .. so will I" mind set and they're old enough to be trusted to make their own decisions and importantly to not allow it to disrupt their learning. So they relax the rules.

    I teach in the Netherlands. At our school, and in no other local authority (as opposed to private) school that I'm aware of does a uniform have to be worn, nor are there any rules regarding hairstyle, footwear etc.

    My pupils have a large and disparate range of clothing and styles. I can honestly say this has absolutely no bearing on their behaviour and/or standards. Neither does any of this distract them from learning. Poor performances are far more likely to be intrinsic than extrinsic.
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    ayrshireman1ayrshireman1 Posts: 2,999
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    AaronWx wrote: »
    Notice I said "harmless".

    Ah, but who defines that?.
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    HP.80 VictorHP.80 Victor Posts: 1,118
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    I went to a strict school when it came to uniform and rules on presentation. The only rule for boys was that hair could not be long enough at the back to pass the shirt collar. If anyone came into school with hair that passed their collar then 'Hardrock' Martin, Mathematics Master, enforced this rule with a huge pair of shears.

    I had a green mohawk. As much as the teachers hated it, It broke no rules and green was the school colour after all.
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    bluebladeblueblade Posts: 88,859
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    I wish schools were as concerned with their actual job of educating kids, as opposed to enforcing their will over personal matters.
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    bluebladeblueblade Posts: 88,859
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    LCH wrote: »
    I teach in the Netherlands. At our school, and in no other local authority (as opposed to private) school that I'm aware of does a uniform have to be worn, nor are there any rules regarding hairstyle, footwear etc.

    My pupils have a large and disparate range of clothing and styles. I can honestly say this has absolutely no bearing on their behaviour and/or standards. Neither does any of this distract them from learning. Poor performances are far more likely to be intrinsic than extrinsic.

    Just as it should be.

    But then Holland is a sensible country.
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    TrollHunterTrollHunter Posts: 12,496
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    It's short on one side, long on the other, a bit like that bloke out of the Human League used to have his hair. I don't think it's extreme at all and it will grow out very quickly. The leopard print dye is temporary too. Extreme would be
    Your version of extreme is not the same as the school's version of extreme, and seeing as it's the school that mandate the rules and the definition of 'extreme', it's their definition of extreme which the kids' have to adhere to. Which is the correct way to set about things otherwise every kid will have their own version of 'extreme', but for something so subjective, there will always be a certain amount of ambiguity and interpretation as to what constitutes 'extreme'.


    (I've never typed the word 'extreme' so many times in one post!!)
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    TrollHunterTrollHunter Posts: 12,496
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    blueblade wrote: »
    I wish schools were as concerned with their actual job of educating kids, as opposed to enforcing their will over personal matters.

    The two aren't mutually exclusive you know. The teachers don't spend all day enforcing their will, much as you'd love to imagine it!!
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    EbonyHamsterEbonyHamster Posts: 8,175
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    Urgh, I hate things like this

    When I was at school we weren't even allowed to wear jewellery or nail varnish!

    My sister gift suspended for having purple hair, it wasn't even one of those bright in your face purples!

    None of that shit matters, it's not going to change your school work or anything so what's the point in sending kids home, it's bloody ridiculous!
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    LCHLCH Posts: 53
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    The two aren't mutually exclusive you know. The teachers don't spend all day enforcing their will, much as you'd love to imagine it!!

    Actually, we (or at least I) do. It's up to us to maintain discipline in the classroom, and that has absolutely nothing to do with clothes, hair or shoes etc.
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    TrollHunterTrollHunter Posts: 12,496
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    LCH wrote: »
    Actually, we (or at least I) do. It's up to us to maintain discipline in the classroom, and that has absolutely nothing to do with clothes, hair or shoes etc.

    I hope you're not a teacher. Poor kids if so. When do they actually do any learning if that's the case?
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    TrollHunterTrollHunter Posts: 12,496
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    Urgh, I hate things like this

    When I was at school we weren't even allowed to wear jewellery or nail varnish!

    My sister gift suspended for having purple hair, it wasn't even one of those bright in your face purples!

    None of that shit matters, it's not going to change your school work or anything so what's the point in sending kids home, it's bloody ridiculous!

    Remind us again, what do you do for a living? Oh yes, "home worker", i.e. nothing at all. Maybe if you'd have spent more time studying and less time being 'anarchic' you'd be doing something with your life other than eating crisps, shitting yourself (if left for more than 5 minutes) and breeding rodents.
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    EStaffs90EStaffs90 Posts: 13,722
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    Is there a brick wall I can bang my head against?

    It's hard to tell which one's worse: her mother thinking that that hair style's all right, or those parents who saw no problem with their kids going to school in flip flops last week.
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    EbonyHamsterEbonyHamster Posts: 8,175
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    Remind us again, what do you do for a living? Oh yes, "home worker", i.e. nothing at all. Maybe if you'd have spent more time studying and less time being 'anarchic' you'd be doing something with your life other than eating crisps, shitting yourself (if left for more than 5 minutes) and breeding rodents.

    Lol oh bless you, got to bring out the nuts because you have nothing to say

    Maybe if people like you realised we weren't in the playground anymore this forum woud be a better place

    ^_^
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    InspirationInspiration Posts: 62,706
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    It's short on one side, long on the other, a bit like that bloke out of the Human League used to have his hair. I don't think it's extreme at all and it will grow out very quickly. The leopard print dye is temporary too.

    Yes but the issue is the damage is done whilst it's like it is. She turns up and all the other kids are "OMFG" and she's the centre of attention that day. The next day another child has talked her mother into doing the same style. And so on. And so on.

    During the school holidays? Great. No problem with that. But during term time it's just asking for disruption in the class room.
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    LCHLCH Posts: 53
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    I hope you're not a teacher. Poor kids if so. When do they actually do any learning if that's the case?

    Perhaps you didn't see my earlier post. Yes, I am a teacher. I'm afraid I don't understand "when do they actually do any learning?"

    They learn in the classroom, at other times assigned to do that, and at home, and what their hairstyles have to do with that you will have to explain to me.
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    lola_skyelola_skye Posts: 21,328
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    And it's the schools human right to ask kids to go in with sensible haircuts
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    ItHasPotentialItHasPotential Posts: 7,817
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    another duchebag of a parent
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    barbelerbarbeler Posts: 23,827
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    But it is, if you have no freedom to choose your own hairstyle or clothes even as a young person, what freedom have you got, other people are in control, and this is somewhat fascist, it makes it no better than the likes of the Taliban and ISIS who demand that the population they are terrorising conforms to the look they want them to have, no hair styles and no colours shown, there is a disturbing parallel with this and school uniforms, and workplace conformity, an intelligent society should not be operating like this.
    Poor old Bill seems to have a bit of an attitude problem doesn't he? :D

    It was obviously done in an attention-seeking manner as a deliberate challenge to the school's authority. The mother is clearly deranged and in a couple of year's time, her daughter will probably end up on Jeremy Kyle with a spider's web tattoo on her face.
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    DinkyDooDinkyDoo Posts: 3,588
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    But it is, if you have no freedom to choose your own hairstyle or clothes even as a young person, what freedom have you got, other people are in control, and this is somewhat fascist, it makes it no better than the likes of the Taliban and ISIS who demand that the population they are terrorising conforms to the look they want them to have, no hair styles and no colours shown, there is a disturbing parallel with this and school uniforms, and workplace conformity, an intelligent society should not be operating like this.

    I choose for my children to attend the school they go to, I had a choice. I knew the rules they would have to abide by. Had I had any problem with it id have sent them elsewhere.

    I have to wear a uniform at work, if i didnt how would anyone identify me as a employee and not a customer?

    The school my kids go to just requires they look smart, which they will need to do when they go to work.
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    DinkyDooDinkyDoo Posts: 3,588
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    LakieLady wrote: »
    How on earth do they define "too tight"? And what if your daughter puts on weight, are you expected to rush off and fork out for new trousers because she's gone up half a size?

    That must be a nightmare for parents of adolescent girls, who appear to sprout curves practically overnight.

    By too tight they were clinging round her thighs and ankles, they were slim fit but too slim. The ones i replaced them with are loose round her ankles and dont look like leggings from a distance.
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    skp20040skp20040 Posts: 66,874
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    cultureman wrote: »
    They dont have a national culture of school uniform. Only Britain within Europe is that needlessly controlling.

    Teaching kids discipline and the like is not controlling and uniforms are a way of making everyone the same and also preparing people for work life where in the majority of jobs you will be told what you can wear. It does seem to me that these days far too many people want to do as they please and if they cannot it is against their human rights, it is unfair etc etc etc
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    WhedoniteWhedonite Posts: 29,245
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    During my last year of school, I had a tattoo, pink hair and facial piercings. My head teacher looked at me one day, sighed and said "just take out the piercings" and left it at that. I somehow got away with keeping my nose stud though.
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    Welsh-ladWelsh-lad Posts: 51,925
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    The mother looks like a sack of spanners.
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