Girl suspended from school for dying hair pink — yea or nay?
This is a great topic, sure to get people buzzing. In case you missed the story, check out the headline over here, “Pink hair gets girl suspended.” The story comments are already starting to build up.
Mountain Grove Middle School student Amelia Robbins said she dyed her hair pink to honor her father, who died of cancer when she was 6 years old. She says that to her, pink is the cancer color. The 12-year-old said that when she finished 6th grade with pink streaks in her hair, school administrators warned her not to continue wearing the color.
jim63129 says, “Heather Lawson, Rules are rules. I don’t have a problem with someone showing uniqueness, but they should realize there may be a price to pay for their actions. The girl made her statement and the school made their statement. Time for 7th-grader to lose the pink hair.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the coin, McCarty77 argues: “I wonder if the school realizes it’s 2008 and not 1992? With time comes change and with technology comes change. Young kids have the right to express themselves.”
Pop on over to the story and join the discussion, or comment here.
Here’s a link to the story on the web site for KYTV, Springfield, Mo. — with video.
Kurt is the director of social media for the Post-Dispatch, where he has worked since August 2002. He's been a journalist since 1982, covering municipal government, courts, education and two hurricanes as a reporter before becoming an editor. 
My daughter, who is a natural redhead, had a similar situation when we lived in Valdosta, GA.
She had dyed the underneath of her hair black, which was apparently (and questionably) fashionable, and was constantly being stopped in the halls and questioned about - not the black color - but the red! One teacher told her she would be sent to the office for detention the next day if she didn’t dye her red hair back to “normal”. Boy was she embarassed when she learned she had disparaged a student’s natural hair color. After that they didn’t have the nerve to comment on the black color.
However, my daughter’s response to this teacher and others who commented on her “disruptive red hair color” was to point out the population of Black female students who wore red, blue, magenta, green, etc., braiding and weaves in their hair. No one had complained about them, and that made it look like tremendous reverse discrimination was taking place as the teachers commenting on my daughter’s hair color were also Black in this predominantly (75-25%) Black school.
What I’m getting at is, you can’t let a single perspective rule all. What is “disruptive hair color” to one is “culturally expressive” to another. Let me rephrase this: What is “disruptive hair color” to one is “deeply meaningful and personally significant in a non-disruptive with no ill-intent way”, to another.
I think Mr. Hale is being a little hard-nosed on the issue, and I hope a line item in a school handbook does not continue to prevent him from being a more reasonable, and therefore more effective, administrator in the new school year.
SSK
Those days of blind obedience are behind us. Man has come of age, a life philosophy that is reflected in just about every segment of our life: politics, religion, life-style, child-rearing (yes!). Today’s kids are too smart to allow arbitrary rules to be shoved down their throats, and for that I congratulate their parents!
Come on, folks, gain a little perspective. How is the color of this girl’s hair disruptive? “Discipline and order”? It is pink hair for god’s sake. Get over it. It causes no distraction. It interrupts the function of the classroom in no way. The school administrators need to understand this is not 1955, kids do not come to school in bobby socks and letter sweaters, nor should they. And this crap about, “Whatever happened to simple obedience and following the rule of a higher authority simply because one is instructed to do so?” I am the father of a 16-year-old boy. I have no interest in raising a mindless robot who follows the rules simply because he is told to.
Great post, Kathi Pulver!
Let’s see if I can get this straight. The girl broke the rules, correct? Could we agree that, in school, rules would be considered “laws”? If so, then the theory would be that the girl broke the school “law”. Perhaps it’s just a minor “law” which lends itself to civil disobedience or protest, but it’s still the “law”. Breaking the “law” is wrong and should lead to punishment.
What type of lesson is being taught here? What do you think will happen when this girl gets out of school and wants to break more rules? Laws?
Pink hair seems so minor in the general scheme of things, but it’s the principle (no pun intended) of issue. Let’s say she’s allowed to wear pink hair. The next person wants to wear a mohawk. The next person wants to wear a sports bra to school. The next person wants to go to class and speak nothing but pig latin in class. The next person wants to wear a sports bra and speak pig latin. Etc. The point is, it becomes a slippery slope. Does it disrupt class? Sure it does. When someone comes into class being the center of attention, the focus becomes that person and not the teacher or subject.
Wear your pink hair at home and quit breaking the law/rules.
Most are saying that the rule has absolutely no merit. So, the kid has pink hair, I agree no real harm done (except for defiantly and knowingly opposing the school, and apparently having full support to do so by her Mom, which I think IS harmful). Then next week another kid comes in with green hair. Again, no real harm. But, where do you draw the line? I mentioned piercings, brandings etc. in one post and someone said there is a world of difference between pink hair and piercings. True. I know that, but where do you draw the line? Rules are made for a reason. If one ignores one rule, how does one choose which ones to obey, why not ignore all of them? How exhausting and unproductive would a school year be if the teachers and administrators have to spend it fighting with kids and parents about rules instead of teaching them something? I think it is ridiculous that kids go to school with front cleavage and butt cleavage hanging out all over, with their stomachs exposed and their bottom cheeks hanging out of short shorts. Some are comparing the pink hair and the exposed skin and saying the exposed skin is the greater offense. Sure it is, but they are ALL unnecessary distractions. Is it not understandable that they are related offenses, that the common theme is a lack of respect for authority and lack of obedience? Sure, it is a difference of degrees of offense, but how do they decide where it stops?
Logicprevails, you and I posted at the same time, 8:34, and said essentially the same thing, so there are at least a few people out there that get where I’m coming from.
Have any of you visited a highschool campas latlty pink hair is the least of the distractions I belive if you don’t let kids express themselves while their young it will come back around and kick you in the keister!
Some of you could lighten up a bit, I may be 40 but I remmember those days far to well, ofcourse having two teenagers of my own keeps those memories fresh.
Even leaving aside the question of self-expression, in today’s age, is pink hair really a distraction? Give me a break. If you consider pink hair a distraction, then you are very distractable.
It appears that my 12, 10 and 5-year old children have more respect for authority, discipline and rules than most of the adults posting here. What a sad thought. And, I guess considering that, it is not surprising that we have this news story about the girl being suspended from school after attending with pink hair. The girl was warned once to lose the color because she had attended school with pink streaks. Then she defiantly and disrespectfully dyed her whole head pink with full support of her mom and attended school like that and that is okay and actually applauded by a lot of folks. That is truly an indicator of the very sad state of many things in this society, some of which Ryan on the Euphonium mentioned: religion, life-style, child-rearing. Very sad, indeed.