Ohio School Suspends Boy Over Mohawk

[Kor37 9]

Ohio School Suspends Boy Over Mohawk

AP

Posted: 2008-02-27 05:09:41

PARMA, Ohio (AP) - A kindergarten student with a freshly spiked Mohawk has been suspended from school.

 

Michelle Barile, the mother of 6-year-old Bryan Ruda, said nothing in the Parma Community School handbook prohibits the haircut, characterized by closely shaved sides with a strip of prominent hair on top. The school said the hair was a distraction for other students.

 

"I understand they have a dress code. I understand he has a uniform. But this is total discrimination," she said. "They can't tell me how I can cut his hair."

 

An administrator at the suburban Cleveland charter school first warned Barile last fall that the haircut wasn't acceptable. The school later sent another warning to her reiterating the ban.

 

Mohawks violate the school's policy on being properly groomed, school Principal Linda Geyer said. Also, the school district's dress code allows school officials to forbid anything that interferes with the conduct of education.

 

Ruda's hair became a disruption last week when Ruda arrived freshly shorn, Geyer said. Administrators called Barile on Friday telling her to pick Ruda up from school.

 

"This was his third infraction," Geyer said Tuesday. "We felt that we were being extremely patient."

 

Rather than request a hearing to appeal the suspension, Barile said she'll enroll him at another school. Changing the hairstyle is not an option, she said.

 

"It's something that he really likes," Barile said. "When people hear Mohawk, they think it's long, it's spiked, it's crazy looking, and it's really not."

 

 

It sounds to me as though its more the mother liking the haircut rather than the boy.......

[ddillard 2]

Yeah, I would say it is probably the mother that likes it. I would think that after having received two warnings she would have gotten the hint. Some people just don't seem to understand that rules like that are made because stuff like that is a distraction to other students, just like my old high school used to catch alot of grief for enforcing the rules concerning the length or shorts and skirts. People used to claim that it was unfair, but let me tell you a girl coming to school in a short skirt or shorts definitely distracted me from paying any attention to the teacher, lol.

[trekz 7]

My mother taught kindergarten, admittedly it was 30 years ago. Six year olds are EASILY distracted. Kindergaten is now where many basic pre-reading and early reading skills are taught. I agree that it sounds like the mother is the one in love with the haircut. I wouldn't be surprised if they have difficulty finding a school that wants a Kindergaten rebel!

[Theunicornhunter 2]

When I was in high school our mascot was the Braves - at the beginning of the school year (and hence football season) many players would get a mohawk - and this was a long time ago. I guess that couldn't happen now.

 

I guess I'm not seeing how a kid's haircut is all that much of a distraction - sure when he first walked into a room but they'd get over that pretty quick. Five year olds have a 5 minute attention span - everything is a distraction. I think it upsets(distracts) the adults more than the kids.

Edited February 28, 2008 by TheUnicornHunter

[He Who Shall Not Be Named 2]

Exactly. 5- and 6-year olds are going to be distracted anyway! If it isn't some kid's haircut it will be the crayons in the corner or the noise from the next class over or some interesting goo on the carpet or name any other thing. A kid's haircut just won't matter. I would be more concerned about the kid being teased rather than the other kids being distracted.

[ddillard 2]

The kid being teased is a distraction in itself, for all concerned. The other kids because they are not paying attention while they are doing the teasing and the child because of the teasing itself. I completely agree that schools need to make rules such as that to avoid interrupting the learning process. I have always been a firm believer that kids need to be forced to put more effort into the learning process and less into impressing others.

 

Yeah the child might only be 5 or 6 now, but what happens if his mother keeps the haircut going for him as he advances? It will become more and more of a distraction, and if they have allowed it from the beginning they would no longer be able to stop it at a later time as a result.

[trekz 7]

I'm going to sound really old fashioned here, but so be it.

 

One of a child's main responsibilities when they reach 5 or 6, and beyond, is to go to school and learn. It is not to be hip and trendy, or to make fashion statements. Those things are distracting and have little place in school imo. I went to a rural school, but there was still a dress code.

 

I agree that kids have short attention spans. They are easily distracted and checking out this kid's Mohawk could waste a lot of time in class. What about the kid or kids that have to peer over it that sit in the seats behind or beside him?

 

I think other parents in the class have a right to be concerned. With a Mohawk in Kindergarten, what could be next for this kid? Tattoes in first grade, an earring in second grade, visible piercings in third grade?

 

Again I think the mother needs to wake up and think of others rather than just her kid and how he and she feel about his haircut choice.

[VaBeachGuy 12]

Is this a private or public school?

 

When I was in high school I was suspended for wearing tennis shoes on a day other than a Gym day. It wasn't a big deal, they suspended my 2 best friends with me and the day we were suspended just happened to be a Friday so the 3 of us went to the movies and hung out at the mall all day.

 

Monday, when we went back to school and told our friends what an awesome day Friday was and it got back to the office the Principal called my mother and asked if she knew we had gone to the movies... she said "Yes, I paid for it and drove them to the mall." lol

 

Anyway, aside from my stroll down memory lane. If it's a private school then the school is in the right, they can set their own rules. If it's a public school and other public schools allow the hair cut then they were wrong.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

HERE'S A PICTURE -

 

ebaum

 

now, is this really distracting to other students? Personally, I think that doesn't give kids much credit if you think this is distracting.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named 2]

Oh come on, that's not a mohawk. The fuss is over that? Sheesh, I had a haircut very similar when I was in the army!

[Kor37 9]

That doesn't look like a mohawk at all......nor does it look like it may be distracting.... <_<