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A straight-A student in Gary Indiana has been been kicked out of school because the pricipal does not like braids--on boys. The boy and his parents like it that way, there was no rule against it and yet this (w)itch--substitute any letter in the alphabet that you please for the W--has decided that he can't wear braids.
Michael Bakalis the head of the school program that the boy is in sided with the principal stating; "One of the themes of the school is that it is a leadership academy that will deal with entrepreneurship in the corporate world. If we want to succeed in it, we must comply with rules."
Some "leadership academy"! All it's doing is teaching kids how to follow orders. Is this now the main function of schools today? No wonder so many kids are screwed up!!
You can e-mail Bakalis at: mbakalis@aqs.org
Gee, an afro is businesslike, but braids are not? What decade do these administrators this we're in?
Clearly the people who run this school believe that creativity and leadership is best fostered by meek submission and compliance.
"Clearly the people who run this school believe that creativity and leadership is best fostered by meek submission and compliance."
Kind of Orwellian logic, isn't it?
Well, I was gonna say that they are 1970s pimps like Shaft, but I did some Googling and discovered that the original Shaft had a shaved head, so I dunno.
Plainly however, they are the mac daddies of school admin fascist lunacy, which is saying a lot.
So if I ever have a kid who wants to get into the pimpin' business, I might send him to this school.
This is the best line from Bakalis:
Also, Bakalis, a former Illinois state schools superintendent, said Thursday, with braids, "Some of the designs can be gang-related."
A Third Grader in a Gang? Lol... He's 9 years old and a straight A-Student... Gang Member? Ha! I'd really be scared if it were a bunch of 9 year olds ruling my neighbourhood with drugs and prostitution.
Sometimes I really wonder how many mouths these people have to put their foot in.
Sorted
Actually the gangbanger argument does have some merit but wouldn't it make more sense to toss out students for being gangbangers rather than students that wear their hair in braids?
A 9 year old? Who's a Straight-A Student... Is a member of Gang? Yeah man... pull the other one... but I agree... it would make more sense to ban gangmembers than braids. Its a bit like saying "Don't let any Muslims on a plane they could be terrorists!" Mind you don't let the government run with that Idea... they'd do it!
Believe it or not, gangbangers can start that young, especially if a family member is a gangbanger. These days anything can unfortunately happen.
But he's a straight A sudent, very unlikely he'd be involved in drug trafficing or causing trouble, especially at only 9 years old. Givien his background, he'd probably be more troubled if his mother locked away his Charles Dickens novels!
You'd be surprised. Straight A's don't mean what they used to. We don't know the school, the teachers, how tough the curriculum is, etc. Believe me, from what I'm being told I'm all for the kid. I think someone needs to have a talk with the school admins.
If all the boys have short hair, that can indicate another type of gang membership: fascism, national-socialism, etc. I guess the school's problem is that the 9 year old boy is smart enough not to join.
I think people need to either call for a meeting with this idiot or write to the school voicing thier disaproval. One can look at this quite the opposite in that the boy IS displaying leadership, confidence, etc., in NOT being like his fellow students. If it's being done for sensationalism then I agree with the school, but if this kid(first and foremost) and his family like his hair that way then fine. He's not hurting anyone, is he?
I posted the e-mail address for Michael Bakalis, the guy in charge, and was wondering if anybody sent him their comments on the issue.
I've never had any luck getting web people to take direct action. Complaining generally does not lead to further steps.
On another board (well, actually it was two) that I frequent, someone posted a link to an article that was insulting to longhairs, from the website of a self-styled "fashion guru". I pointed out more than once that there was a forum attached to the website, and that we could start threads and discuss there. Several people said they were going to email her to let her know what they thought. They may have, but I am certain she would have just deleted any message she didn't agree with.
One night, while under the influence (a bit) and rather bored, I took over her board. I posted replies to every posting since January, giving them all good advice, though clearly not the same advice she would have given. I'm just an unregistered user, but now it's MY board, as anyone visiting would assume is the case. I respond promptly to all queries now. I have a reputation to maintain. :-}>
Notice the deliberate attempt to ignore the fact that at least some of the most successful and influential men in business have long hair?
Probably better for the kid to leave as he won't get much of an education from this place (and principal), incomplete at best.
Do you suppose that they also stress that only men who wear the standard design business suit are going to be successful?
According to the report, this boy is 9 ears old. I can't believe the school really thinks he should look like a junior executive at that age.
Anyway, they have said a ponytail is OK, just not braids. seems the school has a strange way of looking at things.
Hmmm...
I reckon that this school has been looking for any reason it can to get rid of a disruptive kid. My wife works in a school and some of the teachers refer to the worst kids (privately)as having NAILS Syndrome (it's often hereditary - you look at the parents and see exactly where they got it from!) - it stands for Nasty Agressive Ignorant Little Sod ! This kind of stuff often turns up in our local newspaper 'Model Pupil Sent Home for (insert slightly non-conformist appearance)' They ALWAYS refer to the student as being straight-A but the reality (when you know the background) is usually completely different. I'd bet my right ball that this is the case here.
My experience is that the kids with the most outrageous appearance, the nails who will get hammered in when the hammer comes down, if you will, are the ones who you would never notice were it not for their nonconformist sense of style. The bad actor/hot button kids I have known stand out for their behavior, not for their individuality of fashion sense.
Of course, if the school defines nonconformist style as bad behavior, then they can say they did something about the problem, while actually they have avoided doing the hard work of dealing with students who are disruptive.
It's so easy to do it this way because the students with facial piercings, weird hair, etc. are usually the ones who give up and vanish when you try to crush them.
"They ALWAYS refer to the student as being straight-A but the reality (when you know the background) is usually completely different. I'd bet my right ball that this is the case here."
I would normally agree with you but this is a school for gifted kids to begin with.
As a teacher for 22 years, I've never heard the term "NAILS," but it is most appropriate. I agree that when someone says "straight A student" and issues like this are attached to the child, there is much more there than the school system wants you to know about it. I've seen so much pushed under the carpet in 22 years that it's scary. Sadly, as a journalism teacher, I can tell you that the newspaper is often going to print the part the will evoke the most emotional appeal to its audience. In this case, the intent is "the public should feel sorry for this kid." I think that a student's hairstyle should be left to the student not the school system. I've seen everything you can imagine in my classroom and not one time did a style cause a disruption to the classroom. One or two comments may have been said, but that's about it and then we moved onto the lesson.
A student handbook distributed during registration last month didn't say anything about a ban on braided hair for boys. But an amended version of the handbook, dated Tuesday, makes clear: No braids for boys.
"We have the right to change the dress code any time we want to," says Michael Bakalis, president of American Quality Schools
I do not agree with this at all. They cannot have the right to do something like this. He has spent probably a few years growing his hair out, this is outragous.
I would definately seek legal action/advice against this. It's policy is outdated, very sexist, and will not benefit they boy's career at all. Bah, I'm having a hard time challanging this as the rules are precise and leave very little interpretation, basically, sue the pants off him.
