I've noticed a few thread recently about Kids getting hassle for their hairstyles when they were in school. I'm wondering if there is anyone here who, like me, got hassled for their hairstyles when they were at school?
But anyway here's my story if anyone is interested:
As a child I always had short hair, but I've wanted it longer since I was about 8 years old, maybe earlier, but it was my primary school teacher a guy called Colin Stewart who really got me the longhair bug. He had the coolest Mullet in the world. ( Yeah, I know, the words 'cool' and 'mullet' are not combined nowadays but it was 1988 so in the words of Grandpa Simpson "It was the fashion of the time.") Ever since then I'd wanted long hair.
As a young adolescent, I followed in my Primary School Teachers foot steps and grew a mullet of my own, about 2 years after it when out of fashion. :-p (We live an learn I guess.)
But anyways, just as my hair was reaching shoulder length and I was starting to feel pleased with it. One day during break, I was called over by the Headteacher, I guess I was 14 at the time. He took me to one side and said to me:
"Don't you think its time you cut your hair?"
To which I replied: "No, I think its fine."
"Well I think it is. Get a haircut."
I was bold enough to ask: "What if I don't?" and I was told quite bluntly that if I didn't I be suspended until I did.
This kinda stung me pretty badly, cos I was like the swotty kid... I actually liked going to school when I was 14 (though this changed quite dramatically over the following 2 years.) I didn't really have much of a choice, so I coped out and cut my hair. I was gutted.
A year or two so later when I reached year 10 & 11, the hairstyle rule was relaxed somewhat. I think this happened after the head of the Secondary School (who was my form teacher in year 11) was also told to get a haircut, whilst he complied for the sake of a quite life, he did have a row with the Headteacher which I was lucky enough to witness, where he told him in no uncertain terms that he couldn't go around threatening to Exclude all the straight A students because they had long hair, otherwise the exam results would slum and they's slip to the bottom of the school league tables...
It was at this point when I learned the importance schools place on getting their GCSE averages up and realised that I could get away with Murder if I was scoring A's. The school your in has be stuggling for this to work though kids. But very few state school in the UK will exclude anyone who is gonna 'up' their GCSE exam score average because of a "dress code" infringement.
Infact in the UK you can't be pernamently expelled from school for a dress code infringement:
"The Department for Education and Employment guidance makes it clear that matters of clothing and hairstyle are not reasons for permanent exclusion..." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1080251.stm
Sorted
Rules on how having how long your hair should be so stupid.It's your own hair and anyone should have the right to have what length and style they want. I've been hassled about this from my short haired friends constantly, it gets really old.
HI Sorted
Guess I was lucky and never was given a problem by either parents nor school when I was growing up.
By the time I was in HS (I think) all the guys had longer to very long hair. (But we are talking here about the year 1492!) LOL :-)
But before that, students were sometimes expelled. Whew........glad I missed those "good-old-days!"
Justin~
I was never hassled at school
It's funny were I live no one seems to care about anything, which is really cool.
My secondary school had rules for hair. You were allowed any hair cut as long as it was longer than .5 inches. I used to have skin head back then at 0.01 inches but the teachers still didn't care!
Where I live I could walk about with half skin head and half long hair, dyed purple, green, orange etc, etc, naked at the same time and no one would give a ....
I was fortunate to begin growing my hair just under a year before the time I would be able to leave school and continue my education at a sixth-form college. The school rules clearly stated that a boy's hair could not fall below the collar of the uniform.
In Britain, the sixth form constitutes the final two years of school, in which students are aged around 16-18 years old. A sixth-form college is another option for anyone wishing to pursue their education beyond the age of 16, there are no dress codes.
I've never had any trouble with my hair, and I've recently started a part-time job in an office full of very convential hairstyles without any comment on my appearance. I'm hoping I'll be able to begin my career as an English teacher in a few years' time without any hair-related fuss.
Was wondering how you wear your hair while "on the job"....ponytail, perhaps?
That is terrible. You I just graduated this year and I look back and I really didnt have that many dres code problems throughout school to deal with. I mean when I hit highschool I started growin the hair and sportin the metal shirts and such and never had anything but encouragement. I would hate to have gone through school in a place where they tell you how to wear your hair or dress.
With my school, with it being a Welsh school, you'd expect it to be quite strict, but I haven't had any negative comments from any teachers. I've never been told to get a haircut or been threatened with expulsion or anything of the sort. I receive more trouble with my self tailored school uniform, just because I wear jeans and surf trainers, polo neck T shits replace shirts and tie's in my school:) I was once called a 'rebel' not too long ago by my form tutor, I just burst out laughing!