Ok this is just moronic

[Amanita]

I read that article too. Freaking rediculous is right!
I just don't get the predjudice against long hair on men, the 50's are over!

This school sounds like it's being run by control freaks. It brings back memories of what I wanted to do to my own junior high school.
My plan was this:

Get a trashcan, a military-style lettering stencil, and a can of bright red paint.
Using the stencil and the paint can, I would have applied the following words to my school's front doors:
Please deposit all civil and human rights here.
Upon entering this building, you have none.
(Downward pointing arrow underneath)
Under that legend, I would place the trashcan.

Quite fitting, I think.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I disagree with the policy but, it's their policy and the parents must have known of it before they enrolled their child in the place. If they don't like the policies their kid's school has, then don't enrol them; find a school with a laxer dress code. I know that I'm in the minority here, but then, English schools are nearly all uniform only so dress codes are applied right away.

No, it's not fair that the school is trying to crush infant individuality, but it's not just some secret small print that was only revealed once everything was signed and sealed. It was something that the parents obviously found out when they wanted to enrol their child, and chose to ignore, then make a giant fuss over it. This poor kid is going to be mortified when he grows up, cuz his parents splashed his face all over.

[jackfaire]

I disagree with the policy but, it's their policy and the parents must have known of it before they enrolled their child in the place..

Yes but in some areas the dress codes are the same all across all the schools so your alternative is homeschool or follow BS dress codes.

[Lace Neil Singer]

So follow them. Jeez, it won't kill you. Didn't kill me to have to follow a strict dress code that involved a uniform for nearly all my schooling existance.

[jackfaire]

So follow them. Jeez, it won't kill you. Didn't kill me to have to follow a strict dress code that involved a uniform for nearly all my schooling existance.

No it won't kill you but it will change who you are. It will change your experience to something they want.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Hardly. Didn't change mine; after all, I could tear the uniform off as soon as I got home and put on my own clothes. Nothing can change who you are inside; and in any case, school isn't for socialising or discovering the inner you; it's for work. It may seem silly for a four year old to have a dress code drummed into them, but if the parents don't like it now, what are they going to say later on when their kid gets sent home from big school? After all, if you don't like the rules then you don't have to send your child to school at all; you can choose to homeschool. Or, you can tell your child to lump it and put up with dress codes cuz after all, once they leave school and go to work, they might just have to put up with a uniform or dress code there.

[Tanasi]

I always get a kick out of these dress-code discussions. They're surpressing this or that for no reason, making automatons out of the kids, etc. My oldest son's wardrobe is controlled down to his underwear and his appearance down to ear and nose hair. At his school you'll never find a more diverse group of folks. Clothes and hair doesn't make the person.

[Boozy]

Clothes and hair doesn't make the person.

The schools seem to think so: "Students who dress and groom themselves neatly, and in an acceptable and appropriate manner, are more likely to become constructive members of the society in which we live."

I find that very premise offensive. It's based on out-dated redneck attitudes about "damned hippies".

You know what the schools should be teaching? That it is wrong to judge people based on their appearance.

[Parrothead]

What pisses me off about this is the kid is doing it for charity. When his hair is long enough (10 inches is the minimum) he will get a haircut, and a cancer patient will get a wig.

You go Tater Tot!

[MadMike]

Didn't kill me to have to follow a strict dress code that involved a uniform for nearly all my schooling existance.

And at my school, it didn't kill them to let kids wear what they wanted, within reason.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Practically every school in England is uniform. We haven't had an entire school system of kids die from having to wear one. Just seems like overreacting to drop the dummy over something as stupid as a dress code. Don't like it? Send your kids elsewhere or homeschool. Don't cry about it.

[MadMike]

We haven't had an entire school system of kids die from having to wear one.

I could also say that we haven't had an entire school system of kids die from not having to wear one.

Just seems like overreacting to drop the dummy over something as stupid as a dress code.

I think it's stupid to micromanage something like how someone dresses. It seems to me that they should be paying more attention to things like education, which is what I thought school was for.

[MaggieTheCat]

Lace, I understand your point. However, your example that you could take your school uniform off after school doesn't really apply to the boy in the OP. You can't exactly cut your hair for school and then change it to be long after school. And if he ends up going to school where the dress code all the way through grade 12 says no long hair, then that sort of really does define him, in that respect. Since it's being ingrained upon him at such a young age, and for such a long time if it is for all 12 grades, he may grow up thinking that boys/men with long hair are bad/wrong/delinquents/whatever.

[MadMike]

However, your example that you could take your school uniform off after school doesn't really apply to the boy in the OP. You can't exactly cut your hair for school and then change it to be long after school.

Thank you. I got sidetracked by the whole uniform/dress code discussion, and completely forgot it was originally about hair.

While I never liked dressing up for work, I can put it on before I go to work, and then take it off when I get home and be comfortable for the rest of the day. I can't shorten my hair before I go in, and then lengthen it again when I get home.

It really wasn't an issue when I started working there. One of the managers even had long hair. But then our tyrannical boss came in and threw a fit over guys with long hair. Apparently you can have a dick or long hair, but not both. I never understood how the length of a person's hair influenced their job one way or the other. There's this one guy at my job who's a complete and total idiot, and with his "help", I managed to get several projects done in a week, where it would have taken me a day or two if I had done them on my own. But hey, he has his hair cut short, so I guess that makes him a model employees.

For some reason, the boss never confronted me about my hair, but he was constantly harrassing one of the other guys about it. Eventually he promised him a promotion if he cut his hair. Well, the guy cut his hair, and the boss completely screwed him on the promotion. He was pissed, and I don't blame him.

The issue with the hair was just one of many issues the guy had. He was constantly bullying people and threatening their jobs over things beyond their control. Quite a few people ended up quitting, including good, knowledgeable people who had been with the company for years. Thankfully, someone higher up than him finally got wind of what was going on and fired his worthless ass. I'm pretty sure the entire department was dry-eyed over it. After he left, some of the people who had previously quit started coming back.

[Lace Neil Singer]

As far as hair is concerned (and I too got sidetracked) I still think it's up to the school. However, as I said before, I don't agree. As long as long hair is tied back neatly, whatever gender you are, then it shouldn't matter.