Quote:
Originally posted by yournamehere
A blue mohawk on a <b>six-year old ?</b>
Gimme a break.
I'm sorry, but there is no six-year old that I've ever known that even has a clue as to the concept of individuality. If you doubt me, ask the next 6-year old you run across what 'individuality' means to him. He probably just likes Marge Simpson.
|
They may not know the word "individuality" but they certainly have an emerging concept of being able to make decisions for themselves, and they certainly recognize differences between themselves and others. Go read some Piaget.
The kid wanted a mohawk. The parents let him have it as a reward for behaving well in school. Sounds to me like the kid has some distinct preferences that ought to be respected to the extent that they don't clash with the school's dress code.
Quote:
|
As a taxpayer I would be appalled that the parents would try to steal money out of my pocket as a result of them lacking the parenting skills to make decisions for their 6-year old child. Who do they think pays when a school board gets taken to court?
|
Here I have to agree with you. A lawsuit is not the best way to handle this. Step 1. principal does something stupid. Step 2. get pissed off. Step 3. BIG PROFITS. If they wanted something constructive to come out of this, they could try working with the school board to establish some guidelines to prevent this from happening in the future, or turn the thing into education for the kids about being different: have funny hairstyle day, buy them all mohawk wigs or rainbow afro wigs or something, have some of them roll around in wheelchairs all day, whatever it takes to expose them to the concept that different != bad.
Quote:
|
And yeah - some of us are "conformist whiners," I guess, when we find it wrong that the 'rights' of one student are allowed to trample the rights of every other student in the class. That's the problem with most people on the "It's my right" bandwagon - they're too busy yelling about themselves to ever consider the rights of everyone else.
|
Last I'd checked, there was a right to freedom of expression built into the constitution, but not a right to have unremarkable class photos for all kindergarteners.
It's a hairstyle, for pete's sake. Are you going to sue if the kid next to yours is making a funny face?
For kids this age, every moment is a "teachable" moment, and the lessons that are coming out of this situation are not ones I'd want kids to learn:
1. being different is dangerous, undesirable
2. authority can be abused without impunity (ignoring the "he said she said" kerfuffle over whether the parents did or didn't grant permission - assume for the moment they didn't)
3. rewards for good behavior can be yanked away
4. sue when you're pissed off
I agree that some middle ground needs to be found in society between the rights of the individual and the rights of the whole. But is blue hair really the most important battleground where this needs to be fought? It seems to me that allowing individuals to look the way they want is a fairly minor concession, and teaching kids to accept difference (which they're going to encounter everywhere in life) is a lot more important than making sure a school picture has nothing objectionable or remarkable in it. Go back to Stepford if you want conformity.