Do we need rules regulating hair styles in schools?A black female student in grade eight, who attends Amesbury Middle School in North York, was recently admonished by her principal for wearing her hair in a natural style. The student was pulled out of class and purportedly told that she looked unprofessional and would never get a job looking the way she did. The most surprising thing is that the principal is also black. This story went viral on social media when the students’ aunt, Kaysie Quansah, took to Facebook to express her outrage at what had happened to her niece. Her post was passionate, she seemed hurt by what her niece had gone through. She stated, that the Principal “told my niece that she needs to put her hair up, gave her a hair band/scrunchie/ponytail holder (whatever you'd like to call it) and repeatedly told her to do something about her hair.” A principal is an educator and should be a strong leader, someone who provides a positive environment for our children. When we drop our children off at school in the morning, we leave them there in hopes that they will be cared for by the best people in the community. Educators have a big responsibility; to impact our children’s’ lives in the most positive way possible. The Facebook statement contradicts this notion, “My sister was then called and told that my niece's hair was *too poofy*, *unprofessional*, that *no one would hire her with hair like that*, and if *she were working in a store, no one would buy anything from her*”.This story hit home for me, as a mother of mixed children (of Latino, black and white background) and as another social problem that we ignore on a daily basis. We must teach our children self-love not self-hate, we must teach them that what is most important is what is on the inside, how we treat people and how to be respectful of others and their situations.It is sad to see self-hate, because it demonstrates that there is a bigger issue at play here. The student’s aunt states it well, “I would like to know what gives you the authority to be the decision maker on stunting my nieces' dreams by telling her that she cannot achieve careers based off her looks. (Principal) why are you projecting your SELF HATE onto my niece? (Principal) love yourself, and allow my niece to do the same.”Kuddos to the family for making this story known to the media, which led to an outpour of support for the family.
Let us know what you think about this story. Do you think physical appearance should affect the education we receive in our schools or job opportunities later in life?