![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/230908150835-darryl-george-hair-suspension-090823.jpg?resize=480%2C270&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThis isn\u2019t an athletic department rule, it\u2019s a mandate for every boy in the school. And his \u201cpotential\u201d violates the \u201cdress and grooming code\u201d of\u00a0Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvie, Texas.\u00a0\u00a0The rules state:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Male students\u2019 hair must not extend below the top of a t-shirt collar or be gathered or worn in a style that would allow the hair to extend below the top of a t-shirt collar, below the eyebrows, or below the ear lobes when let down.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I guess his “failure” is in the gathering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the past decades there\u2019s been a lot of discussion of school uniforms. Some public schools, including nearby Reynoldsburg, chose to require their kids to wear khaki pants (or shorts) and sports shirts in school colors. But there\u2019s a huge cultural gap between khakis and sports shirts, and determining what\u2019s acceptable hair style. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When I was in law school one of the standard process of questioning was \u201cwhatabouts\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0As we split legal hairs in class, we pushed our arguments to extremes.\u00a0\u00a0So, for example, if a student was Buddhist and shaved his head, can a school enforce a \u201chair policy\u201d designed to prevent shaved heads (skinheads)?\u00a0\u00a0What about an Orthodox Jewish student with side curls, or a Jamaican Rastafarian?\u00a0\u00a0Can school rules legally infringe on religious freedom?<\/p>\n\n\n\n But if a \u201creligious exemption\u201d is placed in the \u201chair code\u201d, what about a cultural one?\u00a0\u00a0Should a Native American student be required to follow the \u201cBarber Hills\u201d rule?\u00a0\u00a0And if not him, then shouldn\u2019t an African American student be able to claim the same exception?\u00a0\u00a0Should a transgendered girl be required to have a haircut \u2013 and what rule applies?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This issue just isn\u2019t worth all the energy, effort that could better be applied to improving student achievement or even keeping kids safe from violence. It’s not matter of discipline, it’s a process of cultural “bullying”: fit in, or face the consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was an educator, and for several years was directly responsible for discipline in a public high school.\u00a0\u00a0I was around when boys started to wear \u2013 oh my goodness \u2013 earrings!\u00a0\u00a0My big discovery was that individualism didn\u2019t seem to influence discipline.\u00a0\u00a0We had big problems:\u00a0\u00a0drug use, kids acting out on their emotions with violence, kids quietly failing school. Those were so much more important than how long hair was (or whether it was pink, green or brown).\u00a0\u00a0Rather the guy with a Mohawk who felt positive about it, than the unknown kid falling into despair.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nLaw School<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What Matters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n