Listening to the news this morning, another kid is suspended from school because of his hair (he put corn rows or corn braids in it like his favorite baseball player has). The same thing has happened to other kids over the past couple of years, and this has happened to even police officers (not the suspension from school, but they were susupended from the force until they agreed to comply.
This is just ridiculous. All of these people I've seen picutres of, there's nothing wrong with their appearance (and I'm a fairly conservative person). Would I wear my hair that way (even if I could)? 99% no. Does that mean it's wrong? 100% NO!
I understand that there are certain standards of acceptibility that must be maintained, especially in schools. However, I think all of this intolerance of non-conformity is much more rooted in the same thinking that says to medicate our kids into "proper" behavior because we're not willing to work with them on a continuing basis. (90% of kids on Ritalin and other similar behavior-norming drugs are boys. Let's see, who's more active, aggressive, and generally antsy all around in general? Girls? Nope. For those that truly need this help, do it. But not every wiggle is indicative of ADD or ADHD, or whatever disorder you fancy, and it doesn't call for being drugged into submission.)
Kids are kids, not little adults. They grow up so fast as it is, why do we try to force them into it so much faster?
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