It's rare for me to agree with a Pandagon story, but I have to say that this is another of those "administration run amok" stories.
7th grader Derek Jackson says he is back in his normal classes today following his placement in in-school-suspension for having a haircut that was too short; something the school says was both a violation of the school dress-code and a distraction.
Derek’s mother, Amanda, says she met with Bailey Middle School Principal Dr. Julia Fletcher, and Dr. Fletcher told her that the issue was “not worth the fight”.
Leaders of Austin’s NAACP are convinced the suspension of Derek Jackson is racially motivated. Nelson Linder with the NAACP says there’s no other reason he can think of why a 7th grader would get in-school suspension for having hair that’s too short.
“We think that Derek is just a metaphor for how people are treated,” he said. “For whatever reason, African-Americans are put under very high scrutiny…gang issues, all kind of what I call ‘racist projections’. So I think when a black kid has a haircut that they might think is inappropriate, you’re seeing phobias from people.
I disagree that this is a race thing, although I'm sure there are some racists who don't like buzzcuts on black kids. Plus, the NAACP does have a vested interest in making everything about race.
In this instance, though, I consider this to be more administrative stupidity than racism. After all, I already wrote about the 13-year-old girl arrested for writing on a desk. And we all know about the first grader suspended because he kissed a girl. So, why not put this boy's haircut in the same category?
The truth is, most school administrations' "zero tolerance" policies--really a cop out so teachers don't have to use any actual judgement--force teachers and administrators to inflict harsh punishments on children for relatively minor offenses. Let's face it; it's much easier to ban all jewelry rather than determine how much is too much. It's easier to disallow rolling backpacks than to make children behave properly with them.
These harsh applications of blanket rules poorly serve our children. Maybe the teachers and administrators in Derek's school should be more concerned about his studies than his haircut.
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