Last week, Principal Sherrie Warren of F.J. Elementary School in Seminole, Texas, sent 5-year-old Malachi Wilson home because since he was a boy, he wasn't allowed to attend school with long hair. Malachi Wilson's parents are Navajo and Kiowa, and due to their religious beliefs, feel that their son's hair is sacred and shouldn't be cut. While Principal Warren backed down and allowed Malachi Wilson to go back to school on the second day, it's still quite troubling he was sent home for even just one day. Not only was the move against both the 1st and 14th Amendments in the Constitution, it was also wrong on a basic tolerance and decency level. Must all boys and girls fit in with historic societal norms of how they should both appear and act, and if one steps out of line, he or she must be sent home as a result? If that's the case, expect Principal Warren to illegally send kids home for the following reasons in the future:
- "I feel it's my ethical duty to send this little girl home because her hair is just as short as Halle Berry's, and that's not ladylike!"
- "She has to be sent home because she was playing one of those sports games with the boys during recess and real girls don't partake in such filthy activities!"
- "This little boy is going home because he was reading a book during recess! Only girls are allowed to do that! What is wrong with him?"
- "Did she really think she could get away with wearing jeans and a t-shirt? Does she think she's a boy or something? Have your mother pick you up! You're going home and aren't coming back until you wear something more feminine!"
- "I'm sorry, Billy, but you shouldn't have helped that little boy up after he fell. You should have left him there, let him grow up to be a real man by helping himself up. Call your parents. You're going to have to go home."
- "I, Principal Sherrie Warren, will be sending myself home today, because apparently I need to update myself on how things have changed since the 1950s and try to adapt accordingly. Since I have 60+ years to catch up on, this should probably take me just a day or two. Thank God for Cliff Notes!"
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/09/02/3477766/texas-school-wont-let-native-american-attend-his-first-day-of-kindergarten-because-of-his-long-hair/
- "I feel it's my ethical duty to send this little girl home because her hair is just as short as Halle Berry's, and that's not ladylike!"
- "She has to be sent home because she was playing one of those sports games with the boys during recess and real girls don't partake in such filthy activities!"
- "This little boy is going home because he was reading a book during recess! Only girls are allowed to do that! What is wrong with him?"
- "Did she really think she could get away with wearing jeans and a t-shirt? Does she think she's a boy or something? Have your mother pick you up! You're going home and aren't coming back until you wear something more feminine!"
- "I'm sorry, Billy, but you shouldn't have helped that little boy up after he fell. You should have left him there, let him grow up to be a real man by helping himself up. Call your parents. You're going to have to go home."
- "I, Principal Sherrie Warren, will be sending myself home today, because apparently I need to update myself on how things have changed since the 1950s and try to adapt accordingly. Since I have 60+ years to catch up on, this should probably take me just a day or two. Thank God for Cliff Notes!"
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/09/02/3477766/texas-school-wont-let-native-american-attend-his-first-day-of-kindergarten-because-of-his-long-hair/
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