Hair today gone tomorrow by Frances Coulson

Hair today gone tomorrow?

by Frances Coulson

There are some reports in the media paying attention to boys who are refusing to have their hair cut which is causing consternation in their primary and secondary schools. This issue is leading schools to ban the wearing of long hair and insisting on it being cut short. The reasons given are that it does not ‘look smart’, does not fit the uniform policy, or that it could distract from other pupils’ learning. If a parent or carer chooses to send a child to a state funded school then it would make sense that in the absence of the private school option or homeschooling, by default one would have to abide by the rules of that institution.

So, it is worth examining why those rules would be in place. The problem is that girls can wear long hair and some boys cannot. This is a rule that does not favour children according to their sex. Some rules are based on judgment – how is ‘looking smart’ defined? (It is similar to references that require teachers to gauge a candidate’s sense of humour). Some rules are based on the growing fetishization in schools that looking like a smart business employee is the panacea for educational attainment.

If we accept that schools can decide the length of boys’ hair because parents and carers sign up to the rules and ethos, then schools cannot have it both ways. This can be ascertained in various mission statements that adorn websites and external signage. For example, ‘Every Child Matters’ or ‘Be special’ or ‘celebrate all children’. It is hard to argue against the ideal that if children matter in their individuality, they can be prevented from expressing their identity or their tonsorial preference. The boys would be further supported by all school’s adoption of Fundamental British Values and its insistence on ‘individual liberty’ and the need to ‘ensure all pupils within the school have a voice that is listened to.’

Perhaps it would be better if schools looked at the liberty of the individual in terms of their spiritual well being when it comes to deciding on rules of hair length. Aestheticism within fashion is arbitrary but equality should not be.

Frances Coulson is an interested observer of education.

“It is hard to argue against the ideal that if children matter in their individuality, they can be prevented from expressing their identity or their tonsorial preference.”