Carrying "Authority" to Extremes?  

Because this is something they CAN control so they will. It's not about the hair, it's about people power-tripping.

I have to agree with you 100% on this RJ. If the kid had a mohawk sticking out 12 inches off his skull it might be difficult for the kids behind him to see the blackboard. But to stifle a kids self expression when it is neither a distraction nor harmful in any way to himself or fellow students is wrong.

My brother was a good B student and never caused any trouble in school. Until he got sent home from high school one time for wearing a black t-shirt with neon colored paint "plops" all over it and it said "BIRD SHIRT" (with the R in there) across the front. The principal thought it insinuated a naughty word and that was unacceptable so he sent him home. Funny thing was that shirt was a birthday present from Mom! We all thought it was hilarious. Anyway, after that the principle went out of his way to pick on my brother every chance he got, all over a stupid shirt. My brother went from a B student to a D student very quickly, became very resentful to school authorities and eventually quit school.

20 yrs later, his son, also a solid B student who never caused any trouble, was sent home from school for wearing a black t-shirt which the principal deemed inappropriate because it depicted a heavy metal band logo on it. I GAVE HIM THAT SHIRT! There was nothing inappropriate about it! It was just a logo for crying out loud. Well the same thing happened that happened to his father. The principal picked on him about everything he wore to school, his hair (he wore a very similar short mohawk), and just about everything the poor kid did. He eventually got so frustrated with it that he also quit school.

Teenagers are just trying to find themselves. They need a little independence with boundaries and the need to express themselves within reason. Cracking the whip over their heads doesn't help! Stifling self expression doesn't help! Unless these kids are doing or wearing something completely beyond the bounds decency, leave them the hell alone! Making them feel bad about themselves does nothing but major damage that could ruin or seriously derail their future from which they may never recover.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with the boy's mohawk. Some teachers like to exert their authority just because they can. It seems ridiculous to suspend the boy for a haircut. My sons' high school is very strict about uniform and, even if they have a stripe or a logo on their school trousers, after 10 warnings it is automatic suspension. One boy was barred from his year social because the school didn't think his attire was appropriate. Anything out of the norm is frowned upon. I can't wait to hear what they have to say about my 17 year old's eyebrow piercing when school goes back after the current holidays. I think some teachers have forgotten that they are there to teach, NOT to bully or stifle kids' self-expression. Kids should not be treated as sheep and expected to look identical. Those that stand out from the crowd, may be the free thinkers of this world who go on to do great things.

Hell, that's not even considered a real Mohawk where I come from...it's a freaking landing strip! And they actually suspended him over that? Someone needs to get a real life.

Where are the parents? Teachers? Friends and their parents? If this happened where I teach, the protests would be heard all over the country! I thought about this for a few minutes and realized that, of just under 200 kids in my classes, there are eleven boys with mohawks, and a lot of those are more flamboyant than this. Two years ago, a girl in my third period had a right pink mohawk. So what?

There will always be problems with power. I suppose what people need to do is to exercise their own power. I certainly do not allow abuse of power to happen if I can help it. Cheers!!

I think people like this just get off on the power they wield. Like you said, they do it because they can. They don't feel good until they can prove they're in charge - which only proves they're weak and emotionally impotent.

There is not one thing wrong with this boy's haircut. My own son, when we all lived in Utah (the most conservative state in the US) had designs cut into the back of his hair in junior high. No one sent him home, no one thought he was a distraction. Their concern was his behavior. Not his hair. And, his hair didn't indicate any potentially bad associations because it wasn't gang related.

One thing I learned once in a parenting program was that if it's not illegal, immoral or life threatening, it's NOT something to worry about. And, I haven't - that clicked with me like nothing else did. This boy's hair is NONE OF THE ABOVE!!

That's ridiculous. There are far more distracting things going on in classrooms and on school grounds--spending time punishing something like this is a huge waste. What's the harm of a haircut? Maybe the guy always wanted a mohawk, but his parents would never let him, so now he's on a mission to destroy all mohawks.

One of the teachers here has a mohawk that he dyes on a weekly basis. I suppose the university system is a little different.

I don't see anything that distracting about it at all. It's quite short and not really how kids wore them when I was in school in the 80's. My best friend had one about 4 in high, even that was short. Anybody staring at it would get bored pretty quickly. Not like those spiked up jobs that you try to fathom what they put on it to keep it at that altitude for so long.

I don't know what the big deal is on this one either. It would be one thing if he had a raised mowhawk. This one just lays there and I'm not sure if I can really consider it a mowhawk myself. I resembles one to me but I don't know what the deal is.

Heck, when we were kids, boys had some pretty stupid haircuts. They used to shave their heads and leave nothing but thier front bangs! Nobody ever had a problem with it at our school. I don't like the haircut and hope my son doesn't want his hair cut like that but when your kid is old enough, what can you do? I don't think there should have been a problem with this kids hair.