[Article] Students barred from exams over haircuts

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2006/0608/breaking75.htm

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Students barred from exams over haircuts
By Paul Anderson Last updated: 08-06-06, 16:37

A Co Offaly school has been condemned for barring three Junior Cert students from sitting their exams because their hair is too short.

The students at Tullamore College were told yesterday that they would not be allowed sit their exams at the college today because their extremely short "blade one" cuts contravened school rules.

The students were allowed complete their papers yesterday but were told they would not be allowed return to the examination hall today.

A school in nearby Clara offered to accept the pupils, but one of the three, Enda Carroll (15), was said to be too upset by the incident to continue with his exams.

His mother, Pamela, told RTÉ radio that her son was so upset when he was informed of the decision that he was unable complete his paper yesterday and has decided not to sit the remainder of his exams.

She said: "He gets it cut all the time. That's the way he wears his hair. Even in national school he had his hair that way. He has to be perfect at all times, he takes good care of his appearance."

The Union of Secondary Students (USS) said it was "stunned" by the actions of the school principal who ordered the boys not continue with their exams at the school.

It said in statement the ban was "irrational and ludicrous" and that the school principal, who has refused to speak to the media, has not returned their calls.

A spokeswoman for the State Examination Commission said the school had made adequate provision for students to sit their exams and that its dress code was a "local issue".

"Such matters are left entirely in the hands of the school authority," she said.

© 2006 ireland.com

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Thoughts?

hallelujah

ya lazy bugger! set the ball rolling at least..

Jello

That's one of the weirdest things i've ever heard...
Why you'd want your hair that short though is beyond me.
But that principal needs his head examined.

oRlyYaRly

Bullsh*t. That's my school. Those three couldn't give a damn about their exams.

And they knew they'd be sent home. Everybody knows how uptight our principal is about haircuts.

Heinrich

Saying that this is a local issue is simply glib and not worthy on someone involved in education.

This is pure and simple discrimination. Short hair indeed.

Piste

It was a bit stupid sending them home, I mean what could the boys do?

"grow your hair three inches longer by tomorrow or else!"

Fair enough for school rules but they really be able to do that when the boys are sitting exams. Say they want to go to college in the UK and apply through UCAS, they have no gcse equivalent if they've no Junior Cert.

Jello

I thought it was a piss take at first.

It's not as if they've got 12 inch red and green mohawks..

SouperComputer

My recollection (Did LC in 98) is that the school have no say as to who somes and goes or how they are dressed. The school are only hired out by the DOE for the exams. The only other option is to maybe charge the students with trespassing, but I somehow doubt the gards would be bothered.

Personally id have told the principal where to go.

ANarcho-Munk

They should invest in a pair of wigs.

oRlyYaRly

They do this all the time and they're always in trouble for it and getting suspended. Maybe they'll learn this time...?

And they tell the principal where to go every week. Maybe he got sick of it.

I think the rule is stupid but they violated it too many times for to have symphaty. The rule shouldn't exist but they knew what'd happen. Retarts.

spurious

When they're doing exams, they're under the rules of the State Examinations Commission. I'm surprised the Principal did what he did - is there more to this story as a previous poster alleged?

BMH

SouperComputer wrote:

My recollection (Did LC in 98) is that the school have no say as to who somes and goes or how they are dresses. They are only hired out by the DOE for the exams. The only other option is to maybe charge the students with trespassing, but I somehow doubt the gards would be bothered.

Personally id have told the principal where to go.

Yeah, we were told to wear your uniform or you're sent home but no one bothered. No one got into any trouble or anything either. Sounds like your principal will be getting an early retirement if this gets on the news.

oRlyYaRly

Great. I hate him.

oRlyYaRly

And seeing as you all hate him. Will I add fuel to the fire?

We're not allowed go down town at look and he goes around on a bike sending students back to school.

spurious

The uniform thing is really only for the first day and is a security measure. Once your Superintendent knows you there is no need for the uniform, except maybe in a very large school where outsiders might be able to slip in unnoticed out of uniform.

spurious

Unfortunately his bike-riding antics are his own business, but he apparently stopped candidates from accessing their SEC-controlled exams and as I understand it, that's not within his power to do.

Rooting you out of the chipper at lunch in his bicycle clips is.;)

BMH

BMH wrote:

Yeah, we were told to wear your uniform or you're sent home but no one bothered. No one got into any trouble or anything either. Sounds like your principal will be getting an early retirement if this gets on the news.

Well it's in the times. If he backs down because of the press, then there'll be another news story. I'd say today will rank high on bad days for the principal.

BMH

Myth wrote:

Well it's in the times. If he backs down because of the press, then there'll be another news story. I'd say today will rank high on bad days for the principal.

Pretty dumb thing to do. Bit ironic too, since most principals harp on about how important the JC is every year. he'll have to act like it's worthless now. ^^

oRlyYaRly

spurious wrote:

Unfortunately his bike-riding antics are his own business, but he apparently stopped candidates from accessing their SEC-controlled exams and as I understand it, that's not within his power to do.

Rooting you out of the chipper at lunch in his bicycle clips is.;)

We have no choice but to visit the chippers! The school food is... mysterious to say the least.

Whereas they didn't need to cut their hair.

He should be on the news for the former, screw the latter!

PurpleFistMixer

Sounds like he got sick of them... Teachers in my school have got fairly... hm, unfair with disruptive students. Telling them to shut up and stuff.
But, at the same time... everyone deserves their chance at the JC... The fact that they showed up for it is enough to show that they want to do it? It's pretty wrong to take the chance away from them.

spurious

This story is getting quite a bit of play on the Interweb.

In a way I feel sorry for the Principal - he's made an awful stuff up.

Sniipe

I was listening to it on the Joe Duffy show. Rules are rules, if the lads knew they weren't allowed to do it then did it they should be punished. Granted it is harsh to do this during the JC. I wonder were these lads even pushed about the JC or cared about school, my guess is they probably weren't. Perhaps the hair cut thing was the straw that broke the camel's back. As for the principal going around town on the bike... I wonder what this is about? They didn't allow boarders to go down town in my college, it was prob a good reason. During lunch; who's responsibility is it for the pupils? There parents or the school?

I think these guys were asking for it and got what was coming to them - the straw that broke the camels back as I've said.

BMH

Sniipe wrote:

I was listening to it on the Joe Duffy show. Rules are rules, if the lads knew they weren't allowed to do it then did it they should be punished. Granted it is harsh to do this during the JC. I wonder were these lads even pushed about the JC or cared about school, my guess is they probably weren't. Perhaps the hair cut thing was the straw that broke the camel's back. As for the principal going around town on the bike... I wonder what this is about? They didn't allow boarders to go down town in my college, it was prob a good reason. During lunch; who's responsibility is it for the pupils? There parents or the school?

I think these guys were asking for it and got what was coming to them - the straw that broke the camels back as I've said.

Still, you need to be able to "not always win" if you're in charge, otherwise you just get a right dictator of a principal that the staff all hate. It was a bad time to make an example of some students.

ANarcho-Munk

I'm pretty sure that it is within a principals power to stop a student from doing their junior cert in that principals school but he doesn't have the power to stop them from doing it in a different school.

But about the haircuts. It's pretty foolish to say the least to bar them for them having short hair. It's discrimination to say the very least and I hope that principal gets put into early retirement.

What's scandalous in our school though is when a lad got sent home for having a mohawk (proper punk one) and then about a few weeks later all the footballers start getting all these trendy little mohawks and no one says a thing :rolleyes:

oRlyYaRly

Do you guys really think he'll be sacked!!!

Poor guy. But still... YAYNESS!!!!

And he let guys with shoulder lenght hair sit it.

lilmissprincess

In our school journal it says "no punk hairstyles or unnaturally coloured hair".
Oh, and the uniform thing? Our school has spares. You come in without your uniform, you have to change into the skirt owned by the school, and jumper, and shirt...don't know about socks, but doubt it.
A guy got suspended a whiule back in the local boys school for having yellow and red at the end of his long black hair..

Sniipe

quote- "Still, you need to be able to "not always win" if you're in charge, otherwise you just get a right dictator of a principal that the staff all hate. It was a bad time to make an example of some students."
Yeah, I know what u mean, he could have chosen a better time... but maybe these lads are constatnly being suspended??? anyone know?

oRlyYaRly

Sniipe wrote:

quote- "Still, you need to be able to "not always win" if you're in charge, otherwise you just get a right dictator of a principal that the staff all hate. It was a bad time to make an example of some students."
Yeah, I know what u mean, he could have chosen a better time... but maybe these lads are constatnly being suspended??? anyone know?

I'm in the school. Yes they are.

Sniipe

So Orlyyarly, are these lads trouble makers in ever sense? ie disruptive in class, bullying, etc... I'm being sterotypical here, but I just hate those type of D*CKS!

oRlyYaRly

Sniipe wrote:

So Orlyyarly, are these lads trouble makers in ever sense? ie disruptive in class, bullying, etc... I'm being sterotypical here, but I just hate those type of D*CKS!

Yes. Very.

lostexpectation

this was the wrong day for the principal to make a point, its there junior cert, walk past and bite you tongue mr principal...

ANarcho-Munk

Hmm, I guess if they were being suspended the whole time it isn't as bad as jsut randomly suspending some young fella with short hair, but still it's was pretty terrible bad timing!

spurious

He won't be sacked. At most, it will be pointed out to him he doesn't have the right to stop students sitting an exam they have entered and which is being run under the auspices of an external organisation, merely using rooms within his school.
Again though, he would have known that - I can't help thinking there is more to this than we are hearing.

Stark

Sniippe wrote:

Rules are rules, if the lads knew they weren't allowed to do it then did it they should be punished.

Ah, good old "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth". Or in this case, sabotaged education for a haircut.

Sniipe

Then, they prob knew they were being watched. Knew the school rules... perhaps they should have been expelled earlier.

oRlyYaRly

spurious wrote:

He won't be sacked. At most, it will be pointed out to him he doesn't have the right to stop students sitting an exam they have entered and which is being run under the auspices of an external organisation, merely using rooms within his school.
Again though, he would have known that - I can't help thinking there is more to this than we are hearing.

Basically:

They're horrible people.

They were sent home purely because of their hair.

They've been warned and suspended a million times before about this.

They wouldn't have done well anyway.

BMH

Oh please, "hard boys" are generally from disadvanged area and are just acting up for attention. Do you really think banning them from the JC is going to help their development?

Sounds like a spur of the moment descision that he was too pompous to retract.

I can hear it on the radio in the background.

Jello

lilmissprincess wrote:

"no punk hairstyles or unnaturally coloured hair"

Now that's discrimination!

My school probably don't know what a punk is.....''ugh it's 'Green Day' isn't it?''

Ah, just listening to RTÉ Radio 1, and two of boys sat their exams today in a special location but one of the boys was refusing to sit their exam in a special location.

Sniipe

Stark wrote:

Ah, good old "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth". Or in this case, sabotaged education for a haircut.

I know its a bit agressive of me. There always have been trouble makers, there always will be trouble makers. I don't know if the problem is getting worse, but the rules still stand. If the rule on hair cuts was too much, then there should have been something said about it (maybe there has been) - perhaps a petition; easily organised by the students.
I'm all for short hair cuts. I don't have it 0 back and sides and 2 on top like the lad referred to on the Joe Duffy show. Its a bit too much for me. 2 back and sides is the lowest I'd go now. I had a 1 all over at 18 and 19.
ranting mindlessly on, I'll stop.

lilmissprincess

Also the fact we've payed like 70 something euro for these exams..

cdol

So they probably thought lets shave our heads heads and see what he can do now that schools over??would i be right??
God i say the principal will be regreting his decision for a while, like why didnt he wait till next year, or come up with another punishment. Because stopping them from doing exams is like just looking for trouble! Stilll feel kind of sorry for him because hes going to get a heck of a lot of bad press over these guys who didnt give a damn about the JC anyways!

Sniipe

1 of them doesn't want a special sitting of the exams... thats just madness! At that age the parent should force him/her to do it.

Stark

BMH wrote:

Oh please, "hard boys" are generally from disadvanged area and are just acting up for attention. Do you really think banning them from the JC is going to help their development?

Sounds like a spur of the moment descision that he was too pompous to retract.

I can hear it on the radio in the background.

I normally judge a person by who they are and not by what kind of life they've had, so I've little sympathy for "hard boys". Had they been disruptive during their time in school, then they deserved to be suspended. Too many students suffer in their education because of an over-zealous desire to protect a tiny minority.

But kicking them out of an important exam when they weren't being disruptive was highly inappropriate and will probably destroy what little hope there is of them turning themselves around.

As for the hair, whether it be shaved or punk. Hair can be means of expression. Restricting that form of expression can only be damaging to a student's emotional well-being in my opinion. The school sounds like it could do well to instigate a decent pastoral care programme in my opinion.

steviec

I feel kind of sorry for the principal, my understanding is that he didn't stop them from sitting the exams, just that they do it at a different location.

One of the lads refused to do it at another location, which shows that they were probably just trying to aggravate the principal so they could get out of the exams in the first place.

Sniipe

headmaster will be on radio 1 in 2 min

Stark

Sniippe wrote:

1 of them doesn't want a special sitting of the exams... thats just madness! At that age the parent should force him/her to do it.

Hmm, missed this post as I was posting. It puts a different spin on things. Should be interesting to hear what the principal says.

BMH

Still no sign of the principal on the radio.

Do you know their Bebos? It's pretty much the ultimate skanger test.

spurious

The Principal's profile on ratemyteacher.ie is pretty impressive.
The usual cowardly anonymous 1 1 1 but they should be ignored.

BMH

Well, just listened to the interview there. He's standing by his descision.

I would be surprised if this Enda Carrol sold his story to the Star in the morning.

Poor descision, IMO.

Sniipe

BMH wrote:

I would be surprised if this Enda Carrol sold his story to the Star in the morning.

- I wouldn't be surprised. Enda Carroll, he was on the RTE news. In fairness the hair cut isn't that bad. Its a 1 on the back and sides. Army style with a bit of color on top - could be natural. Its a bad straw to pick!!