Harley with his rat's tail.
Rats tails, skate shoes and untucked shirts.
Sign of the uniform apocalypse or harmless dress sense?
There are schools that treat uniform codes and dress standards like the defence force. Deviations will not be tolerated. Resistance is futile. And then there are those with a more laissez-faire attitude where departures from what is acceptable are tolerated and, in the more far-out cases, treated as a means of expression for the kids.
But not today. Take the case of Queensland school boy Harley Elvey, eight, who’s facing the imminent chop of his rat’s tail (which he claims has sentimental value) because it doesn’t fit the dress standards of the school. He either loses it, or faces detention every day for keeping it.
“Year 3 student Harley Elvey has been asked by Capalaba State School to cut off his shoulder-length plait to comply with a new policy against “extreme” hair styles.
The policy was only recently amended to include a rat’s tail.
Harley’s father, John Elvey, said the hairstyle had sentimental meaning and was an extension of the boy’s personality.
“Harley’s had his rat’s tail ever since he grew hair. It’s got him really upset,” Mr Elvey said.”
But that argument doesn’t fly with the education department which pointed out the rat’s tail was always out of bounds:
“Education Queensland southeast regional director Glen Hoppner said the policy reflected the community’s view, while the school’s uniform policy was signed by parents as part of enrolment procedures.
“A rat’s tail hair cut was always considered inappropriate under the school’s dress code,” Mr Hoppner said.
“To support this, the Capalaba State College P&C did recently pass a motion to specifically identify the rat’s tail hair cut as inappropriate.”
These kinds of stories pop up at a rate of a few a week across the country.
One kid’s hair was too long, another’s ears too pierced, prompting criticism from either side that schools are too prescriptive or that parents too demanding of a system that sees value in uniformity.
So, where do you stand? What school rules did you have growing up, which ones did you break, and if you have kids now, what are their schools like?
Comments
369 Comments so far
Rats tails are a sign of boganism, the longer the tail the more bogan the environment
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This is not about a boys Rats tail. It’s about the parents.
The parents most likely created this problem themselves from the day this anti establishment rats tail originated. It may have been cute back then to the parents but now it has become a problem, which will now most likely take a turn for the worst. Power control will now take over this problem and Humility which we all need to learn and exercise may never get through to this young man. Or least in this situation unless the parent or parents takes this oppotunity to teach it if they have it themselves..
Love Richard.
Sherwood Brisbane.
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Man, not that this is an English Language class or anything, but the majority of you are poor in grammar. (I guess it’s to be expected coming from relatively informal responses)… Anyway. Our English Language class is analyzing this text so props out to everyone.
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Let the kid keep his rat tail- the rest of his hair is school-suitable. Perhaps he can tuck it into his collar in class to forestall others pulling it! It’s too trivial and un-noticeable in a crowd. Uniforms are only to make the kids look like they belong together & equalise family investment in clothing & appearance. In high school I remember boys’ hair was not allowed to go over the top of the collar & girls’ hair had to be “hair” coloured- purple was banned [after one girl made the most of an overdose of Magic Silver White]. Girls’ hemlines were mercilessly policed which was overkill as far as I cared, but useful where larger girls had such short skirts they could hardly move without showing their knickers- distracting everyone!
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I worked at a non-uniform high school for years. It had its issues, but I realised that uniform and dress codes have nothing to do with respect. Uniforms are used by many schools because they think it will mean respect, but it doesn’t. If the kid wants a rat’s rail, let him have one. Education is far more important than petty squabbles over hair styles.
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I would love to know the full story behind this, as it strikes me the hair issue is the latest in a long line of issues with this family. Primary schools don’t give detentions to young kids for this kind of thing. Ther has to be more to it.
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I can assure you that Primary schools do indeed give detentions for all sorts of ridiculous things ( a number of my friends work in primary schools). My son and his friend were given ‘time-outs’ (mild version of detention) for hugging each other as the school he was at had a no contact policy for ‘child protection reasons’. He’s no longer at that school and we haven’t had any problems since….A child at a school my friend worked at was suspended for wearing colourful shoelaces (twice) and according to my friend who taught the grade below he was a lovely child who was never in trouble for anything else. I can’t comment on this story as I don’t know them – but there are loads of schools (and other places) that have zero tolerance policies on all sorts of ridiculous things
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Alysha, I have worked in schools for over 30 years and cannot recall a child being in detention for a single incident.
I can, however, recall children being given detention if they are informed of uniform rules (e.g. coloured laces) and the child deliberately breaks the rule again. In that case, the detention is not really for wearing the laces, it’s for the deliberate refusal to obey the rules.
I can bet the kids hugging were not given time-out the first time they hugged either. It would have been after a warning/reminder and then the behaviour continued.
Many children will not tell their parents that they were told of uniform rules, etc in assembly or as a class and then still went ahead to break the rule. That’s what kids do – tell fibs or omit information so they won’t get into trouble.
BTW, you may not think hugging is a problem, but just imagine being a parent to a Year 1 girl who is being ‘hugged’ by a Year 6 boy.
School needs to be considered a children’s workplace. It is different to home, in the same way your home is different to your workspace. Different rules apply to work and home. Why should there be a problem with that?
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Hi Pat,
Apologies if my original post wasn’t clear – my comments were based on information given to me by adults (both my teacher friends and teacher’s at my son’s school). I’m a parent and work with children from 5-18 daily so well aware that children tell fibs (on purpose and accidentally for a variety of reasons) – so the slightly aggressive ‘let me tell you what kids are really like’ wasn’t really necessary (and perhaps wasn’t necessary anyway).
It was also a comment in response directly to the comment above (not the article as I don’t know the circumstances of this particular child or story – and nor does anyone on this thread I would hazard to guess). I was merely pointing out that young children do indeed receive detentions for these kind of things. Even if as you say a child chose to deliberately wear coloured shoelaces or hug another child after being asked not to – that doesn’t negate the severity of a detention as a first response (or even early response) to non-compliance in such a young age group. Which is what I was responding to.
For a 5 year old hugging another 5 year old I’d suggest that the first point of contact in the face of continued defiance should be talking to the parents and ensuring the parents have explained why the behaviour is not appropriate at school. Stepping straight into timeout/detention (irrespective of how many ‘warnings’ the child has been given directly) for that age group often doesn’t teach the child anything about the original behaviour (or the issue of non-compliance) which is why experienced teachers usually have a whole bag of tricks to channel students into more appropriate school choices and continually communicate with home (as my son’s current school does – although he’s significantly older now and certainly knows to do as he’s asked on the first go!)
I’m a little concerned you felt the need to put hugging in ‘ ‘ as though any older child hugging a younger child must be doing something inappropriate/unsafe/predatory. How sad.
I wasn’t commenting on whether hugging is or isn’t a problem – I was drawing attention to the fact that sometimes the progression of consequences isn’t always suitable or useful. On a separate note – I have a problem with ‘hugging’ between anyone but I don’t have a problem with hugging and children being taught the difference – rather than just teaching them all physical contact is dangerous.
My favourite blog – Free Range Kids talks about this a lot.
I fully respect that in your 30 years of teaching you haven’t come across any instances of zero tolerance that serve no educational or moral purpose (and glad you had a wonderful experience working in school environments that were obviously level headed and supportive). My comments reflect a different experience, my point doesn’t become invalid because you were lucky enough to never experience it yourself.
Oh – and I completely agree that school is child’s workplace and that different rules apply (just as different rules apply in a shopping, centre, restaurant, nana’s house vs home) and very proud of my little one’s ability to navigate the confusing and sometimes conflicting worlds these create. It’s an important life skill.
Again I was merely responding to the idea that schools do or don’t give detentions to young children for relatively minor transgressions not in any way shape or form disputing the need for clear and enforceable rules – just sharing my experience of when the consequence doesn’t clearly match the original issue (defiance).
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Nicely said.
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Hi Pat,
Schools do absolutely give detention for minor, trivial things. And without notice.
I was given detention for spelling my name to a new teacher who was making a list for a sports event. I am still confused so obviously the punishment did not work.
What I did learn was that by drawing attention to myself that I was then labled as a trouble maker by this teacher for the remainder of my time at this school. You are right: It is absolutely essential that children be forced to conform because he made my life hell.
And in the spirit of full disclosure: I was a straight A student, had no problems with any other teachers and did not go on to rob a bank.
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No there is no more to it as my 5 year old son at the same school was also told to cut it off or face a detention everyday untill he does.My son was accepted intp the school with his rats tail .It is a case of looking pretty!!!! They should look more at how bad the children are been educated.
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Wow, I am somewhat surprised how out of step I am with the popular opinion on Mamia.
Recently, working on an unrelated project, I had reason to look at the original documentation for public education in Australia. Henry Parkes proclaimed in 1879 government education as compulsory and free to all children regardless of faith, race, class or family background. While unfortunately the reality has not always kept pace with the rhetoric, it is suffice to say that our government education system is founded on principles of equality and equal opportunity.
Put simply, bogan and non-bogan alike are entitled to public education.
This kid’s only infringement is to be the proud owner of a rats tail; Australia, get a grip!
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oh really ?? Allowing this child to have a rats tail is just placing him into boganville category and starting him out in life as an outcast. Poor unfortunate child
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Golly! if a mere rats tails results in being a social outcast, what hope is there for people who for whatever reason appear “different” to the (narrowly prescribed) “norm”?
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It is allowing children to learn what is appropriate and what is not. An adult with a rats tail applying for a job in a bank will not be looked at favourably . A child wearing this hair extension will get picked on and their family with be categorised. Thank goodness I dont live in a boganville as I would get very sad seeing these children and their unfortunate extensions. Just hindering their life.
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Wow. Just wow. Really? Hindering their life? – the kid is in year 3? If he doesn’t grow out of it by the time it might actually impact his career choices, it’ll be because he has bigger problems than a rat’s tail!
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Really? I think you have a very narrow, wealthy, left -wing view of society and need to get out more often.
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Just saying I am afraid Australia can be very classist, eg. “Thank goodness I dont live in a boganville…unfortunate extensions”.
Would the teachers or the other kids associate rat tails with anything at all except maybe rats? I hope I’m playing fair here while calling attention to indications of classism.
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An outcast of society? What hope do the gay kids have in our schools if a kid with a rat’s tail is considered at outcast.
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I’m gonna grow a rats tail, or cut my hair short to create one, to see if it makes me: uncontrollable, anti-social, non-compliant, unlawful, unlikeable and/or excluded. Will keep you posted!
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On a serious note with this topic, and leaving boganism out of it, people crying foul because discipline isn’t about hairstyles and stifling childrens creative expression. There are two fair points to consider.
1) this is a school with with well over 1000 students, from prep to year 12. The rule about rats tails would not have been created just for the sake of strictness, I would imagine there were other students with rats tails who were not keeping them tidy and were not upholding a clean presentation for the school community. The school probably doesn’t permit mohawks or dreadlocks either. But it has to be one set of rules for everyone or others will be complaining too. This is the fair way to look at it.
2) fashion and hairstyles are not the only outlet for creative expression, and if it is the child’s outlet of choice then they have after school or the weekends to experiment and be “creative”. Inside school, most schools are getting better at incorporating the arts accross the curriculum. Children these days are certainly not having the individuality squished out of them at school on the whole. Not if they have good teachers nuturing and encouraging them in their areas of strength. To me the creativity line is just an excuse to whinge about schools.
Harley is in a school where, like most, they have guidelines about personal presentation. Many low SES schools are as strict and they have to be, because their selling point will never be academic performance, it has to be the overall school community and pride, and this includes presentation. I think Harley is obliged to follow the rules as they have been set out. There are probably lots of kids who have had to chop their rats tails off and it would not be fair to them if Harley got to keep his because his dad complained and went to the media. This is not a good lesson.
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Here I am disagreeing with part of the thread again. Why say “Many low SES schools are as strict and they have to be, because their selling point will never be academic performance…”?
There is no reason to EXPECT that poorer parents will produce kids who are not as bright as kids at upper SES schools. More poorer parents may not encourage or help their kids as much, but there can be excellent academic performance from anywhere- it’s just not the norm.
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No you can walk around that school on any given day and see many rats tails and many different styles some of which are not nice.It is no different from a girl with a pony tail as long as the rats tail is neat and tidy there should be no issue. My son wears a collared shirt which his rats tail sits under making it hard to see.The only way they found the rats tail was by lining all the boys up and asking them to put their chin on their chest.I was not a happy mum,how dare they.
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have you been to the web site thats started up???if i think you are the person i think you are ..you should know about it
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Personally I like dress codes. I went to an all girls catholic school and we had dress codes dictating the length of our skirts (must touch the floor when kneeling) to the way we wore our socks. As annoying as it was as a teenager I have appreciated it as I have gotten older because I feel it has made me always think about how I present myself appropriately depending on the situation be it the work place, interviews or going out. I still see adults struggling with appropriate dress. Some workplaces have strict dress codes in relation to uniform, jewellry even tattoos. It happens in the real world so why don’t kids learn about this discipline at school instead of whinning about their individuality being crushed.
In relation to this kids hairstyle though, I don’t think a rats tail is an extreme hairstyle, just ugly
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The Dad is totally in the wrong for turning this into a media circus. HOWEVER, as 2mummies said somewhere, if he was a girl would he be allowed to wear his hair like that? I think there was an article on here this week that said something like ‘we need to ask ourselves, if we were men, would it be a problem?’. Surely the same thing applies here?
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Maybe if it was an alternative school..but in a mainstream school traditional dress codes apply and rightly so.
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Let me say this slooowly … Boys and Girls are DIFFERENT, no matter how much some want to deny it. I want to stroll into the dunny, relieve myself at the urinal and walk out again, I will never be able to.
Maybe in the interests of true equality of the sexes we should legislate that it’s discriminatory for half the population to have penises …. or add ‘elective penis surgery’ to Medicare?
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If you think that hair length is defined by gender then you don’t have a clue. Cpmparing hair length to genitalia is just insane.
The whole “boys = short hair / girls = long hair” standard has nothing to do with gender. It’s all about manipulating dumb, gullible people. The standard was set in the ancient city of Corinth, and, can found in the New Testament of the Holy Bible, in 1 Corinthians 11:7-16. Paul set the standard in an attempt to make the overly effeminate men of the city of Corinth more manly. The very same passage of 1 Corinthians says women should have their hair long because women is “of men” and dependent upon them. Hardly a good view to hold onto, is it?
So if you’re going to sit there and support the archaic practice of keeping the hair of men and boys short just because you hate them and want to curtail their options in life, then you are one sad, sick individual..
It was just a few decades ago that our schools based many of their protocols around the Holy Bible because they believed it was the written word of God. Our generation may no longer believe the Holy BIble is the written word of God, but we blindly, ignorantly hold onto many of the insane traditions that are derived from it, mostly because we do not take the time to understand the origins of the laws and rules we follow. Laziness and ignorance allow archaic discriminatory practices to prosper during an age where people claim they’re “tolerant” and “progressive”.
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What i don’t get is that the Justin Beiber is ok with parents but not the rattail.. I think the Beiber hair cut is so messy and silly, yet schools allow them?? Why? And those kids don’t get called bogans. Silly
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I have a problem with any untidy and ‘out-there’ hairstyle at school. And that goes for boys and girls. Beiber’s isn’t bogan, just too much for school.
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it looks like a trashy bogan street kid. who will probably end up robbing banks by the time he is 13
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You are so funny, come down off your pedestal and join the real world.
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I’ve taught in schools which allow ‘extreme’ hair styles and am currently at a school that has rigid uniform rules.
The extreme hair style kids are also extreme in other ways – extreme behaviour issues, extreme lack of application in class, extreme dislike of any kind of rules or consequences.
In my days as a casual/relief teacher, if I met a class for the firs time and there was a kid with purple hair, a mohawk or a number one buzz cut – I would bet my house that they would be trouble. And I was always right.
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A few years ago I listened to a professional being interviewed and she said the same as you. She said you can tell nearly all you need to know about a school and it’s pupils by looking at how they wear their uniform.
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I would completely disagree with you and think you need to have a look at the waiting lists that non-uniform schools have for places.
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I agree. I think a childs extreme hairstyle reflects a general attitude coming from the family. They tend to not expect or want their child to conform to normal or acceptable behaviour and grooming standards. They will encourage the child to break the rules and be proud of their anti social stance because the parents are likely living on the fringe of acceptability themselves and have grown up with rebellion being their only way to attract attention.
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Well said, I have no more to add.
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I hope you are not a teacher, given your narrow view.
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I should cut my son’s hair to give his relief teachers fair warning!
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This may be your experience, but it is certainly not mine. I went to a college in Canberra (years 11 and 12) which allowed extreme hairstyles. Some of the students had dreadlocks, plenty had dyed their hair, lots of the guys had long hair, piercings were common… this is about 15 years ago… but the school came out as the best performing public college (based on TER results), and the 3rd best college overall.
Not saying that every student with a mohawk is going to be an angel, just wanted to give a different perspective, as I’m not sure what the benefit of labelling anyone who makes out-there fashion choices as troublesome is.
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I am extremly alarmed by your comment and the replies. As a teacher who works in a non-uniform school, I can assure you that extreme hairstyles do not mean extreme behaviour. You are a teacher? I would hate to have my kids being taught by a teacher with such narrow views of the world.
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I find it slightly ridiculous, if they way you wear your hair had any effect on your education then yes, but it is the same with jewellery, and bra colour (our MALE principle told my friend off for wearing the wrong coloured bra barely visible under her shirt. If for instance the earings are really long and they could cause a safety hazard in the science lab then yes they should be removed for that class. I don’t personally like rats tails but how is it going to effect his learning – seriously?
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I had read about 200 responses (please no more…) and I can see everyone is divided; follow the rules…let him be…bogan…free choice…for uniforms…no uniforms…respect…etc.
What I find funny is that of all the posts who said let him keep it, no one was in favour of the look!!!
It went even further, each of the posts said they didn’t like the look, some even actively disliked the look (ie, they want to cut them off as soon as they were sighted).
It’s seems that it’s only father and son who are fans of it.
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Im really not sure where i stand on this….going to the media over a rats tail just seems a tad ridiculous though….
my nephew has had a rats tail the last year or so and while i dislike them he loved it and it must be a trend cos several of his friends had one too, his parents made it clear though that once he started kindy this year the rats tail had to go as that was school policy.
when i was in school the rules were very strict, skirt must be to the knee, one stud or sleeper in each ear, brown shoes, yellow socks, shirt must be tucked in at all times. this was really enforced. i thought i was a rebel for rolling my skirt up a tiny bit after roll call and wearing two studs in each ear instead of one !!
the rules have obviously relaxed since then though because its been years since ive seen a shirt tucked in, plenty of students from that school have several ear and facial piercings on display and some of the skirts are so short and soo tight now that i honestly cant believe it….like literally how do u get a shapeless school skirt so tight and mini ??? but then i think i must just be getting old and fuddy duddy…
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It seems to me that perhaps it’s Harley’s dad that has the sentimental attachment to the rat tail more so than Harley.
My 13 year old daughter and I just had a discussion about this article. She is disgusted that Harley will have daily detention until he cuts it off. Mind you she also doesn’t understand why her school wont allow facial piercing.
Schools have rules, work places have rules, society has rules. Thats life.
If rat tails are allowed at school, then why not dread locks ? Good luck with the nit problem !!!!!!!,
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I’m kind of surprised by the passion this has raised. It’s a ratstail. Extreme?! Not my taste, but surely harmless. I don’t see the danger in letting kids be a little different. I understand uniform clothing has a valuable way of levelling the playing field and I’m all for that. But I’ll be raising my kids to be individuals. I love that my school let me have blue or purple hair, wear bindis and my JC sandals. I don’t understand why anyone else should care?
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Yeah yeah, I was going to raise my kids to be ‘individuals’ too … back in the day. Be sure to come back to us on that some time down the track.
I think the reason people are so hot under the collar is because this incident is emblematic of careless standards of discipline in the public system.
The vast majority (I hope) of Australians are educated, respectful people who want a bright future for our children.
Private schools are rapidly becoming unaffordable (even with two professional parents) coming on top of outrageous housing costs.
The public system will be facing ever more demands from parents to lift their game.
Principals need to be given back their authority.
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“careless standards of discipline in the public system”. Oh come on. What an elitist view of public schooling and just utter bulls$%t.
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What stands out to me as most disturbing is the child s sentimental attachment to his hair. The fact that he is apparently so destressed that he has to have a hair cut worries me. If I was involved I would be recommending he be seeing a child psychologist. To me that’s rather large warning sign that the boy is stressed and anxious about something and is fixating on hair as a coping mechanism.
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My children attend a public school. I am on the P&C. We have a school uniform signed off by the P&C as parent representatives. It includes black shoes, white socks, school branded uniform and a range of bottle green clothing approved by the P&C as uniform. This way the uniform is affordable for everyone. Generic bottle green uniforms are available at Best and Less and are very affordable. My children argue with me at least once a week that they should be allowed to wear running shoes or Volleys to school because “everyone else does it”. They wear their black school shoes every day because it’s the uniform. That’s what is required. When they leave school they will have to conform and wear appropriate clothing if they want any chance of holding down a decent job. Conforming to the rules of society at school is just preparation for life beyond school.
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This is why I’m glad that I sent my children to a private school, so I could escape the likes of Harley and his father.
If parents and children don’t want to follow the directives handed down by a Private school, they would soon find themselves out the door.
Unfortunately the public system is stuck with Harley and his father as the school system is under an obligation to educate all kids. Is it any wonder that people are leaving the public system in droves when you have parents like that, who are bringing up their kids with the notion that they don’t have to do what they are told while at school.
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Cat girl, I’m sure there is a Harley in every school, public or private. It’s not Harley’s fault. His parents have taught him that it’s ok to wear a rats tail and when an authority tells you it has to go, it’s ok to take your story to the local newspaper to air your grievances.
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I have to agree with you
Yes even at a private school there are kids that try to push at the boundaries. The only difference is that their parents don’t support their kids, as they are glad that their kids managed to get a spot at that particular school.
As you said it’s not Harley’s fault…it’s his fathers
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At the end of the day it was not an official rule untill yesterday 17 april. There was no written notice given and like my son started the school with the rats tail.I get there are rules and my son follows them. However when the school sends staff out to look for rats tails they are just asking for trouble.They should put more time and effort into teaching.
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Private school kids will try and bend their uniform rules as much as any other kid. But the consequences can be more harsh if the rules arent obeyed. But as with this situation, it all comes down to the parents. If they are not buying the correct uniform and checking that its being worn before their kids leave the front door its an attitiude coming from the home that is hard for the school to change.
Our local public school uniform is black school shoes but my neighbour buys her boys dessert boots instead. Because they look ‘cool’. When following the rules isnt being enforced at home its impossible for the school to implement the rules.
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Lu – you have TOTALLY hit the nail on the head. Schools can’t do it all and it is the family attitude that is the kicker. If parents and schools work together, then the rules will (mostly) be followed. Kids will rebel about some stuff and some stage in their lives (usually teens) but when it starts in primary school or before, you can generally look to home for the source.
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I think it is laughable to talk about equality in education or anywhere else when girls are still wearing the same school uniform I wore at school in the 1970′s. It is my opinion that if you can’t weld in it and if you can’t play football in it then it is not a suitable school uniform.
I always found it slightly creepy when my children had teachers who were obsessed with uniform. One of my daughter’s teachers used to turn up in masseur sandals and slightly too short shorts and and harangue the girls for wearing jeans instead of dresses.
I think Harley ought to be able to keep his rat tail if it is pinned up for safety’s sake!
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I’m pretty sure most public schools (don’t know about private, but from observation around the traps they seem to have mostly dresses for the girls) have a shorts/cullottes option for the girls now. My niece chops and changes between her dress and her top and cullottes options, and the public schools I’ve seen kids around from over the last few years have the same kind of thing. Primary and High school. Geez the HS girls get short shorts though!
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This is grade 3 we’re talking about here — 8-year-olds, for crying in a bucket! Discipline is not about hairstyles at this age. The school needs to take a long hard look at their attitudes. I teach in a primary school, and I’m glad this sort of crap doesn’t go down in my school.
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If you want your child to be creative and have fun hairstyles send them to a Steiner school or teach them from home … it’s not a new thing that children have to follow the rules at school, including uniform.
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Or attend a state school like the one I send my son to where the dress code is very flexible. Not every P&C wants an ultra-strict dress code.
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My children will be made to comply with uniform guidelines to the full extent that I am able to make them. (I’m fully expecting some backlash in the later years!) In my mind, it shows respect to the institution and the people who work and attend there.
But I do feel for this kid.
http://the-accidental-housewife.blogspot.com.au/
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Although I don’t find rat tails aesthetically pleasing I don’t see why this child should be made to cut his off. It seems as though he keeps neat, it’s not dangerous and there has been no mention of it affecting his studies.
I worry about how this whole drama is affecting the child. I imagine it’s been very hard on him with the pressure from his parents and his school, as well as the attention from the media. Some people here have been very nasty and need to remember that Harley is just an 8 year old boy and doesn’t deserve all this negativity.
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He may only be 8 but he is from the wrong class so he doesn’t deserve the respect that other children do.
That’s the message I’m getting from some of these comments.
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Lack of respect for authority is abhorrent in children from any ‘class.’ And more so from parents who should know better.
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While i understand you need to look more than skin deep to make a complete opinion of someone, I dont understand all the comments about not judging people by their appearance. How you present yourself is a reflection of who you are. If i had racist words tattooed on my forehead, you get a pretty clear view of what type of person I am. You definitely can judge a book by its cover.
Re: this issue, I think its ridiculous. As everyone is saying, uniforms and rules regarding appearance in school is hardly new. Kids have outside of school to wear what they want and ‘express their individuality’. Fair enough hair you can’t change but I don’t really understand how a rats tail can have sentimental value? It’s not something passed down generation to generation, its not a religious statement?
The whole point of school uniform is not only so it looks neat and tidy but also to put kids on a level playing field to discourage bullying. It’s so one kid doesn’t have to wear a potato sack to school while another has Nikes and brand name shirts. I cannot imagine anyone being severely emotionally damaged by having to wear a uniform and stick to a dress code. He will have to abide by rules in his future workplace, he better start learning now.
All in my humble opinion!
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This kids getting off easy. I’d be tempted to “accidently” cut his rats tail off. I can’t think of a more bogan haircut than that…
whoops, did I just say that out loud?
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I really struggle with finding my way to an opinion on this one. On the one hand I think extreme hairstyles don’t define a person and shouldn’t we be encouraging our children to be inclusive? I also wonder why, as a society, we find it so hard to celebrate and nurture a childs individuality. This boy obviously has developed his sense of himself with his hairstyle – why cant that be treasured? On the other hand I can see the schools point of view – uniformity is there to ensure everyone is equal, from the minute they enter the school.
I think on balance I have to fall on the side of inclusivity though, and suggest that there are likely to be more important battles the school (& perhaps this boys family) could be choosing to fight.
One of my sons little friends has a rats tail and given he’s been at the school 3 years I’m fairly sure there isn’t going to be any requests to cut it off. But then my sons school focuses on nurturing and encouraging and including every single child as an individual. My son, at age 6, asked me if he could have a rats tail like his little mate. My husband and my automatic reaction was no, and he was very upset that we wouldn’t allow him to have something he could see his friend valued highly. It got me thinking – why wouldn’t I allow him to share that with his mate? At the end of the day it doesn’t change who my son is, it’s a hairstyle!!
What I don’t appreciate is This notion that having a rats tail automatically classifies a person as a bogan….
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I’m sorry you don’t appreciate it.
And it’s not a great idea to be caving to peer pressure already. If you don’t want your child to do something say NO and mean it.
It’s a great lesson learned young – when Mum and Dad so NO then it’s NO. A lesson that’s much easier to teach at 6 than 16.
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I’m just trying to imagine this situation when little Harley is in highschool and gets caught smoking out the back of the toilets and his parents get called in to see the headmaster: “Oi, who the hell are you, tellin’ me how to raise my boy. The laws against smoking are stupid. His mum and me smoke and look at us, we’re fine. If he wants to smoke, you let him!”
Or if he gets pulled aside for not doing homework, “Well, you teachers shouldn’t have given him so much to do, it’s a stupid rule that he has to do so much homework. If I say he doesn’t have to do it then you can’t make him.”
And a couple of years down the track…
“But Constable, Harley just wanted to graffiti that wall over there, nobody uses that building, and it’s a stupid law that says he can’t, so I told him it was OK”
And a few years later:
“Your Honour, me boy was only nicking the next door neighbour’s car. It was insured, so they wouldn’t even have been out of pocket for it. It’s such a stupid law, so I will fight for his right to nick it.”
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Exactly what i was thinking but written so much better than i could ever express.
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We weren’t even allowed to roll our sleeves up at my high school – can you imagine!!
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don’t know of a single case in NSW state schools. Try and remember that each state has its own rules
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What a bogan! Thank god for non-bogan people of style, good taste and impeccable fashion sense like the MM community! I bet his mother lets Harley’s sister wear leggings, too.
But remember friends, it’s important to have bogans in this world to remind the likes of us here how much BETTER we are than them. Because we are, aren’t we?
The mamamia team and and their readers are the anti- bogan brigade. Let’s remember that, and remember why stories like this are posted here. Whenever we feel bad about ourselves we can always come to this website, shake our heads about bogan kids and their parents, and remind ourselves of how superior we are.
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‘A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’
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I feel sorry for this boy, his dad isn’t doing him any favours. School rules are school rules and if they don’t agree with them then they can take a hike to another school which doesn’t mind bogan hairstyles. And yes I’m totally judging rats tails, they are feral.
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I think there might be a typo.
Surely his name is spelled ‘Harh-Lee’ or ‘Arrli or something a bit more ‘individual?’
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I tthink rules at school are great, so long as they aren’t just rules for the sake of rules. My school had a ton of totally pointless rules that no one could explain the reason for. Teaching your kids that they have to abide by the rules, and never try to argue against them, no matter how stupid, isn’t a great lesson.
If your workplace decided that they didn’t like the image that women in pants projected, would you just say “Well those are the rules. I guess I better put on a skirt or hand in my notice”?
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are you kidding? I got a detention yesterday for not wearing my panama, first time ever. No Warning. I’m pretty sure you’d be expelled if you turned up with a ratty.
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Wow, if you can’t experiment with different “looks” when you’re a kid, when can you? I’m sure there’ll be plenty of time for him to look boring when he grows up.
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Judging a child like this is terrible!
Assuming he/his family are plain bogans is judgmental and a form of bullying.
I had very/boy short hair for most of high school and was RIDICULED and teased in the meanest way possible of being a lesbian and that only lesbians would have short hair like that.
I cried all the time because of the names they called me because of my hair. The fact they judged me on my hair style is wrong!
In reference to the school. I think rules are rules. Go crazy once you are out of school, but you are there to learn and respect authority.
He can grow it again when he leaves.
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maggie, how come you didn’t just grow your hair a bit longer? Just curious.
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A few reasons, though it started when a hair dresser butchered my hair and to fix it we had to go quite short, turns out it really suited my face
though to continue it:
a) Its really hot in Perth and I couldn’t stand having hot sticky hair on the back of my head. I swear as a teen you sweat more too
b) I was a little tomboyish back then so short was less fuss
c) my real friends and family did keep telling me how great it looked
d) the stubborn part of when I wasn’t upset, was thinking it SHOULDNT matter what they think. Stuff them
I have it quite long now, but still have the urge to cut it all off again, because it was so easy to look after. I am less inclined to care what others think now too, which helps
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Gorgeous! Thanks for replying. When I was little my mother kept our hair short.My besty had hair down to her bum and I was desperate to grow mine. My sisters and I used to run around holding towels to our head, pretending it was long hair! Anyway, I’m now of a ‘mature age’ where my hair should be shorter than it is but i can’t part with it – but it SOO hot that I don’t know whether it’s the start of the hot flushes or just the weather!
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And there it is, I wondered how long it would be before someone uttered the tired old catch cry of “you mustn’t judge”. MM asked the question about where we stand on this issue, and people have been having their say. We all judge people and situations all the time, sometimes we agree, sometime we disagree, but they are all judgments.
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Hey ClaireC,
Though I am not the only one who said we “shouldn’t judge”, I do agree with you to a point. God knows I am guilty of judging too.
I suppose that to have an opinion on any matter, you need to judge it first.
In a perfect world we would only make judgement when we have 100% of the facts.
Just when it comes to kids, they are so much more vulnerable than adults and if the kid actually got round to reading all the comments on him, I’m not sure he would take it to well.
I hope his parents are smart enough to make sure he doesn’t see all the negative stuff.
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HI Maggie, I fear though that his parents won’t (and won’t be able) to shield him from the fall out from all this. They are happy to have his face all over the media.
As I said above, I feel sorry for him as I believe (and judge!) that this is a case of bad parenting. The “don’t judge” line is often used on this site to try and discredit people’s comments when others don’t happen to agree with them.
Love your ladybug, they are my fave insect!
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“the Capalaba State College P&C did recently pass a motion to specifically identify the rat’s tail hair cut as inappropriate.”
anyone miss this point? i think many of you have, this clearly shows that it was introduced targeted at this child.. that is not good.
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care factor – zero
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Equally likely to suppose that there’s a rat’s tail plague and this kid’s parent is the only one to protest.
I just think that this Dad hasn’t got his kid’s best interest at heart or he hasn’t thought it through.
If the father wins, don’t you think that his son will be on the wrong side of the teachers, principal and a disapproving subset of parents who like discipline to be maintained at the school?
I can’t see that having a positive impact on Harley or his education at all. Probably have to change schools.
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It actually says at the bottom of the piece that the school has always enforced rules about neat hair as part of their dress code, and rat’s tails have always been implicitly included in that code, but they had to add the “rat’s tail” clause, presumably because the father looked at the dress code and said “But there’s nothing in here that says he can’t have one!”
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If this father insists on undermining the authority of the Principal then he and his child should be shown the door.
The request isn’t unreasonable. It doesn’t matter whether you think the child is entitled to his ‘individualism’ or not – the Principal has spoken and we do ourselves no favours by constantly letting children flaunt authority for the sake of it.
Tell you what, Dad, when Harley is accepted to the Bar he can fight for the rights of bogan children everywhere.
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Just heard ‘Dad’ talking to Ben Fordham on the radio.
He’s taking it all they way, not backing down, going to the anti-discrimination court if necessary.
Most parents welcome the discipline of schools. It helps them raise productive and competent members of society.
Not ‘Dad,’ he thinks the rats tail is part of the child’s ‘image.’
Gawd help us.
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Great way to label your child and family for the rest of his time at school. All because they didnt want him to respect the rules.
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good for the school!! i agree…IMO an 8yr old kid should have no say about the situation nor what kind of hairstyle he has…the parents need to set an example and respect the school decision…
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rat’s tails are bogan.
schools, public or private, still have imagew standards. if you don’t like it, move schools. rules are rules
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Actually public schools are supposed to take all comers, they are not selective, they should not discriminate. They are supposed to be open to all learners not just those with acceptable hairstyles.
Public school principals, teachers and P&Cs are not the arbiters of good taste.
One could argue if you wanted high image standards then you should choose a private school.
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I did but no-one should HAVE to. Our public system should maintain a strict level of discipline that allows all parents to feel that they are doing the absolute best for their child.
Bogans, generational welfare recipients, druggies and slack and neglectful parenting is impinging on the rights of Australian parents to access our public system and not worry or feel that somehow they’re letting their child down.
This rats tail is the tip of the iceberg in what is wrong with our public system and nothing compared to the kids too frightened to go to school when other kids carry knives and threaten them.
Can someone please bring back some authority and discipline.
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You are dead right Anon, there are big problems in our schools, as you highlight and there is significant inequality of educational outcome, some students are clearly disadvantaged in our school system.
And I agree there needs to be discipline, but not just discipline for the sake of it. Kids and young people respond better when rules are consistent and fair. Rules imposed for no logical reason create discipline problems.
To badly misquote Voltaire, “I do not agree with your rats tail but I will defend your right to have one ( but maybe not to death)”.
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