Last week a story went viral, which is nothing new. The outrage was typical. A school SUSPENDED a young girl who shaved her head to show support for a friend with cancer. Kamryn Renfro's suspension was eventually overturned, but not after my Facebook feed exploded with outrage about the incident. How DARE that SCHOOL kick out such an innocent, lovely young girl whose intent was only to show care and concern for a sick friend!
Even The Today Show got into the mix. A Google Search will provide a wealth of links about the story.
As a classroom teacher, though, I feel the need to come to the school's defense. It's not that I don't support Kamryn's motives. I do. Her friend, Delaney Clements, even said that it really helped her to cope with the treatments and disease, knowing her good friend was willing to take a step such as that. I can imagine that for Kamryn it is a way to deal with the very scary reality of her friend's illness.
But...the school had a clear policy about hairstyles. It WAS against the rules for Kamryn to shave her head. I get the impression that Kamryn and her parents took the step of shaving her head and then sent her to school on Monday morning. This immediately put the school into the position of being the bad guy. They HAD to enforce the rule when confronted with a student breaking the rule.
Schools do not perfectly create or enforce rules. (Zero tolerance policies come to mind.) Consistency is very important when it comes to rules and policies.
In my classroom and with the students at my school, I do my best to be as consistent as possible. This means that if I notice anyone, and I mean ANYONE, who is in violation of a rule, I will enforce it. Even if it is 3:00 PM, and that student has been in violation of dress code all day and no one else has done anything about it.
I do not notice every dress code violator, and if they never cross my path I cannot notice it. But I believe it is my obligation to uphold and enforce the rules as consistently as possible. Whether it's the principal's kid or the detention-every-second kid, a rule is a rule is a rule.
Kamryn's family could have contacted the school when they made the decision and asked for an exception. Based on what I've read, the school does make allowances for special circumstances. I can't imagine that an administrator would have said "No" to such a request. I could even foresee that some kind of fundraiser or event could have been set up for the whole school.
Please don't get me wrong. I love the gesture Kamryn made, and commend her for it. It's a small tribute to the love she has for her friend Delaney. I just think that the hullabaloo could have been avoided if she and her family had gone to the school ahead of time.
