Mom desperately struggles to find school for her son because of his hair
School rules may be there for a reason but sometimes, some of them are just downright questionable – such as what can and cannot go in packed lunches. Some of the rules also involve hair and makeup. While some are reasonable, there are certain guidelines about these that don’t seem to make much sense, and yet kids get sent home for these things all the time.
Child model Farouk James has always struggled with one particular school rule – complying with hairstyle guidelines.
As someone who has always been in the spotlight, Farouk is used to attracting attention. His striking appearance definitely explains why he made it to the modeling industry at such a young age. One of his best features happens to be his hair.
View this post on Instagram
Schools in his country beg to differ. Apparently, most schools in the UK are firm about prohibiting male students to rock the long hair look. That’s why Farouk and his mom, Bonnie, were worried that they were going to have to chop the waist-length afro off.
View this post on Instagram
What school districts fail to realize is that Farouk’s hair is all-natural. Even 4D scans of the child model showed thick hair! Growing up, Farouk never dyed his hair or styled it differently. He just simply let it grow out.
View this post on Instagram
It was solely the hairstyle that got in the way of finding a good school for Farouk to attend.
View this post on Instagram
One of the schools Bonnie hoped for Farouk to attend was The London Oratory School since her other son went there himself. Unfortunately, Farouk’s application got turned down.
As if that wasn’t frustrating enough, Bonnie recalls an issue with her other son’s hair – that she cut it “too short.”
All this time, Bonnie had hoped schools, especially the one she was eyeing for her son, had updated policies. Sadly, there was no such luck. Refusing to cave and accept that Farouk’s natural hairstyle was in violation of school rules, Bonnie decided to spark change. In an interview with CBS News, the mom said,
“We’re getting a real team together and calling it the Mane Generation. We’re going to fight this until these rules get changed. And it’s globally, not just domestically in the U.K.”
It’s definitely a huge undertaking but who knows? Things might just change for good.
Farouk and other children with similar appearances shouldn’t be turned away by schools just because of their looks.
The determined mother hopes her efforts (with Farouk’s Instagram as a platform) will help fellow parents whose children sport natural afros and dreadlocks. After all, hairstyles have absolutely nothing to do with one’s conduct and academic excellence. Here’s hoping Bonnie achieves her goal.
View this post on Instagram
Learn more about Farouk’s story and Bonnie’s ambition by watching the video below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.