Can teachers groom students' hair?

[Anonymous]

Can they? Yes, if their hands are functioning.

May they? Probably.

Should they? Depends -- on age, situation, etc.

Must they? (Is it their responsibility?) No.

[Anonymous]

The daycare teachers will style my DD's hair sometimes. It doesn't bother me at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok let me give a middle school example. A black female student has really bad damaged edges & bald spots. Her black female teacher & blk school secretary suggested that she put the hair product Jam on her edges to smooth them out. They recall being her age & needing the product after years of wearing ponytails that damaged their hairline. She admits to the teachers that she no longer cares about her thinned out hair. She tells her friends. Her friends admits to her that they are embarrassed by the way she looks. The girl starts taking responsibility for her hair. This is a real example.

To me the problem is the friends. What the hell kind of kid are you raising that they are embarrassed by their friend's looks?

Also, your "example" was not an example of a teacher grooming a student, because in your "example" the teacher did not touch the student. The teacher made a product suggestion. (Then the student is basically peer-pressured into taking that suggestion, but we're not discussing that now.)

[Anonymous]

The teachers at my daughter's preschool will braid the girls' hair for them. My daughter loves it when they do this for her! (we're usually pretty rushed in the morning for anything beyond pigtails or just hair brushing.)

[Anonymous]

I teach 1st grade and have fixed barrettes/hair ties before. It doesn't go as far as sitting and actively doing their hair (who has time for that!) but its much like helping to tie an untied shoelace or helping a child zip a coat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach 1st grade and have fixed barrettes/hair ties before. It doesn't go as far as sitting and actively doing their hair (who has time for that!) but its much like helping to tie an untied shoelace or helping a child zip a coat.

This +1.

Yesterday I came to pick up my DD and her very masculine male teacher was replacing her clips in her hair because they fell out. He was clearly awkward, but was doing it bc her hair was all falling down. NBD!

[Anonymous]

I don't have any girls yet, but will teach my DH how to do girl hair. I remember being sent to school by my dad looking like a hot mess. He couldn't figure out how to brush hair (underneath would be knotty) or how to put pony tales in. I think all guys should figure out how to do this, so I wouldn't be weirded out about guy teachers fixing hair.

[Anonymous]

WHAT A STUPID TOPIC !

[Anonymous]

That would be great if the teacher would brush dd's hair. She hates it when I do it.

[Anonymous]

You people are sick Sometimes the kids ask there teachers to do there hair to feel special and they know that someone cares about them because some of you parent don’t take the time to take care of your daughter’s hair And maybe it stops the other kids from making fun of them in education you sometime have to wear a lot of hats

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, female students comes to school w/ messy hair. The child is upset and trying to fix her hair. The teacher steps in, combs her hair & does two braids. Is this okay given the circumstance?

Did the child ASK FOR HELP? If no one asked you, it's not appropriate.

If the student ask for help with their hair I feel you should help them even girl in high school still ask the teacher for help with there hair and it shows how they feel about the teacher age should not have anything to do with it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That would be great if the teacher would brush dd's hair. She hates it when I do it.

Haha same. My preschooler lets us brush her hair (very reluctantly) when it's wet after a bath, but she won't let us come near her with a comb in the morning when it's dry. We keep her hair at chin to shoulder length and just finger comb it before school. I was so freakin grateful that her teachers fixed it on picture day.

[Anonymous]

I think this practice can be unintentionally unfair. The (probably mostly white) teachers will groom and dote on the (probably entirely white) little girls with the straight easy-to-manage hair, making them all look cute and giving them extra attention. When you are a black girl in this situation watching this, it can make you feel like the teachers are making special efforts for their favorite kids and that you’re not in that favored category.

Sorry to get all woke about this, but I was that black girl and remember feeling this way. Doing little kids’ hair is a maternal/parental/intimate thing. Think about what message spending that kind of energy on some kids sends.

[Anonymous]

Of course that's okay! I had a teacher in elementary school who would french braid all the girls hair. She was the best. (Of course this was 30 years ago.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You people are sick Sometimes the kids ask there teachers to do there hair to feel special and they know that someone cares about them because some of you parent don’t take the time to take care of your daughter’s hair And maybe it stops the other kids from making fun of them in education you sometime have to wear a lot of hats

How did you even find this decade-old thread