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Civil-rights groups blast Malden charter school that punished black girls with braids
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So parents of minority
So parents of minority students with hair extensions are upset with the school policy put in place to protect minority students from white students with hair extensions. You've got to love when liberals get stuck in a liberal-loop
So you're upset
So you're upset by some stuff you made up about the story you don't seem to have read very carefully. I don't have to love you creating a twisted narrative so you can whine about "liberals."
LIBERALSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!
LIBERALSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!
Racists != Liberals, Parents of minorities != Liberals
I think you're confused, parents of minority students are angry at a racist policy and the racist enforcement of it. There are no liberals mentioned.
So your black kids didn't get harassed for breaking racist rules
Uh huh.
You realize that kids have been disciplined for speaking their native language on the playground at this "school"? Right? Oh, wait - you didn't read the story, so how would you know? Can't expect someone "flying high" to do any research.
Time to shut that hole down - I'm tired of my tax money paying for an "education" that consists of unqualified teachers reading rote textbooks in a school where "discipline" rules that have nothing to do with education are designed to persecute minority kids. Anyone who does their homework knows it is a massive scam school - including families that I know that have sent kids to Prospect Hill.
Meanwhile, our local public school students outperform MV on a regular basis, hair extensions, headscarves, garish dye jobs and all. My kids did just fine in Medford, as did their friends who made it into great schools and are doing very well at them, and their friends who are actually making enough as tradespeople to live independently of their parents within two years of leaving high school. Melrose has an excellent system and Somerville and Malden are changing rapidly.
Well I "herd" on talk radio that
Liawatha wanted US troops to wear hair extensions and Hillary had people killed for having hair extensions and that Deval Patrick has hidden his extensions in Mexico and that Obama invented Muslim extensions per request of the "teacha" unions.
I don't understand why ALL
I don't understand why ALL girls aren't allowed to have hair extensions regardless of their ethnicity. Maybe teachers and administrators are distracted by them, but highly doubt students are!
If you had read the story...
... the explanation was that hair extensions are expensive and that the school has, in general, banned expensive fashion items so as to reduce the obvious outward displays of wealth difference among students.
I don't have a position on whether this was a good or a bad policy; I'm just quoting the school's apparent position.
I would have read the Globe
I would have read the Globe story if I had a subscription.. I have used up all of my free article clicks. Sorry to offend you.
Open in inconito mode
Then it's "free".
You didn't offend me....
... but when one hasn't read the article under discussion, there's always the option to remain silent...
Odd Reason
This is a very odd reason for banning a hair style. Braided hair extensions can be achieved pretty cheaply. Many young Black girls braid their own hair or braid each other's hair. The hair cost $3-$5 a bag.
The admin staff at Mystic Valley are cluelessness on major levels.
Some background on this charter school.....
Some background on this charter school:
Nov. 3, 2016: "Malden charter seeks damages from departing teacher. School goes after 7-year employee for $6,087"
https://commonwealthmagazine.org/back-story/malden-charter-seeks-damages-from-departing-teacher/
Oct. 29, 2016: "Seven-year-old Kiernan Ceide ... has ADHD and sensory processing challenges, and the more he can move, the better he behaves. It’s a lesson that his mother, Amanda Ceide, said Mystic Valley Regional Charter School refused to accept when he was a kindergartner there. The loss of free time, including recess, was a common punishment for the fidgety 5-year-old, who acted out by spinning, talking — or having full-scale tantrums. He was suspended six times in four months."
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/10/28/finding-school-that-gave-her-son-room-run/ip6WcrlFYZvhCKk8DUqhPK/story.html
July 29, 2016: "Shakeup at the top at Mystic Valley Charter School"
"In 2013, after the school applied to expand from 1,500 to 1,900 students, state Education Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester denied the request, citing the board’s “clear record of insularity and opaque decision-making.”
"In his review of the school, Chester noted that all of the trustees had served a minimum of 12 years on the board and were involved in its day-to-day management, which ran against state guidelines."
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/north/2016/07/29/nomystic/7Jwd0bBn1sVtKe4sjHjWWP/story.html
Jan. 8, 2016: "Mystic Valley charter school removes church messages from sign"
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/01/08/mystic-valley-charter-school-removes-church-messages-from-sign/4f25F63kK8piOdrCdY6EnI/story.html
June 26, 2014: "Mystic Valley trustee recruited students for campaign help"
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/north/2014/06/25/mystic-valley-charter-students-distribute-campaign-fliers-for-chairman-school-board-trustees/ltwEYcXCphUYIfQHwAMW3N/story.html
April 25, 2013: "Complaints about Mystic Valley piled up with state"
<a href="https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2013/04/25/complaints-about-mysti...">https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2013/04/25/complaints-about-mysti...
Oct. 24, 2010: "Mystic Valley lags state pay norm"
http://archive.boston.com/yourtown/malden/articles/2010/10/24/mystic_valley_teacher_pay_below_state_average_staff_youth_experience_cited/
Oct. 20, 2010: "Mystic Valley defends recruitment ad"
"According to Department of Education statistics Tynemouth cited, the two school systems have drastically different populations. Malden public schools enroll almost double the number of non-white students and pupils requiring special education, and serves nearly three times the number of low-income students, according to the statistics. While Mystic Valley lists zero percent of their student population as possessing limited English proficiency, slightly more than 11 percent of Malden public students fall into the category."
http://archive.boston.com/yourtown/news/malden/2010/10/mystic_valley_rec...
And don't forget
They got caught letting teachers openly campaign on the charter school ballot question last year.
Then there's their mishandling of the teacher who was "outed" as a porno star a few years back. He was qualified and well liked and his side career had no impact on his teaching, but the school canned him anyway.
theszak see the how to
above.
You're not kidding!
I had to double check, but for once, I thought it was in a more readable format.
A child died there, too
Neglected maintenance resulted in a cafeteria table falling on a 4 year old, killing him: http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20000204/News/302049989
There are also older lawsuits stemming from their pretending that peanut allergies weren't something for which there were protocols or systematic legal requirements. http://www.specialedlaw.com/database/student-v-mystic-valley-regional-ch...
Punish them with braids
Good thing I looked at the actual article in the globe. At first I thought they punished them with braids. I couldn't figure out if they whipped them with a braid, or forced them to wear braids, or perhaps they had a special ceremonial braided that they were forced to attached to their uniform like a scarlet letter .
I think
They only upbraided them.
I miss Morton Downey Jr
-- “The specific prohibition on hair extensions, which are expensive and could serve as a differentiating factor between students from dissimilar socioeconomic backgrounds, is consistent with our desire to create such an educational environment, one that celebrates all that our students have in common and minimizes material differences and distractions,” the statement said. --
Pablum puking pinheads.
Were I a student at this lame-ass-leftist excuse for a school.. My life troll/performance art would be to only wear Brooks Brothers suits and clothes and speak like Thurston Howell III. I could deny my less impressive heritage and play up or completely fabricate an impressive heritage. I would call it the John Kerry Experience.
MV is NOT leftist
If you bothered to do some poking around, you would find that many charters cater to people who reject evidence-based education and inclusive education.
MV Charter caters to the people who were all worked up about "some new math I not heeerred uf", "discipline = regimentation", "kids getting (insert crime here) at the high school" (has not happened in memory) and "PHOOONICS ONLY DAMMIT". It also caters to families who don't want their kids to get too American in a less oppressive environment.
You know nothing about the place, obviously.
Umm.. yeah....
-- one that celebrates all that our students have in common and minimizes material differences and distractions --
That is absolute core leftist ideology.
-- You know nothing about the place, obviously. --
They CELEBRATE all that their students have in common. LA-AME. Schools are supposed to teach, not celebrate things students have in common... and if they cannot help but celebrate things that their students have in common, then at least don't be all broadcasting it like it is a normal thing. It is not cool to hang a school banner that says "We spray for cockroaches daily!" or "Now with zero tolerance for cannibalism!". Sheesh.
So when you visited and asked questions
... you found out ... what?
I found out that they were set up to collect people who are afraid of modern education built on how kids learn, conflate arbitrary rigidity with discipline and effective schooling, and won't demand or question much.
I'd be interested to hear what your experience with the school is.
Meanwhile, here's a rundown of the problems at the school compiled BEFORE a table killed a 4 year old and before this latest right-wing racist nonsense: https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2013/04/25/complaints-about-mysti...
Oh - and that "making everyone the same blah blah" stuff? That ain't liberal. Not at all. That's some pure "protruding nail gets pounded down" stuff. The liberal view is "we are different and we have to deal with it".
why is it
every time you post i envision a weird smelly kid that nobody interacts with
you seem like a 19 year old whose sole purpose in his community college classes is to correct his teacher
Try to stick to the arguments
I can define ad hominem for you if you like.
Okay sure but let's be real,
Okay sure but let's be real, the continual push towards New Math that they switch around every three or four years, ensuring kids change the whole math "perspective" multiple times in their education, isn't super great pedagogy either. It's not evidence based either because there's no longitudinal data.
Braids
Can't they just wear them off school hours....it's a rule so they should follow it.
CLUELESS
I'm a (black) dude and I know those braids take 6-8 hours to install. You put them in with the intentions of wearing them for 2 months.
Definitely can't just "wear them after school" they allow black hair to grow without it getting torn out by weather damage or a brush/comb.
Braids
Are their clip-on braids the kids can use? Like braids but use mini binder clips.
Seriously?
WTF?
Do people really think that way?
don't spread the lie
the ban is on EXTENSIONS not braids. the kids can braid their own hair like their ancestors. they can't have someone else's hair tied into their own head.
don't like it? then don't chose that school.
Ignorant
Adding hair to the braids makes them last longer and keeps the hair protected from breakage and dryness more than just braiding it without added hair.
Either way, the administration is completely ignorant in their thinking that extensions are expensive or ostentatious. The packs of hair cost about $20 for a whole head, and it lasts a couple months. That's cheaper than a white child getting a haircut every month or two. And the styles are done because Black folks' hair needs to be put in protective styles. They aren't done to be fancy or show off or whatever these people think.
Have I mentioned that the administration is entirely white? And the staff is almost entirely white? Yeah.
"Kiryannah Burkett, a 17-year
"Kiryannah Burkett, a 17-year-old junior, said the school’s dress code is especially challenging for black students because black hair grows differently than white hair, making it hard to follow rules that also ban hair that is more than 2 inches in thickness or height."
So.... this is about "economic inequality" but natural hair is also banned? Suuuuure.
Minor nitpick
"Natural hair" refers to hair that isn't chemically treated. Natural hair is often in braids, twists, etc.
But yeah, exactly, you can't have it more than two inches off the head, so no Afros or puffs. Isn't the only other option then to braid it?
I assume they'd be fine with weave or wigs? Since then it looks just like white people's hair (and no, this isn't commentary that people wear weave or wigs for that reason). But if the school is trying to say they want kids to focus on learning and they want their grooming to be simple and age-appropriate, then that would be braids or twists for most Black girls. Weave or wigs are generally thought of as fancier and more adult styles or more like celebrity/high-fashion styles. But I'm assuming those would be fine, since they look like the white kids' hair.
Also, who is inspecting kids' hair so closely that they can tell if people have extensions? I can braid my kids' hair so it looks a couple inches long, shoulder length, or really long without using extensions, just by doing different types of braiding. I can see them not allowing colors or anything like that, but how can anyone even tell that there's hair added if it's their natural color?
Braids bother you .....
Braids bother you ..... really
are you bothered by pigtails I doubt it
Pigtails do bother me
Whenever I see them, I think "Did she slip out of the compound?" or "What's wrong with her parents?" If she is older, I'm like, "NO ONE looks smart, sexy or normal with pigtails. No none."