TheWRITEaddiction.com

So, the teacher took it upon herself to de-tangle, twist, and style her student’s hair. When she finished, she says the little girl took a look at herself and said, “aww, so pretty” at the sight of her new do.

Was the teacher just being a good person or was she way out of line? 

The Internet is split on this score.” 

THE INTERNET???????????????????????  WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?????????????

When you signed your contract to educate young minds, you signed a piece of paper that tells you what the DO’s and DON’Ts are on the job.  What you can and cannot do within the perimeters of the job. YOU AGREED TO KEEP THE IDENTITY OF THE MINORS THAT YOU WORK WITH SAFE.  POSTING A PICTURE OF YOUR STUDENT ON FACEBOOK IS NOT FOLLOWING THE RULES OF THE AGREEMENT THAT YOU SIGNED. Okay, I will stop yelling now.

As an educator, we wear several hats.  Some days we are the teacher, beautician, nurse, Social Worker, mom, nutritionist, etc.  It is a part of the job because OUR children come from varying backgrounds.  In this case, the educator wore the hat of Social Worker/Beautician.  Was she wrong?  I say no and yes.  I have been in this position.  How?  I will tell you.

A student of mine came to school with her hair unkempt and unwashed on a regular basis.  Other students would look at her and laugh.  No matter the age of the person, no one wishes to be laughed at or ridiculed.  I considered my class to be a NO TEASING OR TAUNTING ZONE.  I decided to comb and twist my students’ hair.  She, as the student in this article, looked at her hair and loved it.  No, I did not even think to take a picture and put in on social media for the world to see.  That is not why I did her hair.  Furthermore, publishing her likeness without parental consent would be against school policy.  When her mother came to pick her child up, I was greeted by an angry parent.  Confused, I asked her what was the reason for the anger?  I was told by the parent that I did not have the right to do anything to her daughters’ hair without her permission.  She further stated that she  was sick of fighting with her daughter about her hair in the mornings so she just let her come to school looking just as she did when she woke up in the mornings.  Now, I did not undertake this road without realizing that I would need months of documentation to support any suspicion of neglect.  No matter what the reason, it was clear to me and my co teacher that social services needed to intervene.  An investigation was performed, counseling was instituted, and that mother received the support needed to make her the kind of parent that her daughter needed.  Policy and procedures are in place for a reason.  If we properly follow the regulations that are set in place, more than not, a positive outcome will be the result.

In my opinion, the teacher was not wrong to make the young lady feel and look better among her peers BUT she was wrong to put what she did on facebook.  It makes me question her motive.  Someone could recognize that child, yes, even from the back. Her heart was in the right place but she undid the good deed that was done.

REMEMBER, consider your motives when doing a good deed.  HAVE A FUNKADELIC FRIDAY!