Florida School District: Alleviating Teasing or Stifling Creativity?

The Florida School District is trying to pass legislature that would strictly regulate the style and color of students hair. Many who support this decision feel that students become distracted by the "out-of-this-world" hair colors and then turn to teasing and hazing. The idea is that if we cut down on these distractions, there will be less acting out and less teasing!

I for one do not think this will be the case. Children need their freedom to express themselves, in a world where they feel like they are being told what to do left and right, asserting some power for themselves by choosing clothes or hair styles. If anything, this change is going to make teens more angry and frustrated with authority.

"I just think it's unfair because we want to express ourselves," Mindey Rivera, a senior at South Lake High School, tells local news. "We want to show everybody who we are and not just hide it." Others think it will be hard to define the terms "extreme" and "unnatural."

"Where do you draw the line with hairstyles," parent Lori Sokoloski asks. "If a boy wants to have long hair, are they going to say well 'boys have to have short hair. Girls have to have long hair.' Where is that line going to be drawn? They're supposed to be there to educate, not worry about hair styles, hair colors."

Do you think that colored locks are distracting? Or do you think that teens need a creative outlet?

Our salon offers feather extensions, which are applied to clients who vary over a wide age range. We see clients who are pushing 80 wearing feathers and clients who are only 5 years old wearing them! This trend is pushing the envelope because those who were once scared to rock a bold color, are able to do so without changing their hair color. Maybe we can find some way of meeting in the middle!