Five-Year-Old Suspended From School For Mohawk Haircut

A five-year-old has been suspended from his elementary school after he showed up sporting a spiked mohawk haircut.

Ethan Clos (below) was sent home last Wednesday by staff at Reid Elementary School for violating the district’s dress code. His mother, Keshia Castle, was informed her son could return to school once the mohawk had been shaved off.

Castle came to the defense of her son, explaining to News Center 7 that Ethan felt “cool” after he got his new haircut during spring break. The youngster, said Castle, had received attention from his classmates upon his return:

“They seen his hair like it was. All the little kids were going over and feeling on it and everything.”

Alas, it was all a bit too edgy for the school district’s policy board. As well as violating district rules, Clark Shawnee School District officials said the spiky ‘do had resulted in a disturbed classroom, with teachers unable to get the attention of students. Superintendent Gregg Morris said:

“Our policy clearly states that any dress or grooming which is disruptive or distracting to the educational process is not acceptable. In this particular case, the student’s hairstyle did provide disruption to the classroom.”

However, the district officials are also facing accusations of hypocrisy. In 2011 and 2009, Tim Seelig, a volunteer Shawnee High School football coach, was widely praised for adopting a blond Mohawk to motivate his team. Why, asked News Center 7, could Ethan’s hairdo not be tolerated? Morris explained:

“One involved an extracurricular spirit initiative designed to motivate our kids in the football playoffs a year ago. Classrooms were not disrupted. The other poses a disruption to the learning environment as well as violates the student dress code.”

Ethan’s grandmother, Joyce Wells, stood up for the child’s hairstyle, comparing it to “the fade” where the hair is cut close to the scalp on the sides and back of the head and hair is left on top:

“You understand there’s a dress code and everything but you think this is perfectly acceptable? Right. I do, because if you look at the Mohawk and if you look at the fade, there’s not much difference except he’s bald on the sides.”

However, it seems the parents have relented in the case: Ethan’s mother reveals he will return to class Monday with a freshly shaved head.

Was the school right to send Ethan home, or was this an over-reaction? Check out Ethan’s ‘do in the video below and see what you think: