School boy suspended for growing beard for religious purposes
It's a tricky situation when you have rules and religious beliefs to conform to...
As South Africans, we are known for our diversity. With all its vibrancy and uniqueness, it can bring about some sense of division.
Of course no one elects for that sense of division, but somehow, some way, it comes along and can be a form of segregation.
This can be said about a KZN boy's situation. After choosing to grow out his beard during lockdown, and celebrate a part of his heritage, it quickly became apparent that his beard was not part of his school's code of conduct.
The Grade 11 boy from Greytown High has been suspended for having a beard. His family are disturbed by the school's decision and are saying that it was within his constitutional rights to grow his beard.
As much as we are all for celebrating one's identity in connection with religion, there are moments where we must conform to a set of rules and regulations.
Perhaps it may be looked at as a set of limiting beliefs, but the code of conduct is something that is committed to at the beginning of a student's schooling career.
The boy's sister spoke to News24 and shared that as much as they understand the school's code of conduct, their threat of expulsion was no way to handle the situation.
It does bring forth the question about the manner in which school structures handle dispute.
When something goes wrong in school, instead of approaching it in a calm, understanding, and sensitive manner, our schools turn to strict, top down ways of people management.
That's no way of teaching children how to approach problems that may come their way in the future.
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The family would like the school to relook at their code of conduct when it comes to the dress code, as they believe physical appearance has got nothing to do with learning.
It is indeed a tricky situation. But perhaps as a country that defines itself as a 'rainbow nation' we should relook at our rules and regulations to suit the diverse people of our land?
Perhaps if we started following a personalised statute of schooling as opposed to following suit from other schools, we will be able to be more inclusive?
Because, ultimately, isn't that what we want to teach future generations, that our differences aren't dividers but rather a varied way of looking at a situation. Celebrating our diversities is what unites us - and that's what we should celebrate this Heritage Month.
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