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NOTE TO SELF: SINCE WHEN ARE HAIRCUTS PART OF A NURSERY SCHOOL CURRICULUM?



Three year old(!) Tavis Cook has been banned from his Tyneside (UK) nursery school class due to his trendy "tramlines" haircut. His mother, Donna Cook, was informed that the youngster's hair cut broke the rules of Riverside Primary School in North Shields, UK and to keep her son home from school until his hair grows back.

Say what? Since when is a youngster's choice of hair cut part of a curriculum?

North Tyneside Council said it was aware of the matter and was advising Ms Cook on her options. No-one at the school was available for comment (I bet!).

Miss Cook took the youngster to the barber at which point Tavis chose the trendy hairstyle. Less than an hour after dropping the youngster off for nursery class the next morning, she was contacted by phone and requested to come pick him up. According to Tavis's mother, the walls of the barber shop were covered with photos of hair cuts and he choose his "tramline" cut. She had contacted the school and been informed that there was no uniform policy for the nursery or reception year.

When Tavis's mother arrived at school, the young boy was in tears.

A spokesman for North Tyneside Council said that they are aware of this issue and currently advising the parent on the matter.

Uh-huh...

A spokesman from Riverside Primary School said head teacher Dame Mary MacDonald was not available for comment.

Uh-huh...

Judge for yourselves as to the appropriateness of the haircut:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/7331184.stm

Honestly? The boy is a mere 3 years old and I can't see anything wrong with this haircut! True it's 'different' but in no way offensive!

http://www.northtyneside.gov.uk/ed1/index.htm


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We take our politics seriously here at Summer Friend. The best president ever was Dana Carvey's George Bush, as seen in this historic moment:


I also like Phil Hartman's Clinton and his Reagan.

Darrell Hammond's Clinton is a write-in candidate. (I couldn't find any clips.)

David Domke is Professor of Communication and Head of Journalism at the University of Washington. Kevin Coe is a doctoral candidate in Speech Communication at the University of Illinois. They are authors of the The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America. To learn more about the book check out their handy website here, to read more posts by them click here. Below Domke and Coe look at the effects of MLK’s legacy on the Democratic primaries.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day has now come and gone, but King’s presence is still being felt in the Democratic primary. (more…)

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David Domke is Professor of Communication and Head of Journalism at the University of Washington. Kevin Coe is a doctoral candidate in Speech Communication at the University of Illinois. They are authors of the The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America. To learn more about the book check out their handy website here, to read more posts by them click here. In the article below Domke and Coe look ahead to the South Carolina primaries.

From the Motor City in Michigan to Sin City in Nevada, the 2008 presidential campaign is going national. But with all respect to voters in these states, the road to the White House—and for American politics generally—in the next few weeks goes through South Carolina. That’s because the Palmetto state is ground zero in today’s religious politics. (more…)

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The Myth of Mars and Venus: Do men and women really speak different languages? by Deborah Cameron, Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication at Oxford University, argues that gender needs to be viewed in more complex ways than the prevailing myths and stereotypes allow. In the article below Cameron looks at historical stereotypes of female orators and reflects on Hillary Clinton’s primary run.

After Hillary Clinton lost to Barack Obama in Iowa, the London Times columnist David Aaronovitch suggested that part of Mrs. Clinton’s problem might lie in our contradictory attitudes to women’s public speech. If their style is assertive they are labeled “shrill” and “strident”; if it is softer and more conciliatory, that casts doubt on their ability to lead. However she speaks, it seems a woman cannot win. (more…)

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Edward A. Zelinsky is the Morris and Annie Trachman Professor of Law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University. He is the author of The Origins of Ownership Society: How the Defined Contribution Paradigm Changed America which looks at how defined contributions (IRAs, 401(k) accounts, 529 programs, FSAs, HRAs, HSAs…) have transformed tax and social policy in fundamental ways. In the article below Zelinksy turns his sight towards health care reform.

The financing of medicine has emerged as the central domestic issue of the 2008 presidential campaign. Hovering over this debate is the memory of the failed health care initiative spearheaded by the then First Lady in 1993. Senator Clinton’s supporters suggest that Senator Clinton has learned from that earlier, unsuccessful experience. Her opponents contend otherwise. (more…)

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Last spring, just as OUP was beginning to buzz with excitement for our fall books, D. Michael Lindsay, the author of Faith In The Halls of Power, came and talked to us. For the next couple of weeks I am going to share some of what he said. It the podcast below Lindsay tells the story of what happened when Bud McFarlane woke up from his attempted suicide attempt. The transcript of the audio is after the jump.

(more…)

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In 1884 Belva Lockwood was putting the final touches on her campaign for president under the Equal Rights Party. To celebrate her role in paving the way for Hillary Clinton (love her or hate her having a women run for president is pretty cool), we thought we would excerpt Belva’s biography from The Oxford Companion to American Law edited by Kermit L. Hall. We found this excerpt by searching Oxford Reference Online.  Keep shooting for the moon ladies!

Lockwood, Belva Ann (born Royalton, N.Y., 24 October 1830; died Washington, D.C., 19 May 1917). She graduated from Genesee College (later Syracuse University) in 1857 and began a career teaching, moving to Washington, D.C. in 1866 where she founded her own school. Two years later she married Ezekiel Lockwood, who took over the school. Belva then turned to the study of law, enrolling at National University Law School in 1871 after being refused admission to the law schools at Columbian College (now George Washington University), Georgetown University, and Howard University. (more…)

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