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Article Dad Fights For Change After Young Son Forced to Shave at School

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A 12-year-old boy was handed a razor and told to shave before a school photo.

The student, from Mansfield State High School in Brisbane, was told to ‘just swipe down’ but cut his face in three places and bled onto his school shirt because he had never used a razor before.

The boy’s father said his son called him that afternoon upset over the incident and now “obsessively” shaves every day to make sure he adheres to school policy, even though it is unnecessary, reports the Brisbane Times.

‘We are a Hindu family and the tradition is that when a child gets to the age when he is required to shave … then the father says a little prayer with him and we bless him and you give him a gift and a token of love and off they go — that is the tradition,’ he said.

The father raised the issue with the Education Department’s Ethical Standards Unit.

The family received a letter from the Jeff Major, the deputy regional director of Metropolitan region for the department.

‘In 2019, Mansfield State High School will ensure that no student will be permitted to shave at school unless explicit parent consent is obtained. Explicit consent in this instance will require direct parent contact with the school administration by phone, email or in writing,’ the letter read.

The father said he was pleased with the result, saying the change in policy was all he wanted and the outcome was ‘fantastic.’

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  • Is there a dress code covering this in the school rules at all? Had it actually been necessary a parent or guardian should have been notified.

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  • So pleased the final outcome was acceptable to all concerned but think it was ridiculous that the young fellow was asked to shave in the first place.

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  • It seems strange that a school would do this to a kid in the first place.

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  • Gosh..wouldnt expect something like that to happen. Since when do schools just have razors?
    And seriously for a school photo. No wonder why teenagers these days are self conscious of themselves.

    • I know – reinforcing certain images for school photos is seriously sad and sends the wrong message.

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  • how rude! If he had bright green facial hair I might understand but a 12 year old rarely has anything more than bumfluff!

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  • Disgraceful! It is a school photo – why should it even matter. A dreadful thing to have done and glad the school seems to have come to its senses.

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  • Poor family makes you wonder what schools are thinking sometimes.

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  • This should had never happened. Yes some boys do need to shave at a young age, had a nephew who was shaving at 11 and still would get a five o’clock shadow in the afternoon. Luckily they changed the school rules and he was allowed a short tidy beard if grown in. This he did during a holiday period.

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  • Who is the school to decide this boy needs a shave and hand him a razor ??!! Not acceptable !!

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  • Isn’t the usual protocol to send someone home or send a note home outlining policy? Surely they realised this boy had been frowning a little more than fuzz a couple of weeks before photos. There should have been a memo distributed before the day.

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  • This is ludicrous. Why a change beginning in 2019. This change should be implemented immediately. I think the family has been very amicable with this behaviour. I know I certainly would have been a lot more irate and less accommodating towards the school.

    • Yes me too, I actually think I would pull my kid out of this school !

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  • Why did they have razors at scho L to begin with? Seems a bit strange to me!!

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