When student Anthony Moore showed up to class wearing a hat in violation of the school’s dress code, Stonybrook Intermediate and Middle School principal Jason Smith knew something was wrong.
Eventually, he was able to get Moore to open up. After about 30 minutes, the youth finally explained he was embarrassed by the bad haircut he’d recently received.
“He didn’t say straight out, but I feel like he didn’t want to be laughed at,” Smith told CNN. “The barbershop and hair cuts as Black males is very important in the community and looking your best and being sharp, it’s just a cultural aspect.”
Understanding the foibles of peer pressure all too well, rather than simply dismiss Moore’s concerns and mete out disciplinary action, in a stroke of “shear genius,” Smith came up with an alternative solution: He’d fix the cruel cut himself.
It wasn’t just an idle offer. Smith’s been cutting hair since he was a teen. After showing Moore photographic evidence of some of the do’s he’d done, the young man agreed to the compromise.
Moore’s mom, who’d okayed the impromptu haircut, was grateful that instead of going by the book and simply suspending her son, Smith chose to seize an opportunity to help the young man feel better about himself.
Link to original story: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/embrassed-student-hid-bad-haircut-under-a-hat-then-the-principal-gave-him-a-great-new-do-watch/
