Posted by blood roses at 12:10am Jan 23 '05A week ago or so, a 10 year old boy came to school with his hair in a Mohawk. His teacher asked him to comb it out on the grounds that it was disturbing the class, and he refused. He was suspended, and his mother fought the suspension, saying she had taught her son to stand up for what he believes in. There have been a bunch of letters to the editor saying that although his hair isn't really a big deal, he should have combed it out when his teacher asked, not doing so showed a lack of respect for authority.
So my question is, do you think the mother was right to defend her son's actions? Do you think we should teach our children to respect authority or to question authority?
I don't believe in blindly obeying authority, and I don't think we should teach our children to do so. Sometimes, the authorities are wrong. And in those cases, people have to stand up for what they believe in. If somebody tells you to do something, you should determine whether it is a good thing to do or not, not just blindly do it because the person giving you the order is an authority figure.
What does everybody think?
So my question is, do you think the mother was right to defend her son's actions? Do you think we should teach our children to respect authority or to question authority?
I don't believe in blindly obeying authority, and I don't think we should teach our children to do so. Sometimes, the authorities are wrong. And in those cases, people have to stand up for what they believe in. If somebody tells you to do something, you should determine whether it is a good thing to do or not, not just blindly do it because the person giving you the order is an authority figure.
What does everybody think?
Respect for authority vs. questioning authority - blood roses