Public Schools: Hairsplitting

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PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Somewhere deep in the psyche of many U.S. adults lurks a triggering device that raises hackles whenever a boy with long hair passes by. Public-school officials seem unusually susceptible to this reaction—and spend countless hours haggling over the length of a lad's locks.

The silliest solution to one of these hairsplitting arguments is in effect at Unionville (Pa.) High School, where a school handbook proclaims that "in a democracy, dress and grooming are dictated by good taste and pride in one's appearance" and that "a child's behavior is most often a reflection of the way he dresses." To Superintendent LeVan P. Smith, democratic hair must not touch the eyes, ears or shirt collar. He suspended Senior Alan T. Miller, 18, whose hair infringes upon his shirt but whose behavior somehow had not been adversely affected. Alan drew straight A's his entire junior year, missed only one day of school in three years, was never a disciplinary problem, and won Unionville High's only National Merit Scholarship.

Smith argues that Alan's hair presented "a distraction to the rest of the class." Alan's parents took the dismissal to court, arguing in part that Alan, as a guitar player in a moneymaking five-piece rhythm and blues group, needed to wear his hair long. Superintendent Smith bent his rules and compromised, contending that "we have a responsibility to try to rehabilitate those who are defiant of regulations."

Now Alan sits at home and attends class via a two-way telephone hookup, paid for by the school board. Teachers and students must speak loudly so that the apparatus, which is moved from room to room, can pick up the voices. A teacher writing on a blackboard must be sure to pronounce what she writes, and to explain diagrams. Alan, unable to get recognition by raising his hand, just interrupts by phone to recite. It's all rather distracting, but at least Alan will be able to take his final exams, graduate, and go on to use his scholarship at the Philadelphia College of Art.