translated from Spanish: He was ashamed of his haircut and the school principal helped him improve it

Jason Smith is a citizen of Indianapolis in the United States and is principal of Stonybrook Intermediate and Middle School in Warren Township. As an educator, he always prefers empathy and help to relate directly to his students. This time, an eighth grader ended up in his office after refusing to take off his hat in class. The principal, for his part, sought to understand why a student his age did not obey his teachers.” I sat down with him and asked him why and what was going on. He said he had just cut his hair and didn’t like the way he looked. He thought the hairline looked a little weird,” Jason Smith told WAFB 9. He then added that he himself offered to cut his hair in exchange for him going back to school.
“I’ve cut my hair most of my life. I played college basketball and cut my teammates’ hair before games and I’ve been cutting my son’s hair for 17 years. So, I had professional cutters and edgers at home, so I said, ‘If I go home and take my scissors and line you up, will you go back to class?’ He said, ‘Yes, I will’ (…) That age is a time when the acceptance of peers is enormous. So, for a young man, especially for a young African-American, barbershop is a big problem in the community. Looking good, performing and presenting it is huge for children (…) He wasn’t really trying to get out of class. He just thought they’d laugh at him, so we took the time and did what we could to help him,” director Jason Smith told local media.
After doing the haircut and cleaning his hair, the principal saw his student fulfill his part of the deal and went straight to his classroom. He understands that at that age and especially when you are Afro-descendant, appearance can matter a lot. With this attitude, you can see that the principal does not seek to discipline harshly, because he believes that instead of solving the problems of his students, makes them worse, and what he wants most is to help them through empathy.

Original source in Spanish