Dr. Smith returned to the school after retrieving his hair clippers from home. He then made good on his promise, cleaning up Anthony Moore’s hairline to the boy’s satisfaction. During the haircut, Warren Township school police officer Lewis Speaks snapped some photos, and with permission, he posted them to Facebook, where they went viral within hours.
“Instead of putting the child out of school, this is what our principal, Mr. Jason Smith, did after he had a long talk with the student,” Officer Speaks wrote in the caption. “And guess what happened after that? The student thanked the principal, apologized for his behavior, then went to class.” Indeed, as promised, Anthony returned to class with his hat, holding up his end of the deal, just as his mentor had done.
Unsurprisingly, Dr. Smith received a lot of love for how he handled the situation with his student, having come up with a solution that was appropriate for the circumstances. But this school principal gave his student more than just a haircut; he also built a relationship with him and used the opportunity to talk to the boy about his future.
“I try to bring up possible careers and things like that to try to get him to think about the future and to dream and set goals,” Smith said. “We work really hard at building relationships and making connections with our kids and doing whatever it takes for them to be successful.” Dr. Jason Smith, an Arlington High School alumnus, credits now-retired principal Dr. Jackie Greenwood for pushing him to consider teaching because young black boys need to see men like him in the classroom.
While I understand Dr. Greenwood’s sentiments, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that all children, regardless of race, could use more men like Dr. Smith in education because the results of his problem-solving were concerning.
Following the haircut, Anthony Moore was reportedly doing better in school, proving this was a win for everyone. Sometimes punishment is necessary; other times, it does nothing to actually solve the problem at hand. Dr. Jason Smith seemed to realize this and, rather than falling back on a blanket dress code policy, the educator did some creative problem-solving that actually produced the desired results. That’s definitely something we could use more of in education because this is what true leadership looks like.