Mother outraged by teacher's note complaining that daughter's hair 'stinks' of coconut oil

Tionna Norris, the mother of then-three-year-old Amia, took to social media to share the note that her teacher sent her complaining about the smell of coconut oil in her daughter’s hair.

Carol, the Russian teacher in charge of Amia, sent Tionna the note from the Raggedy Anne Learning Center addressing the situation. According to her, she understood the necessity of using coconut oil on her daughter’s hair.

However, she asked Tionna not to use that much because other children were allegedly complaining that her hair “stank.” “If you have to apply this daily — please do so lightly, so the kids don’t tease her,” finished Carol.

GOING VIRAL

Soon after getting that note, Tionna took a photo of it and posted it to Facebook with a caption praised by many.

HER DECISION

In it, she revealed that she would keep applying the same amount of coconut oil as usual. Tionna added that the teacher would “feel that Black girl magic” and pointed out that coconut oil had no stinky smell.

PEOPLE’S REACTION

As soon as that post went viral, people started commenting and complaining about Carol’s decision. Most of them said that even if other children were messing with Amia, it was the teacher’s job to handle the situation. Others said that the smell of coconut oil was lovely and that Carol should teach the children not to bully others.

“Like so the kids were bullying my child so you send ME a letter???? How does that make sense. She needs oil for her hair. She’s literally the only black child in her class this is why I make it a point to keep her hair natural and tell her yes she’s different and it’s magical [sic],” commented Tionna in a later post.

THE OUTCOME

CBS News revealed that Tionna and her partner addressed the situation with the director of the school, who informed them that none of Amia’s classmates actually complained about the coconut oil “stink,” so Carol apparently made everything up.

ANOTHER INCIDENT IN A SCHOOL

Something similar took place at the Christ The King Parish School in Gretna, Louisiana, as they pulled one of the students, Faith, out of class due to her hair. According to the Facebook post, the school changed its policy without consulting the parents and banned the students from wearing hair extensions, clip-ins, and weaves.

According to Faith’s family, the authorities banned all those things without taking into consideration how it might affect the students’ lives as Faith’s extensions made her hair easier to maintain and it made possible for her to get into the swimming pool without having to re-do her hair every night.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans, RaeNell Houston, revealed that they informed all parents about the policy during the summer and before the first day of school, so it shouldn’t have surprised Faith’s family.