Teachers with tatoos and piercings

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a generational thing, but my issue us that the teaching profession deserves more respect and more money so more bright, well educated college students will enter the field and stay in the field. If teachers want the same respect as lawyers and top business people then they need to dress professionally.

Teachers shouldn't throw their money away on fancy clothes when they have to work with messy little kids all day but I have been very surprised by how many of the young teachers at our elementary school dress. They wear very tight skinny jeans and heals or high boots every day. They look like they're going out downtown on a Saturday night. I hate to sound like a fuddy-duddy but these outfits are not helping their cause.

If teachers want the same respect as lawyers and top business people, then they need to get paid as much as lawyers and top business people.

Also, they need to have people judge them for what they do, instead of for what they wear.

+1. In order to be effective, teachers primarily need respect from their students, who probably would not be impressed if their teacher showed up for school in a business suit.

[Anonymous]

I have tattoos and a nose ring. I also have a doctorate and a successful career. I respectfully disagree with you.

[Anonymous]

What I find deeply upsetting in this post is that you seem to have an attitude that tattoos / piercings are bad/irresponsible, and seem to want to pass that along to your child. That will not help him respect his teacher, nor will that help him become a respectful, open-minded, critically thinking person.

I had some teachers with tattoos. One was one of my best, and favorite, teachers. AP government in high school. He explained what they were and why he got them (towards the end of the year, when stories naturally led there).

There are a lot of qualities of a teacher that matter more. This should not be one you are hung up on. I hope you can look inside yourself to find tolerance.

-a mid 20s teacher who does not have (nor has ever wanted) tattoos

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I don't see her everyday so I don't know if she shows off her tatoos at school. I do know one of them might be kind of hard to hide. I also know that she wears that nose piercing everyday.

I think that talking to my kid about my views on the inappropriateness of his teacher is not a good idea. I think that it is important to his success that I appear to be supportive of her. Regardless of my views, DC needs to respect her.

I don't insist that people conform to my values. I'm not going to insist anything in this case. I just think it is poor judgment on her part and on the school.

She is not some random person that DC sees out and about. She is his teacher. Someone there to teach him academics and how to behave in the world. She is one of his primary role models. I just wonder if we should expect more since she has been given this role.

Exactly. She is there to teach him academics and how to behave in the world. What do her tattoos and piercing have to do with either?

Well, tattoos and piercings are anti-social and professional, so setting aside the distraction part of it, it also conveys a message that they're somewhat acceptable in polite society when, in fact, they will directly interfere with career advancement later in life if the child emulates the teacher. So, I do understand OP's issues.

You simply don't see tatoos in the board room.

Perhaps. But boardrooms are populated by 60-something white men who were born in the 50s. Boardrooms in 2050, for example, likely will have a much different feel.

amen

So this is exactly what I'm talking about. Tatoos and piercings are becoming accepted as mainstream. I don't know about you, but I worked pretty hard as a kid to do things to separate myself from the uncool adults with those being my parents and teachers in particular. Thankfully none of them had tatoos or piercings. If they had, I would have done that and more. Maybe I was a bad egg or maybe kids have changed and those "teachable" moments you all keep talking about has the desired impact and doesn't make kids go out and do exactly what their parents warned them not to do (which is what I did). Have you seen how kids are defacing themselves these days? If the bar keeps getting moved all the time, what are the kids' options for taking it to the next level? Knowing this tendency in kids to take things to the extreme, shouldn't we expect our teachers to be models of conservatism in dress and appearance at least on the job?

All this said, I know she is a great teacher and I've never heard anything but good things said about her. I'm sure my kid will leave her class at the end of the year a much better person for having had her. And hopefully for my sake DC turns out to be a better kid than I was.

No, really, they're not. Because if they were they'd be less trendy. Tattoos are anti-social because they celebrate counter-culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
No, really, they're not. Because if they were they'd be less trendy. Tattoos are anti-social because they celebrate counter-culture.

Trying to figure this out makes my head hurt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I don't see her everyday so I don't know if she shows off her tatoos at school. I do know one of them might be kind of hard to hide. I also know that she wears that nose piercing everyday.

I think that talking to my kid about my views on the inappropriateness of his teacher is not a good idea. I think that it is important to his success that I appear to be supportive of her. Regardless of my views, DC needs to respect her.

I don't insist that people conform to my values. I'm not going to insist anything in this case. I just think it is poor judgment on her part and on the school.

She is not some random person that DC sees out and about. She is his teacher. Someone there to teach him academics and how to behave in the world. She is one of his primary role models. I just wonder if we should expect more since she has been given this role.

Exactly. She is there to teach him academics and how to behave in the world. What do her tattoos and piercing have to do with either?

Well, tattoos and piercings are anti-social and professional, so setting aside the distraction part of it, it also conveys a message that they're somewhat acceptable in polite society when, in fact, they will directly interfere with career advancement later in life if the child emulates the teacher. So, I do understand OP's issues.

You simply don't see tatoos in the board room.

Right... And she's a teacher. She's not in a board room. She gets paid very little to put up with a lot of bureaucratic, political nonsense and long hours with the prestige or perks that come with other career choices. For $50,000 or so a year, I'd keep my nose ring in and be happy that I could dress comfortably and express myself.

[Anonymous]

Without the prestige or perks, not with!

[Anonymous]

I'm a teacher. I teach second grade students and have 3 tattoos. Two of them can be seen by the students. I tell them on the first day of school I have them and that after that there won't be any discussion about it. If they want to talk about tattoos then they can ask their parents. I have my tattoos to honor certain people in my life and don't regret them at all. I dress professionally except jeans Friday (even when I am getting up and down off the floor to work with students).

I also do pageants and have my masters degree. I volunteer in the community and have worked as a professional nanny for many years. So I would love a parent to have an issue with how I choose to live my life, one they know nothing about except that I spend 90 hours a week giving 110% to their child's education.

[Anonymous]

Teachers at our school must keep them covered. Otherwise we have many parents requesting placement in a different classroom. They know this before being offered a contract.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers at our school must keep them covered. Otherwise we have many parents requesting placement in a different classroom. They know this before being offered a contract.

I hope that you are not at a public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was at DC's school at an open house and one of the teachers was wearing a dress that showed off her large tatoos. She also has a pierced nose. As tatoos go, I think hers are tasteful. They are more the spiritual kind than the biker chick kind, although I can see them as being acceptable to both groups. The nose jewelry is small and unobtrusive, but it is still clearly there.

While I want to be open minded about this sort of thing, I have decided for a variety of reasons that I am uncomfortable with her flaunting these things around DC. I'm also having a hard time understanding why she thinks that it is acceptable for her to be so openly showing off her tatoos to the parents. I guess at a basic, fundamental level, I think it is pretty unprofessional. No one I work with would come to the job showing off their large tatoos in that way. Why is it supposed to be acceptable for school where I send my young child? I also worry that my kids will interpret this to mean that these things are mainstream and acceptable for them to do to themselves. Even worse, they think that this is too mainstream so they go out and do something more outrageous - like the tribal stuff I see kids doing to their ear lobes. Horror!

The real ironic thing is that while she is fine with showing off her tatoos and piercings at work, and I can only assume she thinks we should all be fine with it as well, she announces the policy that the school doesn't celebrate Halloween - but calls it an autumn festival or some crap like that. Maybe it is just me, but I think having my kid think its normal to get large tatoos and a pierced nose is more harmful than whatever the beef is these days with Halloween.

I don't plan to do anything about this lest I subject my kid to the potential for any retribution. Just thought I see if others have the same reaction.

Shouldn't we be expecting more from the people who are privileged to be in positions that enable them to serve as role models for our kids?

I actually hate piercings and tattoos and would not want my kids to see this on their teachers. That said, reading the way you wrote your post, you far, far, far outjudge me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher. I teach second grade students and have 3 tattoos. Two of them can be seen by the students. I tell them on the first day of school I have them and that after that there won't be any discussion about it. If they want to talk about tattoos then they can ask their parents. I have my tattoos to honor certain people in my life and don't regret them at all. I dress professionally except jeans Friday (even when I am getting up and down off the floor to work with students).

I also do pageants and have my masters degree. I volunteer in the community and have worked as a professional nanny for many years. So I would love a parent to have an issue with how I choose to live my life, one they know nothing about except that I spend 90 hours a week giving 110% to their child's education.

[Anonymous]

Tattoo. It's spelled TATTOO! And as long as the teacher in question can spell it correctly, which OP cannot, I would not be concerned about what is on his/her body. Be concerned about what is in his/her brain, because it might be better than what you have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tattoo. It's spelled TATTOO! And as long as the teacher in question can spell it correctly, which OP cannot, I would not be concerned about what is on his/her body. Be concerned about what is in his/her brain, because it might be better than what you have.

+1. If there's a "teachable moment" here, OP, this is it.

[Anonymous]

I'm with OP. It does, usually represent bad judgment. However, I was young and stupid once and I made mistakes too. I nearly ended up with a half sleeve, but thankfully i didnt because it's not at all subversive anymore. The teacher should be smart enough to cover it to look professional. And if it's on her neck or hands or something, then that illustrates bad judgment. My biggest issue with people's tattoos is that 90% of the time they are just bad tattoos so I judge them for being corny or stupid.

"According to the American Society of Dermatological surgery, over 50% of everyone receiving a tattoo wants it removed."