Throughout my school years, I've had teachers with nose rings, visible tattoos, and the occasional few who still dress as if they were teenagers. Personally, I am slightly bothered by this. Since our school is public, I feel teachers have more leeway with how they dress and present themselves. I am the type of person who can tell when teachers get a new hair cut or went on a shopping spree that weekend, so when I see a teacher with a nose ring for example; my eye is immediately drawn to it. I find nose rings very distracting. I feel students are drawn to look at nose rings because it’s not something you see very often. Furthermore, I find it somewhat inappropriate for teachers to have visible tattoos. A few weeks ago, my teacher (I won't name names) scratched his back, revealing a tattoo on his bicep. I could tell everyone in the class had seen it by the gasps they quietly made and their facial expressions. I felt kind of uncomfortable honestly. Truthfully, it was weird to see something that I feel should be kept private. In my opinion, I feel teachers should be prohibited from having tattoos, piercings, or wearing clothing that is unprofessional.
What do you think? I'm interested to know other students' opinion on this. Do you respect a teacher less if they have a tattoo or piercing? Do you find them to be more on a friendship level than a professional level? Do you think its inappropriate and professional workers should not be allowed to have their tattoos and piercings visible?
Carly, I appreciate your discomfort at the thought of teachers with tattoos and excessive piercings, however I personally feel that teacher should be allowed to display whatever body modification they want, as long as it is not profane or offensive. Although teaching is probably more involving work than most professions, I think it would be far too harsh to restrict teachers' freedom in such a way. As long as the tattoo or piercing is not routinely distracting the class, I have no problem with teachers displaying body modification.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I have no problem with teachers having tattoos or piercings. While it might be distracting the first week of school to have a teacher with full tattoo sleeves and six eyebrow piercings, eventually I would get used to it. While I agree that teachers should dress respectably, I don't really care how they choose to express themselves. I wouldn't judge a classmate for a tattoo or piercing unless it was obscene or really tacky, and I pretty much hold everyone to the same standards. At the worst, a tattoo or piercing reminds us that a teacher is a human being with a life outside of school.
ReplyDeleteCarley, although I respect that you find it somewhat inappropriate for teachers to have visible tattoos, I disagree. Personally, I feel as though an individual, regardless of profession, should be able to express themselves in any way they choose, given that it is not provocative or inappropriate. Although I agree that nose rings are very distracting, I feel like a teacher’s huge dangling and tacky normal earrings could be equally as distracting. A few years ago, I worked with a private coach who had a large tattoo on his bicep. I talked to a friend, who, at the time, had him as a teacher. She said the students got used to the tattoo and actually asked the teacher about it. He informed them of the story and significance behind the tattoo. I think that in this situation, the tattoo certainly did not cause the teacher to act inappropriately, but instead helped the students better understand their teacher and his past.
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