School Teachers With Tongue Rings?

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How you dress can certainly effect how you feel but you seem to be judging how _she_ feels based on _your_ sartorial views???

Is she a good teacher?
Is your nephew progressing educationally?
Does your nephew accept people for who they are or does he prejudice based on their appearance?

Perhaps the lesson is “if you dress conventionally, you’ll think conventionally”?

I’d be worried if all the teaching staff dressed in _any_ particular way (e.g. slacks and tweed jackets – especially the women).

If children can learn that different people can dress in different ways we can achieve a more tolerant society.

I’m a software professional; I used to wear suits for work (because everyone else in the company did) but now dress casual (jeans, t-shirts, shorts, etc.). If we have visitors I dress smart-casual; occasionally I wear a suit because I want to (it always catches my colleagues off guard). I don’t have any piercings or tattoos and what little of my hair is left is undyed.

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As a teacher, I can address this from a different angle. I agree that the appearance of the teacher is important. Most systems require teachers to follow the same dress code (or better) than the students. That includes body piercings, hair color, and the fit of the clothes. Our system doesn’t allow the piercings on students at that age level. The wild hair colors will send a kid home. The same holds true for the teaching staff and administrators. If the teacher in question is a good teacher, they will take into account how their appearance is perceived by others. In our system we can only wear jeans on “spirit days” or special event days when we will need to “get down and dirty” as the saying goes. Otherwise, we have to wear business/professional clothing. That does not mean a dress or suit, but it does mean we have to wear clothing to be identified as a professional if we are to be treated as such. There are loopholes, but they are few and far between, and work is being done to close them.

In the end, someone needs to talk with this teacher and impress upon them the need to look professional and save the self-expression for outside the workplace.

Personally, I could care less how any individual wants to present themselves in public provided their behavior is acceptable. I’ve lived in Austin, TX most of my life, including school years, and there is no lack of full body art and in-your-face body jewelry. More power to them. However, I fully believe in the idea that professionals should dress professionally, especially those who interact with the public. In the case of the classroom I would think that it would go without saying.

Teachers represent authority and social structure to young students. In the classroom they are charged with conveying these norms to their students. Surely some of them are distracted if not intimidated by Teacher’s appearance, to the detriment of their learning. Before conducting classes she should have removed her visible jewelry and washed the multi-colored dye from her hair. What she does on her own time is her own business and some of her students will surely see her wearing her in-your-face persona. Again, I have no problem with that. But learning when and how to conform to social norms is as important a lesson as any for the youngest students. It will affect their academic career as well as their future opportunities as much or more than any other lesson learned in school.

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I think it is ridiculous, and teachers should be held accountable for their actions. I know a few teachers that hold an Allstar status after hours, but are very professional when it comes to teaching. That includes dress, attitude, and knowledgeably. I had met my son’s teacher in pre-k, and she was dress similar to your experience. I tactfully told her that her appearance was unpleasant and used some sarcasm to let her know that people do notice how one carries themselves. It must have worked because the next visit was much better, she had no trampstamp showing, no stud in nose, and her hair was groomed.

-Fin-

I believe that some of you have valid points about conforming to fit in to the norms of society, but let us not forget about perpetuating outdated standards. If society (especially in the U.S.) is ever going to progress as a whole, we need to “push the envelope” a little, so to speak.

I would venture to guess that most (and remember – I didn’t say “all”) people that would perceive this teacher to be distracting or a bad influence on her students have probably never had to deal with being a little different in their own personal lives. Do you really think that children would not be able to learn if there were a presence of colored hair and body piercings? If so, then I hope there would be no clock on the wall to stare at hoping for the next bell to ring, or maybe some student artwork to look t either. These things are very distracting as well, no?

My point is, really, that what is seen as “normal” is always changing and very subjective, so let’s give the kids some credit and push them more in a direction of tolerance, learning, understanding, and acceptance of all people… no matter what they look like.

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It’d be good for a generation of kids to grow up learning they don’t need to force everybody into their cookie-cutter mold of “goodness.”

I currently am employed as a sub in several districts. When I am in the classroom…I am always dressed better than my students. That means this is what I usually wear: Polo pull-over or button down dress shirt…casual slacks (dockers-style) & pull-on dress shoes. On Fridays…I wear the same type of shirt…nice jeans & comfortable joggers.

When I did this job in Arizona…same thing for me…but my many of the female students dressed worse than street walkers. The boys would wear their jeans past their knees with their boxers fully exposed.

The biggest difference is that all the districts here in Idaho have & enforce student dress standards…such as no underwear showing. Have seen the principal pull a student out of the hallway & send them home. Makes a big difference in the attitudes of the students toward the teachers.

As long as a person is clean and hygienic, they should be able to be creative with their dress. Conservative clothing only perpetuates the sheeple mentality of don’t question and do as your told. Look around and ask yourself how much good that has done for our society. On the other hand, locations that are more free and respect individuality and free expression have less crime. Suppression leads to rebellion.

My daughter would more than likely flip out if her teacher looked even close to what you describe here. She is nine and knows that to be taken seriously you have to at least look like you belong in the environment you’re in.

Chris Short has a point. In other parts of the world teachers are given a great deal of respect and dress the part. I teach at the college level and I always dress with clean, pressed slacks and shirt. I’ve noticed that students respond to that in a positive manner. I see it as similar to being a parent. You are there to be a parent and teach your child properly through knowledge, experience and example, not to be your child’s friend; they already have enough friends outside the home. As a teacher you are there to impart knowledge to your students, not to be their friend. Dressing or acting like your students sabotages the student/teacher relationship and it is important to keep this relationship in tact.

I have been an educator for over 20 years. I have to disagree with many of the comments. The question should be is this teacher able to reach her students, help them grow academically and are they prepared for the next grade? What kinds of scores do the students in this teacher’s class make on the standardized tests they have to take? Are the students excited about learning in her class? What kinds of discipline problems, if any, are happening in class? How many student office referrals are submitted to administrators by this teacher? While particular styles of dress, makeup, piercings, etc. can cause people to have preconceived notions about one’s behavior or status in society, if the students are performing well and excited about learning that is much more important than how she dresses or what color her hair is. How many teachers do you know that dress ‘professionally’ but are only there for the paycheck and not invested in whether the students learn and achieve. I have seen way too many educators that need to leave the classroom and don’t care if their students grow academically and they dressed well and were well groomed every day but made no difference in the lives of their students.

When I was a kid I had a number of teachers that left impressions on me. The most significant impressions were left by two main teachers. Both were male. Both were ridiculed by students from other classes and by other teachers. Tthe similarities pretty much stopped there.

One was a very professional dresser. He wore a suit to work and spoke very accurately and thoughtfully. He was deeply invested in his students and their progress. He treated everyone like an adult, and expected they act like adults. We often rose to the expectation placed on us. And when we did not, he was very very strict about the punishments he dealt. I could see that he didn’t like that part at all, but he did it anyway. He left one impression on me. His average students score in his class was much higher than others in his department. His class was the class to be in if you really wanted to learn language arts.

The other teacher was a very energetic man. He generally wore cargo shorts, sandals, and his dozen or so facial piercings to class. He had mid-back length hair that was rarely well kept. We often joked, in good humor, that he looked more like a bum than a teacher. He taught history and linguistics. Most classes constituted some game or another, and him intentionally acting like a fool to get a laugh. He was every one of his student’s best friend. We trusted in him and were very comfortable in his class. We talked freely and played myriad games from mock battles, to setting up our own quasi governments where we weren’t allowed to speak in English, but were required to speak an language that we had invented in that class. Can you imagine such a crazy, chaotic environment being good for education? That teacher had the highest scoring students in his departments, both of them. It was a common complaint from other teachers that he “got all the smart kids” because his students also did better than average in their other classes. I think that is more reflective on the impact he left on our want to learn.

While the first teacher left me with a desire to do well in his class, the second teacher left me with a desire to know more about the world at large. He managed to kindle a lust for knowledge inside of me and many of my classmates. I haven’t forgotten it, it has never faded for me. I am not trying to say your position is wrong in your case, especially considering the age difference as I was in jr. high. Every statement you’ve made could be applied to my teacher though, and I think that my life would have been a much more shallow one for it. Thanks for your time and attention. Cheers! -Max

Based on your discription, that is over the top. That would be good for a party, but for learning enviroment, i think its a distraction.

I think you touched on a much bigger issue without realising it.

Society deems some particular fashions or decorations to be “unacceptable” and yet these are really no more than prejudiced opinions.

I can understand a sales situation. You want to give a client the best possible image that you can. Piercings and tattoos are often banned for salesmen because they are afraid it could look “unprofessional” or they fear losing the sale due to the client’s prejudices.

The sooner we shatter the prejudices, the better. I don’t have a problem with a school teacher with a tongue piercing. In fact, I know one!

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