Thread: Teachers with Tattoos

This is a difficult question.

With the exception of military veterans, I would have to say that most older teachers, (such as myself), do not have tattoos. The concept of body piercings and tattoos is largely foreign to teachers of my age group.

The reality is that the world we live in today is not the world we began teaching in 20-25 years ago. Our culture has changed and more young people such as yourself, now sport one or more body ornaments.

The question you have posed is being dealt with at the district level vis à vi revised faculty dress codes.

Some school districts are clearly more permissive than others. In general, I would say that discretion is the rule of the day. A discrete tattoo on the ankle or arm is quite different from a person who comes to a job interview literally covered from head to toe in garish tattoos.

In general, I think school districts as a whole tend to be fairly conservative ... so social mores that may be permissible outside the workplace are sometimes deemed unacceptable at work. Not only is this true for public and private school systems but it's also true for the private sector as well.

You may want to read the following article that was published by USA Today.

Schools enforce dress codes — for teachers
[url]http://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-08-20-dress-code_x.htm[/url]

I have a BIG tattoo on my left bicep. I cover it or uncover it as I chose, depending on the weather.

It's not an issue up here, where lots of teachers have tattoos, piercings, and alternate lifestyles.


Yay for Canada!!

Even though the article is more focused on dress, it seems the main problem in any case is with fads. My favorite quotes were "'Are you willing to compromise community values to stay in the fad?'" and "'Who are these people dressing to impress?'" I certainly hope this isn't the way my tattoos will be perceved. They mean something to me, that's why they're there. I'm not the type of person that gets a tattoo because I think it looks nice. That's why being asked to cover a tattoo does seem odd to me. They will undoubtably be seen at some point so I see no reason not to just to put it out in the open. They'll be more distracting to people if they catch a glimpse of it but I can't show or explain it to them.

In my district there is no written rule about tattoos. I think it's one of those things where you need to use common sense. If your tattoo is appropriate for younger eyes to see it should be a non-issue. If it were inappropriate in context than perhaps you'd be asked to have it covered.

I have a small tattoo on my ankle. The kids usually notice it within the first weeks of school as we are gathered on the carpet. I explain its meaning to me and that is usually the end of it until a new student joins the group

We have several teachers at my school with tattoos and piercings. They don't make an effort to cover the tattoos but do shy away from wearing the facial jewelry. It's probably not such a big deal at my particular school because almost all the parents sport tattoos as well. Even the kids in K wear temporary tattoos.

As a practical matter, I'd say cover it up while interviewing, because it could affect your chances of getting a job. As to official policy, my school district expects their teachers to look professional within the context of their duties, and interpretation of that is left up to the principals, by and large. I teach in a rural district and I would doubt anyone with a lot of exposed tattoos would be hired, if the other applicants did not have them, all other things being equal.

As far as the article, I'd comment on this- teaching is a professional job, or is often represented to be. It is a form of public work, and you have to deal with all sorts of people, not just 'cool' people with tattoos, nose studs, and piercings. You will have to deal with people who regard such things negatively and keep that in mind- especially when you are sitting there at a parent conference and you are trying to persuade them on something. Situations like that are hard enough without stacking the deck against yourself.

As was mentioned above though, this is going to be a variable matter decided largely on district levels, and you would have to check each one you intend to be at.

Might be an issue in private schools. Like others have said, I'd keep it covered until I got a job and then got a feel for the "lay of the land."

I have 3 tattoo's. I was never once asked to cover them up. I have one on my shoulder (which was seen once on field day). One on my ancle and one on my foot. Here's in Florida we wear open toed shoes often. I didnt have a problem with having or showing my tattoos.

I did however, make sure all of them were covered for my interview. I probably wouldn't ask their policy on that during the interview... i would wait until dress code came up in the teacher orientation to see how the principal wanted to handle it.

Addendum- yes, you can get hired in my district with tattoos, even a tongue pin (or whatever that is). We just hired a new English teacher who has those things....