Teaching with tattoos

"Why would you ruin your body?"

"What is that?"

"I don't understand women with tattoos"

"Aren't tattoos unprofessional?"

These are all statements that I have heard over the years while I have been growing my tattoo collection, and at the beginning I was very conscious of becoming a teacher with rather prominent ink!

Some organisations in the UK do allow teaching staff or managers to have tattoos, as long as they are not visible. … Some will hire teachers with small, "acceptable" visible tattoos, while others do not hire those with tattoos at all.

As you can imagine, I am totally against educational organisations penalising staff for having visible tattoos (assuming they are non-offensive of course,) some could even go as far as saying this is a discriminatory action. Tattoos are becoming increasingly popular and many newer teachers are either having to find ways to cover them up, or seek out organisations with more relaxed dress codes.

Many educational institutions have policies that dictate how staff should dress, and present themselves, including whether tattoos should be covered, hair colour, nail extensions etc. These policies can be arguably necessary to ensure that there is consistency in the way staff present themselves across the board.

But.... dress codes that dictate the covering of all tattoos can prove problematic for us teachers who have them on parts of our bodies that are difficult to cover and becoming way too hot in the summer! In my view, it is ARTISTIC EXPRESSION, why should we be forced to cover something that we enjoy, parts of us that make us feel unique?

Luckily enough, I currently work in college environment which is very forward thinking and encourages staff to be themselves. In fact, I often find that I can connect with many learners much quicker because my tattoos are a conversation starter. Having a observational topic to break the ice has proven very helpful in some situations, providing the learner with an opportunity to feel more comfortable in my presence and ask questions.

Unfortunately there are always situations where comments are made. In my role I can teach groups of individuals aged from 19 all the way into their 70's, and you guessed it, in my experience the older students are the ones to throw judgemental comments around.

My best advice would be to open a conversation about it, everyone is entitled to an opinion.... hear them out. A lot of people do not understand tattoos because they do not know the meaning behind them.

My tattoos are prominently placed on my arms, they represent famous characters Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. To those who haven't got a clue who they are, they could even appear quite scary looking. Some have even asked if I have a Johnny Depp obsession.... which is definitely not the case. My tattoos are inspired by the film director Tim Burton. When Burton was first exploring the creative industry, he was told that his artwork was terrible and he'd never become anything. 100 million dollars later I think he has proven them wrong, and this is why I admire him.... his determination and creativity.

When I explain my reasoning, some individuals become just that little bit more understanding. You will never be able to change their opinions on tattoos, but your honesty and integrity should encourage them to respect your decisions.

Hopefully, in the not too distant future more educational institutions will re-consider their policies on tattoos.

Have you had any experiences concerning tattoos in education? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please send me a message to share them.