Fighting the "good" fight!
@elkeinalaska
12 years ago
90 posts
updated by @elkeinalaska: 07/23/15 06:32:19PM
@baba-fats
12 years ago
2,702 posts
Like I said, there are exceptions. private schools tend to be where they are. My girlfriend works at a charter school. A friend of hers has a mohawk. She wears it down, but it's obviously one. Other teachers have visible tats too. She could regrow her locks, but if she changed schools, it'd be hard to find a position. Even with her experience and the huge number of subjects she's certified to teach
If they remember they're even there...they probably would. I got tons of compliments before I had to tie them back. The other day, a student said, "Why don't you wear your hair down anymore?" I changed the topic very slyly to avoid saying, "My boss says I can't"...I just can't explain that oppression!
Brandy :] said:
yaaay! dont let em bring ya down (: im sure your kids loove your dreads!
I know...I loved teaching until I realized there are so many games you have to play. No one tells you these things....maybe someday, I'll do something else...it's sad though because I do love what I do! And I could have used a teacher like me growing up
Baba Fats said:
Star, I hear you. My girlfriend is a teach too. We know exactly what you are feeling. We wanted to go to one of the protests in Philly this past fall, but as a teacher she can't express her political views at all, even outside of the school. If she were to get arrested or even detained at a political rally, she could pretty much kiss her job and all those years in school goodbye.
"no wider than a few inches" private schools are given totally different freedoms to follow...something to look
into..makes me nervous to even talk like this...like someone might know elke.in.alaska said:
What do you mean wear your scarf thin?
I'm a teacher in a private school, no one seems to care about my dreads. The kids love them.
Amen! Honestly though, it makes me sick that teachers can come to school with cleavage, short skirts, extreme obesity, not even teaching a lick...but lil 'o me with my dreads (and tons of training, endorsements, professional development and great classroom reviews...not to mention great student/parent/staff communication and dedication AND my masters) must be too scary. Bata Fats...good luck to your girl w/this struggle...it's def. internal and something to have to live with or change about your life.
Baba Fats said:
Teachers are expected to be very conservative. Parents don't want to send their kids to school if their teacher looks like someone who would have done drugs. Iguaranteeyou that that super strict teacher you had in high school probably got drunk off their ass on the weekends.
There are some exceptions, but in reality, teachers are supposed to be completely impartial, and not impose their views on students. If, by your appearance, you are generating an opinion, or what others might think is your opinion, you'll have a really really hard time finding a teaching job.
Now, is this right? I don't think so. I would have loved it if my teachers had their own opinions. It would have made school more educational, and more interesting. Kids don't have to listen or agree with them, they just have to learn. Seeing someone with a strong stance shows them that they too should have their own opinions. What the system does, now, is just teach kids that they should not think for themselves.
@baba-fats
12 years ago
2,702 posts
Thanks, she's at a school now that has one teacher with a mohawk. She keeps it down, but you can definitely tell what it is. Another science teacher there has a full sleeve tattoo.
My girlfriends past the time in her life where she wants locks, but If she did, this might be an ok setting for her to go for it, but then again, it's a charter school, so she doesn't have the security a union would give her. But she's got the credentials. She taught for Kaplin for 4 years. So, because the only thing schools in Pa care about are standardized testing, She's the best teacher they have. I don't think she'll even be out of a job, but growing locks might not sit well with the administrators, so she's not willing to take the chance.