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Visible teacher tattoos... okay or not?
This is probably better off answered by those in the "real world" or at least with real jobs...
Anyway, I'm 18 years old and I really want a tattoo... the tattoo I want is the word "love" and a heart on my wrist - it would be very small and nothing eccentric. Just black lettering and the outline of a heart. No color or anything.
The reason I want that tattoo is because I used to self-injure, and if you google "To Write Love on Her Arms", you'll understand.
My only problem with getting it is that I plan on going into teaching and I'm not sure how professional it would look to have a tattoo that I won't be able to cover up.
In all honesty, I'd rather get the tattoo on my foot/ankle area, but it wouldn't make sense... would it... since the cause is to write love on her ARMS...? I'm not quite sure what to do.
I know not to get the tattoo until I'm positive about it since it's permanent, but I just wanted opinions. I especially want opinions of more professional people who have been in the work place and know whether or not having a visible tattoo, especially one that can't be covered at all, would make a difference in getting hired (more specifically, the tattoo I actually want).
Help? Thanks!
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Want to answer more questions in the Miscellaneous category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Etiquette?
I'm 17 but I have a job that involves taking care of the older people in assistant living. I have a tattoo but on my back. I wanted to get one of my wrist and my friends and mom told me things to do to cover it up. Wear a big bracelet on that arm that won't move, or a big watch.
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you could always wear longer sleeved shirts maybe?
things like that.
I really hope I helped! :D
I'm not so much in a set job, but I just thought I could tell you things people told me I could do.
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This really is something you need to consider in terms of the area in which in live and the types of communities in which you want to teach. You might also ask a teacher you know if visiable tatoos are against policy at your school. Someplaces they are, and some they aren't. It all depends.
I live in a large, multi-cultural metropolitan city. A tattoo like the one you are describing would not affect the perception of an individuals' professionalism too greatly in my area, however, I live in one of the more socially liberal places on this planet. If you want to teach at private schools, religiously mandated schools or even schools with more conservative communities then you are very right to be concerned about the stigma attached to a tattoo.
There is one other thing I’ll throw out there for you to consider, and that is the very personal message you are considering making public. Imagine an engagement ring. It’s a very lovely, very important symbol of a personal message between you and one other person, HOWEVER when you put it on the ring finger of your left hand, it is no longer simply a personal message of love. It’s a public message that implies a whole host of things you might not be intending. Many people joke about the way they are treated differently once they are wearing a ring, even by complete strangers. Of course, most people love that public attention when it comes to being married.
‘Write love on her arms’ might not be as well known a public symbol as a wedding ring, but it’s still a public symbol. If you put a personal message out there, to be interpreted by the public, they might not understand it the same way you do. With a tattoo, you’ll need to accept that for the rest of your life, people might interpret the message very differently then you personally have and there is nothing you can do about that ‘cause you put the message out there.
Now, I’m all for tattoos, but I think it’s really important to understand the power of symbols, especially those which are understood by others, because when you adopt a symbol of personal belief or opinion publicly, you can’t control what others might think of it. That goes for wearing a religious pendant around your neck, or a rainbow flag outside your door, or a politicians pin, but those things you can remove if the interpretation others have of them is uncomfortable to you, like you said, a tatoo is permenant.
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