not quite your normal tat question

[GenePirate]

Remember, folks, she's applying for a teaching job, and I'm sure there's an exception to the rule, but all of the principals I know are pretty straight-laced and uptight and are looking for good, wholesome role models for their students. In THEIR opinion, this does not include teachers with tats or piercings.

In my career, I taught Chemistry and Biology for a few years, and when I set up a habitat for my Pueblan milk to illustrate mimicry, one administrator had an fit, raked me over the coals, demanded that I remove the animal from the classroom, and badmouthed me to the rest of the administration and staff. She told me that if this snake got out and students saw it in the hallway, there would be panic and stampeding, and someone might get hurt.

Luckily, my principal who did not like snakes, still thought it was a worthwile classroom display (and the kids loved to hold that Pueblan girl and watch her eat), so I got to keep it. The next summer at Daytona, I took orders from the rest of the Bio teachers and brought back balls and colubrids for their habitat displays. I still keep in touch, and my ex-coworkers still have their animals, and the kids still love them. They're fascinated.

So, I got off topic to illustrate the mindset that still exists with some administrators, but my advice is...get the tattoo as long as you can cover it when you want to. Plenty of teachers do just that--or they grow their hair AFTER they get hired (men). When your administrators see that you're an excellent teacher, your tat will mean very little. Just make sure it's not in the school district's dress code, because that would be grounds for termination.