Quote Originally Posted by Christina View Post
This is all a lot to think about, and very helpful too. Lots of view points to consider. Thank you all!

BUT, now that we've debated appearance in an interview, let's remember that I'm going to be a band director, waving my arms in front of jr. high or high school kids. Two very different situations, attitudes, feelings, obviously. And I'd also like to note that most kids involved in a music program are not your average high school kids. Just keep that in mind as well.

Thanks to Jen to pointing out conservative vs. liberal areas, which is something I'm also thinking about.

So what about the student/ parent of a student view? I don't want to hear YOUR opinions, but what you actually think the reaction some parents might have.

Discuss, discuss.
You're always going to run into some parents that will freak when they hear their child's music teacher has a tat. If they really were that offended, they could pull the kid from the program. Thankfully, most normal people aren't like that. I think most parents would see it as a dedication to what you're teaching. After all, the word "music" isn't like a full body tattoo of guns or something haha.

Being a former band geek myself, it would be cool to see a normal conductor for a change. Mine was super mean and didn't believe in fun. That's not a good learning environment; having an open-minded teacher is.