5 Reasons to Fire the UK Tattooed Teacher
ABOUT THE UK TATTOOED TEACHER:
Charlotte Tumilty, 26 year old mother of two, was fired from her job as teacher assistant on her first day for having tattoos. Charlotte Tumilty also has purple hair and facial piercings. According to sources, she was hired at the UK St. John Vianney’s Primary School in Hartlepool. She’s enrolled at Hartlepool College of Further Education in Northeast England and in a training course where she has to work at an area school twice a week for a year.
WHAT HAPPENED:
The story broke from the Daily Mail. Charlotte Tumilty was asked to come speak to the school administration part way through her first day of teaching because her neck tattoo was still showing. She had visible tattoos at work on her neck and fingers, but the rest were covered. The school already employees teachers with tattoos, but the teachers’ tattoos are covered because they are “not appropriate” in a classroom setting. Here are 5 reasons to fire the UK tattooed teacher.
STUDENTS HAVE THE SAME STANDARDS:
Primary school children are often sent home on the first day of school for being inappropriately dressed with shirts having vulgar expressions, occult jewelry, racy shorts, low cut shirts showing excess cleavage, and so on. Charlotte having visible tattoos at work of ribbons, diamonds and flowers is no different. Teachers set the example. If this tattooed teacher showed her tattoos of ribbons in the classroom it’s easy to see how students could show up wearing a shirt with an upside down flag or offensive cusswords on their flat bill hats.
WAYS TO COVER UP TATTOOS:
Charlotte Tumilty spent $40 on a new outfit to ensure her arm and leg tattoos were covered, but her neck and fingers were exposed. The UK primary school in Hartlepool suggested using plasters and bandages to cover up. That way she looked more professional, and stood out less. A possibly more effective way for her and other teachers to cover up tattoos is with neck braces or even full body casts. That way their tattoos don’t make them stand out. Also, several Victorian Era dresses have face high collars. Shipping can be expensive since they weigh so much, but several reenactment and costume stores offer a variety of options.
SHE CAN FIND OTHER WORK:
Because the United Kingdom school year already commenced it is impossible to find placement in a different United Kingdom school, meaning her education will be delayed for a year. Thus meaning there is no placement available at surrounding schools. However, she’s learned about professionalism and teaching by stopping her pursuit of higher education. There are several restaurants in the area that hire temporary help.
IT’S UNPROFESSIONAL:
It’s not prejudice it’s professionalism. As the school stated, “tattoos aren’t a professional image” and tattoos “are inappropriate” in the classroom. Professionalism isn’t about skills, experience or education, it’s about looks. While a passion for students, and a love of teaching is important, it’s more important how you look.
BAD TEACHERS:
There are lots of reasons to let bad teachers go from a school. It’s been done before. Handling yourself in an unprofessional manner that gives a bad role model to students is cause for termination. Diane Brimble was let go from her teaching job at this time last year for soliciting her 10 year old student for sex. A teacher last week in Texas was fired for assault, and a teacher in Colorado was let go last week for bullying. Bottom line you probably wouldn’t want any of these teachers teaching your child! What does the UK tattooed teacher have in common? She was unprofessional and a bad role model and was let go from her job, but it was for having visible tattoos at work instead of solicitation, assault or bullying.
CONCLUSION:
Obviously, this piece is satirical in nature about a sad but true story. Satire is the use of humor, irony, and exaggeration to analyze actions. In this case, we’ve used it analyze the societal perception that tattoos in the workplace are unprofessional and hamper your ability to do a good job. Comment below with your thoughts on tattoo discrimination in the workplace and share the article if you enjoyed it.
FIND TATTOO PETITIONS AND INTERESTING TATTOO STATISTICS HERE.
