Elementary School Art!

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/15222034.htm

Tattoo baring may be banned
By Lisa Michals

Lexington 2 school board members might ban students and staff from
baring tattoos at school.

Lawyers are warning them to tread carefully around the First
Amendment's freedom of expression clause.

"A ban on all tattoos is not likely to withstand constitutional
muster," said S.C. School Boards Association attorney Scott Price,
who hasn't heard of any other school district in the state with a
policy specifically addressing tattoos.

The issue came up after Lexington 2 learned in May that one of its
teachers, Winston McCuen, held extreme views on race.

McCuen wasn't rehired this year because of unrelated certification
issues, but school board chairman Bill Bingham Jr. said the event
prompted board members to look at how they deal with students' and
teachers' expression of personal views.

Bingham recently heard from an elementary school parent complaining a
teacher showed off a new tattoo to a class.

"It probably would be preferable if they were covered up simply
because we have parents that don't like them and don't believe in
them," said Bingham, who said he will finalize his opinion after the
district receives legal advice.

School board members launched the exploration of a tattoo policy at a
meeting last week.
"We need to do something with tattoos now," school board member
Glen Conwell said at the meeting, citing a new law allowing tattoo
parlors in South Carolina. "They're going to be here before you
know it."

Court rulings have shown school districts have broad latitude in how
schools are governed, but students do not lose all their constitutional
rights when they head to classes.
Lexington 2 is seeking to strike a balance between those two things,
said Barry Thompson, the district's attorney.

"The school district has a responsibility to provide an atmosphere at
school that's conducive to learning," Thompson said. "The school
district also has a responsibility to not infringe upon the rights of
(students), teachers and other adults."

Many students at Brookland-Cayce High School on Monday spoke positively
about tattoos, and several proudly revealed theirs and the stories
behind them.

A tattoo "can be a good thing, and it can be a bad thing," said
senior Matthew Bonaparte, 18, who has a tattoo on his arm of Jesus
blessing a disciple, with "blessed" written beneath it. "As long
as the tattoo is decent and it's nice, it should be OK."

Rebecca Rush, 16, recently practiced getting a tattoo - she got a
temporary henna tattoo of a star on her upper back. She said she'll
"definitely" get a tattoo someday: maybe a small heart on the
underside of her wrist, a permanent version of the star or a guardian
angel on her shoulder.

"It would be something to remember my mom by," said Rush, whose
mother is deceased.
Rush recalled a teacher last year who had a tattoo of an Asian symbol
on her foot, and she and other students thought it was cool.

Most Midlands school districts reported they have general clauses in
their discipline policies or dress codes that allow principals to
address any issues arising from tattoos. Most districts simply require
staff to dress "professionally."

Lexington 2 board members plan to explore a policy that targets
tattoos.

"We're going to have to go there just to cover vulgarities that we
cannot accept in the school," school board member Cindy Kessler said.
"They just have to be tastefully done ... (but) we don't want to
infringe on anyone else's rights, either."

Parent Mary Smoak isn't concerned about a tattoo policy because her
daughter - a freshman at Brookland-Cayce - doesn't have one, and
she's not too worried about her daughter seeing other people's
tattoos.

"I guess it depends on what the tattoo is," Smoak said. "If
somebody had a rose on their ankle, that probably wouldn't bother
me."
/thestate

Also from The State:

South Carolina's tattoo parlor ban was lifted March 24. Here are some
rules parlors must follow:

- A tattoo artist cannot tattoo the head, neck or face of another
person.
- A person who is 18, 19 or 20 years old must have parental permission
to get a tattoo.
- A tattoo parlor will not be granted a license if it is within 1,000
feet of a church, school or playground.

SOURCE: S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control

See: http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/15222028.htm

When I interviewed for my current position as an elementary school art
teacher, the principal never said anything at all about my 2 gauge
tunnels. I've since stretched to 00 gauge and get few comments. One
school employee asked me if it was "an African thing." I told her no,
but that there's a tribe in South America that has a ritual called _the
opening of the ears_ where young men's earlobes are pierced with sticks
to represent the fact that they're ready to learn.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...iercing%2C+ear
aka http://tinyurl.com/hrdqa

Currently, I can easily get colored pencils (typically Prang or
Crayola) through my tunnels. A regular number 2 pencil can fit through,
but it depends on the size of the metal surrounding the eraser.
Teachers must be entertainers as well as educators, imo. The tunnels
certainly capture a child's attention.

"Mr. James, why do you have those holes in your ears?"

"Why? All I'll say is NEVER give an angry kindergartner a hole-punch!"

(laughter)

And on the rare occasion when I forget to put my tunnels in during the
a.m. rush out the door, I've been known to a) just go without or b)
take crayon bits, round them off, and insert them in my earlobes as
makeshift jewelry.

In unrelated-to-school news, during a doctor's visit yesterday, the
examining physician - without encouragement - politely offered
something like, "Oh, you have these spacers. We can fix those if you
ever change your mind. It's an easy procedure. Just rough up the edges
under local anaesthetic and then suture them up." He continued by
telling of women who have torn lobes repaired in the same manner. The
doc didn't come off as judgemental or critical. It was more
matter-of-fact or pehaps sales pitchy, imo.

!!!

Well, there's the bell. Enjoy your summer. ;o)

--
Curt
http://curtjames.com/

"Curt James" <curtjames@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1155139566.901701.188580@n13g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/15222034.htm

SC has one of the highest illiteracy rates in the US and they're worried
about TATTOOS??! Way to go, us!

> Lexington 2 school board members might ban students and staff from
> baring tattoos at school.

Yeah, that's not all Lexington districts have tried to control...

> Lawyers are warning them to tread carefully around the First
> Amendment's freedom of expression clause.
>
> "A ban on all tattoos is not likely to withstand constitutional
> muster," said S.C. School Boards Association attorney Scott Price,
> who hasn't heard of any other school district in the state with a
> policy specifically addressing tattoos.
>
> The issue came up after Lexington 2 learned in May that one of its
> teachers, Winston McCuen, held extreme views on race.
>
> McCuen wasn't rehired this year because of unrelated certification
> issues, but school board chairman Bill Bingham Jr. said the event
> prompted board members to look at how they deal with students' and
> teachers' expression of personal views.
>
> Bingham recently heard from an elementary school parent complaining a
> teacher showed off a new tattoo to a class.
>
> "It probably would be preferable if they were covered up simply
> because we have parents that don't like them and don't believe in
> them," said Bingham, who said he will finalize his opinion after the
> district receives legal advice.

Who gives a shit if someone doesn't like tattoos? Maybe some of them don't
like beer bellies, or fat asses, so should fat people be banned from
teaching?

> School board members launched the exploration of a tattoo policy at a
> meeting last week.
> "We need to do something with tattoos now," school board member
> Glen Conwell said at the meeting, citing a new law allowing tattoo
> parlors in South Carolina. "They're going to be here before you
> know it."
>
> Court rulings have shown school districts have broad latitude in how
> schools are governed, but students do not lose all their constitutional
> rights when they head to classes.
> Lexington 2 is seeking to strike a balance between those two things,
> said Barry Thompson, the district's attorney.
>
> "The school district has a responsibility to provide an atmosphere at
> school that's conducive to learning," Thompson said. "The school
> district also has a responsibility to not infringe upon the rights of
> (students), teachers and other adults."
>
> Many students at Brookland-Cayce High School on Monday spoke positively
> about tattoos, and several proudly revealed theirs and the stories
> behind them.
>
> A tattoo "can be a good thing, and it can be a bad thing," said
> senior Matthew Bonaparte, 18, who has a tattoo on his arm of Jesus
> blessing a disciple, with "blessed" written beneath it. "As long
> as the tattoo is decent and it's nice, it should be OK."
>
> Rebecca Rush, 16, recently practiced getting a tattoo - she got a
> temporary henna tattoo of a star on her upper back. She said she'll
> "definitely" get a tattoo someday: maybe a small heart on the
> underside of her wrist, a permanent version of the star or a guardian
> angel on her shoulder.
>
> "It would be something to remember my mom by," said Rush, whose
> mother is deceased.
> Rush recalled a teacher last year who had a tattoo of an Asian symbol
> on her foot, and she and other students thought it was cool.
>
> Most Midlands school districts reported they have general clauses in
> their discipline policies or dress codes that allow principals to
> address any issues arising from tattoos. Most districts simply require
> staff to dress "professionally."
>
> Lexington 2 board members plan to explore a policy that targets
> tattoos.
>
> "We're going to have to go there just to cover vulgarities that we
> cannot accept in the school," school board member Cindy Kessler said.
> "They just have to be tastefully done ... (but) we don't want to
> infringe on anyone else's rights, either."
>
> Parent Mary Smoak isn't concerned about a tattoo policy because her
> daughter - a freshman at Brookland-Cayce - doesn't have one, and
> she's not too worried about her daughter seeing other people's
> tattoos.
>
> "I guess it depends on what the tattoo is," Smoak said. "If
> somebody had a rose on their ankle, that probably wouldn't bother
> me."
> /thestate

A tattoo is a tattoo. Shouldn't matter what it is, imo.

> Also from The State:
>
> South Carolina's tattoo parlor ban was lifted March 24. Here are some
> rules parlors must follow:
>
> - A tattoo artist cannot tattoo the head, neck or face of another
> person.
> - A person who is 18, 19 or 20 years old must have parental permission
> to get a tattoo.
> - A tattoo parlor will not be granted a license if it is within 1,000
> feet of a church, school or playground.

Yeah, we all think it's stupid that a kid can go off to die in war, but not
get a tattoo w/out mom's permission.
They left out another stupid rule: Tattooing is not allowed in a piercing
shop.
Marie

Marie <annadoggoo@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Yeah, we all think it's stupid that a kid can go off to die in war, but not
> get a tattoo w/out mom's permission.
> They left out another stupid rule: Tattooing is not allowed in a piercing
> shop.
> Marie
>

Alright, here's the scoop:

No one should be subjected to your--nor anyone elses goddamn self
mutilating bullshit if they don't want to be. Why are you trying
to force it on them?

Its not like you didnt have a choice to get tattooed, now is it?

This is not discrimination based on something overwhich you have
no control--like your race or sexual orientation. This is
discrimination based on the fact that you (and everyone else whos
pissed off about this) are a self-mutilating, drug addict
criminal bitch that people SHOULD keep their kids away from.




-----yttrx



--
http://www.yttrx.net

"yttrx" <yttrx@yttrx.net> wrote in message
news:KwxCg.31421$%v5.13977@fe78.usenetserver.com.. .
> No one should be subjected to your--nor anyone elses goddamn self
> mutilating bullshit if they don't want to be. Why are you trying
> to force it on them?

No one is forcing it on them. They don't have to look at it. They don't even
have to care.

> Its not like you didnt have a choice to get tattooed, now is it?

Yeah, but my examples of beer bellies and fat asses- those are choices. In
most cases.

> This is not discrimination based on something overwhich you have
> no control--like your race or sexual orientation. This is
> discrimination based on the fact that you (and everyone else whos
> pissed off about this) are a self-mutilating, drug addict
> criminal bitch that people SHOULD keep their kids away from.

I always wonder how long it will be before people stop thinking that way.
Marie

Marie <annadoggoo@yahoo.com> wrote:
> "yttrx" <yttrx@yttrx.net> wrote in message
> news:KwxCg.31421$%v5.13977@fe78.usenetserver.com.. .
>> No one should be subjected to your--nor anyone elses goddamn self
>> mutilating bullshit if they don't want to be. Why are you trying
>> to force it on them?
>
> No one is forcing it on them. They don't have to look at it. They don't even
> have to care.
>
>> Its not like you didnt have a choice to get tattooed, now is it?
>
> Yeah, but my examples of beer bellies and fat asses- those are choices. In
> most cases.
>
>> This is not discrimination based on something overwhich you have
>> no control--like your race or sexual orientation. This is
>> discrimination based on the fact that you (and everyone else whos
>> pissed off about this) are a self-mutilating, drug addict
>> criminal bitch that people SHOULD keep their kids away from.
>
> I always wonder how long it will be before people stop thinking that way.
> Marie
>
>

You know, I always find it curious why most people (who don't know me)
really think I don't actually feel this way.




-----yttrx



--
http://www.yttrx.net

"yttrx" <yttrx@yttrx.net> wrote in message
news:5SxCg.64456$vX4.37192@fe11.usenetserver.com.. .
> You know, I always find it curious why most people (who don't know me)
> really think I don't actually feel this way.

Maybe because no one should feel that way. It shouldn't matter to anyone
what color a person's hair is, what tattoos/piercings, if any, someone has,
or what someone wears. It's close-minded and limiting. I don't care if
someone gets a boob job, or a root canal, or a perm. All three are
destructive to a degree.
So, since it shouldn't matter to people, I actually expect it to not matter
to people.
Marie

Marie wrote:
> "Curt James" <curtjames@gmail.com> wrote
(snips here and there)

> > http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/15222034.htm
>
> SC has one of the highest illiteracy rates in the US and they're worried
> about TATTOOS??! Way to go, us!

heh

> > Lexington 2 school board members might ban students and staff from
> > baring tattoos at school.

The tattoos they mentioned in the article were, iirc, positive images,
but I expect that's opinion. It's almost better, imo, to make it a
freedom of speech protected issue rather than try to determine or judge
which tattoos are "disruptive".

> Yeah, that's not all Lexington districts have tried to control...

:o/

> > Bingham recently heard from an elementary school parent complaining a
> > teacher showed off a new tattoo to a class.

> Who gives a shit if someone doesn't like tattoos? Maybe some of them don't
> like beer bellies, or fat asses, so should fat people be banned from
> teaching?

I think the key phrase or the issue here would include "a teacher
showed off a new tattoo in a class." Was that in the teacher's
curriculum? Lesson plan included sharing a new tattoo with students?

I'm all for entertaining students as well as opening yourself up to or
sharing yourself with your students if it relates to whatever we're
studying, but I can easily see the point of view that an adult showing
a tattoo to their class would be inappropriate. I have a tattoo on my
left shoulder blade. When would children see that? Likewise the tattoo
on my left hip. Not happening. Even my calf. How often do I wear shorts
to school? Not happening.

> > School board members launched the exploration of a tattoo policy at a
> > meeting last week.
> > "We need to do something with tattoos now," school board member
> > Glen Conwell said at the meeting, citing a new law allowing tattoo
> > parlors in South Carolina. "They're going to be here before you
> > know it."

A teacher can be an incredible influence on students. I got my first
tattoo after I'd reached age 35. I'm not interested in being the person
who makes getting a tattoo acceptable. Obviously, I don't find anything
offensive about tattoos, but I don't want that responsibility. Let some
other adult influence student acceptance of tattoos. I'll do my best to
encourage students to be accepting in general. From there, they can
make their own choices on a wide range of activities and issues.

> > "The school district has a responsibility to provide an atmosphere at
> > school that's conducive to learning," Thompson said. "The school
> > district also has a responsibility to not infringe upon the rights of
> > (students), teachers and other adults."

There's a conflict brewing right there.

> > "I guess it depends on what the tattoo is," Smoak said. "If
> > somebody had a rose on their ankle, that probably wouldn't
> > bother me."
> > /thestate
>
> A tattoo is a tattoo. Shouldn't matter what it is, imo.

Hmm. Here's where I become a kindasorta censor. There are images that
I'd find offensive. Still, it should be a personal choice - a person's
design selection.

> > South Carolina's tattoo parlor ban was lifted March 24. Here are some
> > rules parlors must follow:
> >
> > - A tattoo artist cannot tattoo the head, neck or face of another
> > person.
> > - A person who is 18, 19 or 20 years old must have parental permission
> > to get a tattoo.
> > - A tattoo parlor will not be granted a license if it is within 1,000
> > feet of a church, school or playground.
>
> Yeah, we all think it's stupid that a kid can go off to die in war, but not
> get a tattoo w/out mom's permission.

Agreed. Otoh, if you're under their roof then I'd hope you'd respect
their rules or wishes.

> They left out another stupid rule: Tattooing is not allowed in a piercing
> shop.

That does seem odd.

--

yttrx wrote:
[...]

> Its not like you didnt have a choice to get tattooed,
> now is it?

[...]

yttrx, meet Hillary Snyder.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...080801110.html

aka http://tinyurl.com/k6tdp

--
Curt
http://curtjames.com/