A few months ago I had an opportunity to read an editorial "A modified teacher's dilemma" which I found very interesting. As an avid reader of QOD I could also see that the issue of the modified teachers was raised there recently. Due to location and nationality of many readers of this website there is abundance of material from the U.S. and Canada here. As a modified person and as a teacher who currently lives in Poland I decided to add my opinion concerning the issue of the modified teachers. Hopefully, it can add more insight to this subject.
At A Glance Author Ania Contact [email protected] IAM deadly pale When It just happened Location Poland Till now I only heard and read about discrimination of the modified and blind hatred toward them. Of course, as a relatively modified person (retired multiple ear piercings, tongue, multiple navel, eyebrow, arms, wrists and chest tattoos, scars on forearms) I experienced some of these boring "why-did-you-do-that-to-yourself" or "did-it-hurt" questions but it is quite bearable and - as I am sure you know - sometimes even funny. But today I experienced something so unbelievable to me, that I still have to pinch myself to realize that it is, indeed, true.
Since September I work as an English teacher in a small Polish town. It is my first full time job and , although I hold MA's in history and anthropology of culture, I decided to take this job to get some experience and learn something new about people. And I have learned a lot.
The principal of this school knew about my modifications right from the beginning as, while talking to him for the first time, I was wearing sleeve less black dress and I had my piercings on. As an anthropologist I was taught to respect other people's rules therefore I asked whether they have any dress code for teachers. As it turned out, they have never had any modified teacher before, therefore they did not have to consider such a question. We both agreed that I should not wear my eyebrow piercing during classes and I was hired. I stuck to this agreement and I always use "fishing line surviving method" when I am at work.
At first I did not think about covering my tattoos as I wanted my students to become more open-minded toward people who differ from them. The town where I am working is very small and I am teaching many kids from adjacent villages. Their parents are usually poor, uneducated and afraid of new things. After some time I noticed that my tattoos usually distracted my students. The kids kept asking questions about pain factor, what my tattoos mean etc. therefore I decided to wear long sleeved shirts. As for my quite large wrists tattoos I always cover them with wrist bands. The point is that I did not hide my modifications because I wanted my students to see and to get used to the fact that there are people who differ from them but still can be good human beings.
Today I was approached by one of my students' mother who wanted to talk about her son's progress in my class and his grades. Her very first words, after greeting me, were "You don't look as terribly as I heard." I am sure you can all imagine my astonishment at such a statement. And then she started explaining her words. As it turned out, at the very first parents' night most parents of the kids from one of the class groups I teach did not want me to teach their kids as they were afraid of a bad influence I could have on them. The most surprising thing is that no one came to see me (or maybe to SEE me)or to talk with me about their fears. They did not bother to do that but they took some pains to talk about my potential bad influence on their kids. This parents' night took place a few months ago and, as I learned about it only today, they did not do anything except talking bad things about me behind my back, without even seeing me or trying to get to know me.
My work is hard and I am rather sure that it does not differ much from work of many American or Canadian teachers. After all I lived in the U.S. and I read newspapers and books devoted to teaching and how to deal with aggression among students. Most of my students come from a very poor (both in financial and cultural regard) background. Every day I am forced to listen to abusive words they use, every day I have to repeat them the same simple things about the language and almost every day I have to deal with cheating which is, I am really sorry to admit that, very common in Polish schools and no one really tries to fight it off. Right from the beginning I tried to teach my students not only English grammar but also good manners and using "magical words". And it works. At first they laughed at me when I used such expressions as "please", "I'm sorry" or "thank you". But, little by little, many of them started doing that as well. Today one of my students said "f#*k" aloud. I ask ed him for not using such words and he said "I am sorry" immediately. Believe me, this is a big change.
Yes, maybe I have a bad influence on these kids because I show them how to behave properly and how to be polite. Yes, maybe I have a bad influence on them because I am try to convince them that cheating is bad. And yes, maybe I have a bad influence on them because I am telling them the truth when they are asking me whether I drank alcohol, tried drugs or smoked. My answer to such questions is "yes" because I did it all but ,at the same time, I stress out how dangerous it can be and how boring it becomes after a while. I am a living example of a modified person who does not drink at all, does not take any drugs and does not smoke. I am a modified young woman who joggs to stay healthy and works hard to improve my skills and knowledge on various issues. I am a modified person who has a very good education, reads in three foreign languages and spends her free time on reading books instead of boosing or watching meaningless soap operas.If this is a bad influence, then yes, I am g uilty and I should not work as a teacher.
I also have a few students whom I am giving private lessons. I do not teach them in the school where I am working, of course. Their parents know me and they always see me with my eyebrow ring (no "fishing line surviving strategy" after work is my own private rule :>) and they still allow me to teach their kids. In fact, one of my private students waited two months for lessons with me as I was to busy then to tutor him. No one raised a question of any potential bad influence here.
When I got home today I was really upset and felt terribly for a long while. But after some heavy thinking I realized that , paradoxically, today's experience can make me stronger. Finally I felt the burden and pain of discrimination directed toward the modified and, even I felt so bad today, I also realized that I am not alone. I am not a very active member of IAM yet but I feel a member of this community. I fell in love with BME almost at first reading but now it got even deeper dimension.
What is the main point of my text? I think that we, as the modified teachers, are needed by schools, even desperately. If schools have their dress codes, we will be the best people to deal with rebellious students as we know, better that any principal, pros and cons of body modifications. We know and are forced to face, on daily basis, such issues as hygiene, social acceptance or its lack, and feeling regret or joy toward our mods. Suit-clad principals and close-minded teachers or school counselors can talk to kids about dangers and risks of body modifications but the truth is that they know nothing and most of them do not even try to learn anything about this issue. Modified teachers can be more convincing and can ease students' pain and embitterment caused by their school dress code. We are on the other side and we set a good example of the modified who are not renegades or criminals.
Let me stress this out. I have never regretted and I will never regret my decision about modifying myself. There are a few things I am rather proud of and my modifications are one of them. Shannon Larratt is right - we should fight and show these close-minded people that we are better than them. As for me, I am on my way - I am well educated, I am straight edge, I am ambitious and hard working, and - above all - I am also modified and I really do not look that bad. And the more they look down on me and point out my different looks, the more I want to be a better employer and a better and more modified person.
Thank you for reading it. And thank you for being out there, all over the globe, and letting me know that I am not alone. If you have any comments or similar experiences which you would like to share, you can reach me at my IAM page (although it is still under construction) or write me via e-mail.