I dyed part of my hair green tonight. I’d kind of been getting the itch to have unusual colors in my hair again, and since right now is one of the last times that I will be able to do that without having to think about what other people with think of me, why not? I started thinking about it though, and why should things like hair color, tattoos or piercings not be something that teachers can have?

I’m a big fan of different people contributing different perspectives to a well rounded curriculum, and having only people with no visible tattoos or piercings, and who use dyes that are within the spectrum of “natural” hair colors doesn’t seem to lend itself to as diverse a group of people as we could be having to teach our youth.

I understand the inclination to want someone you know you can trust to be teaching your children, and that for a long time the idea of someone trustworthy was someone just like you, but things are changing. People are starting to understand that their chosen aesthetic does not automatically put someone into a specific category. Someone who is covered in tattoos or has different colored hair is not automatically some sort freak who will only lead children into devil worship, drugs and alcohol.

Hopefully these ideas are changing rapidly enough that I might be able to get the tattoo that I’d like on my wrist and not have to constantly wear bracelets while at work. It’s a phonetic symbol for crying out loud, is that not completely appropriate for an English teacher?