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Post by Skellinton on Sept 28, 2020 22:02:10 GMT
I saw this article on CNN and was just wondering what you all thought. In some respect I think the man is correct that people should look past people’s appearances before judging them, but on the other hand this was a choice this man made and it is understandable that it might frighten small children. There were years in Pre-K I wouldn’t wear clothes with Jack on them (before NBC became as popular as it is now) because kids said he was scary. What do you all think? www.cnn.com/2020/09/28/europe/sylvain-helaine-tattoo-teaching-job-scli-intl/index.html
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scrappyesq
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 26, 2014 19:29:07 GMT
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Post by scrappyesq on Sept 28, 2020 22:06:29 GMT
He looks awful for employment anywhere other than his own business. I have tattoos so I'm not even speaking from the perspective of a tattoo hater.
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SabrinaP
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 26, 2014 12:16:22 GMT
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Post by SabrinaP on Sept 28, 2020 22:15:21 GMT
The title is misleading unless I misread it said he was moved to teaching older kids, not fired. I can see both sides to this, but ultimately the school does have a right to enforce a dress code.
I can’t get over the fact that he had the whites of his eyes surgically altered to black. I didn’t even know you could do that!
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Post by birukitty on Sept 28, 2020 22:20:32 GMT
Before I opened the article and looked at his photo I thought it was wrong. But once I saw his photo-I understand the decision. He was told he couldn't work with small children (he scared a 3 year old so much the child had nightmares), and I think that was the right decision. He is allowed to work with primary school children-I think 6 and up although the article didn't make it clear. That makes much more sense to me although here in the USA I think he'd be lucky to get a job in any school system.
Tattoos are permanent. You choose to add art to your body and of course it's your own choice. But I don't think you can then go and blame certain jobs for not hiring you when you tattoo to this extreme. Check out the photo-his face and head are tattooed and he changed the whites of his eyes to black.
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michellegb
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Jun 26, 2014 0:04:59 GMT
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Post by michellegb on Sept 28, 2020 22:21:39 GMT
I think he could be quite scary to little children looking like that. I also think his employment options are going to be limited going forward. I am all for personal freedom, but there are sometimes consequences that you don't always foresee.
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lizacreates
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Aug 29, 2015 2:39:19 GMT
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Post by lizacreates on Sept 28, 2020 22:22:53 GMT
Same. We’re talking about six-year-olds. Of course they’d be frightened. There are many ways of teaching little kids about accepting others who are different without scaring the beejesus out of them.
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Post by Skellinton on Sept 28, 2020 22:23:12 GMT
The title is misleading unless I misread it said he was moved to teaching older kids, not fired. I can see both sides to this, but ultimately the school does have a right to enforce a dress code. I can’t get over the fact that he had the whites of his eyes surgically altered to black. I didn’t even know you could do that! I changed the title, I was using the title I originally saw and he was essentially fired from his Kindergarten class, but I did change it. I agree that they can enforce any old dress code they like, I was just wondering if they should have or not.
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julie5
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Post by julie5 on Sept 28, 2020 22:25:48 GMT
He looks awful for employment anywhere other than his own business. I have tattoos so I'm not even speaking from the perspective of a tattoo hater. 100 percent.
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Post by MichyM on Sept 28, 2020 22:27:36 GMT
Before I opened the article and looked at his photo I thought it was wrong. But once I saw his photo-I understand the decision. He was told he couldn't work with small children (he scared a 3 year old so much the child had nightmares), and I think that was the right decision. He is allowed to work with primary school children-I think 6 and up although the article didn't make it clear. That makes much more sense to me although here in the USA I think he'd be lucky to get a job in any school system. Tattoos are permanent. You choose to add art to your body and of course it's your own choice. But I don't think you can then go and blame certain jobs for not hiring you when you tattoo to this extreme. Check out the photo-his face and head are tattooed and he changed the whites of his eyes to black. I thought it was going to be something, well, not what the photo actually depicted. I can see how small children (even older children and adults) might be frightened by him. He chose to alter his appearance of his own free will. Now I guess he'll need to live with the consequences of that decision. He could be the very best and nicest teacher anywhere. However his appearance is always going to make someone squirm.
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Post by mom on Sept 28, 2020 22:28:56 GMT
The tattoos were his choice and choices have consequences that we sometimes dont think about.
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johnnysmom
Drama Llama
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Jun 25, 2014 21:16:33 GMT
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Post by johnnysmom on Sept 28, 2020 22:28:57 GMT
Sorry but I side with the school, that’s just not acceptable IMO. I’m not even that old but I’ve worked many jobs that required all tattoos to be covered by clothing or bandaids. I get that tattoos are more mainstream now but still.....
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Sept 28, 2020 22:30:08 GMT
Same. We’re talking about six-year-olds. Of course they’d be frightened. There are many ways of teaching little kids about accepting others who are different without scaring the beejesus out of them. I think it was the parent of a three year old not even in his class that made the complaint, because the three year old saw him and had nightmares. Which makes sense, because a three year old isn't being judgmental, they just don't have anywhere NEAR the life skills or context of, you know, the whole freaking universe, to understand what they see when they see a person with alterations like that gentleman. They just see that it's different and feel scared because they don't understand and can't process and don't have the vocabulary to even express what's scary. That's not a three year old's fault.
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kate
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Jun 26, 2014 3:30:05 GMT
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Post by kate on Sept 28, 2020 22:31:30 GMT
That would have scared me to death as an elementary kid. I don't know how I feel about his being moved to upper grades - on one hand, it does seem unfair, especially if his passion is working with the younger students. OTOH, he made a choice to have an extreme appearance... I dunno.
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Post by smalltowngirlie on Sept 28, 2020 22:33:12 GMT
So the last paragraph of the article. How are the kids racist and homophobic because his tattoos are out right scary.
I love the artistry of tattoos, but what he has is too much and it has nothing to do with racism and someone’s sexuality.
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peabay
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Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on Sept 28, 2020 22:41:23 GMT
He can do whatever he wants - his body, his choice. But choices have consequences. We may not like them, may not agree with them, but they do.
And, I'm old. I'm not sure I understand this particular form of self-expression. Can anyone enlighten me?
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Sept 28, 2020 22:41:42 GMT
So the last paragraph of the article. How are the kids racist and homophobic because his tattoos are out right scary. I love the artistry of tattoos, but what he has is too much and it has nothing to do with racism and someone’s sexuality. That isn't how I interpreted that paragraph. I took it to mean that he hoped that by having someone who was "different from the norm" as their teacher/mentor/authority figure/trusted adult from a young age, that when they grow up, "they will be less racist and less homophobic and more open-minded" because they will already have experience accepting and understanding those who are different.
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Post by Skellinton on Sept 28, 2020 22:41:47 GMT
So the last paragraph of the article. How are the kids racist and homophobic because his tattoos are out right scary. I love the artistry of tattoos, but what he has is too much and it has nothing to do with racism and someone’s sexuality. I thought that was a weird statement. I couldn’t really make the connection myself, but then I have never been discriminated against because of my skin or sexuality, so I wasn’t sure if it was a valid connection or not.
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Post by littlemama on Sept 28, 2020 22:49:08 GMT
He made his choice about what to do with his body and now he has to live with the consequences of that choice. Im a little surprised that he is able to teach at all, honestly.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Sept 28, 2020 22:51:38 GMT
Same. We’re talking about six-year-olds. Of course they’d be frightened. There are many ways of teaching little kids about accepting others who are different without scaring the beejesus out of them. I think it was the parent of a three year old not even in his class that made the complaint, because the three year old saw him and had nightmares. Which makes sense, because a three year old isn't being judgmental, they just don't have anywhere NEAR the life skills or context of, you know, the whole freaking universe, to understand what they see when they see a person with alterations like that gentleman. They just see that it's different and feel scared because they don't understand and can't process and don't have the vocabulary to even express what's scary. That's not a three year old's fault. I agree with that. Maybe if the kids in his class get to know him, and learn that he's nice, despite the somewhat-scary appearance? but a young child seeing him without the context? yeah, scary. I don't think tattoos in GENERAL are enough to cause you to lose your employment, but this guy definitely is a bit over-the-top. With the tattooing the whites of his eyes, too, that definitely makes someone's appearance more 'scary' because it's just not what we expect when seeing someone's face. eta: It sounds like he has an addiction to tattooing, actually: "He said he started getting tattoos at the age of 27 when, while teaching at a private school in London, he had an "existential crisis". Since then, he said, "Getting tattoos is my passion."
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Post by birukitty on Sept 28, 2020 22:55:42 GMT
So the last paragraph of the article. How are the kids racist and homophobic because his tattoos are out right scary. I love the artistry of tattoos, but what he has is too much and it has nothing to do with racism and someone’s sexuality. That isn't how I interpreted that paragraph. I took it to mean that he hoped that by having someone who was "different from the norm" as their teacher/mentor/authority figure/trusted adult from a young age, that when they grow up, "they will be less racist and less homophobic and more open-minded" because they will already have experience accepting and understanding those who are different. This is exactly how I interpreted that paragraph too.
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Post by sam9 on Sept 28, 2020 23:04:59 GMT
If the whites of his eyes are black, then I might be afraid of him also. That’s extreme by almost anyone’s standards. Honestly, I just don’t understand why he would have done that.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Sept 28, 2020 23:10:32 GMT
I think they were incredibly generous to move him instead of firing him.
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Post by Skellinton on Sept 28, 2020 23:12:30 GMT
So the last paragraph of the article. How are the kids racist and homophobic because his tattoos are out right scary. I love the artistry of tattoos, but what he has is too much and it has nothing to do with racism and someone’s sexuality. That isn't how I interpreted that paragraph. I took it to mean that he hoped that by having someone who was "different from the norm" as their teacher/mentor/authority figure/trusted adult from a young age, that when they grow up, "they will be less racist and less homophobic and more open-minded" because they will already have experience accepting and understanding those who are different. Thank you for explaining that, that does make sense.
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paigepea
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Jun 26, 2014 4:28:55 GMT
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Post by paigepea on Sept 28, 2020 23:16:47 GMT
I agree that bodily changes like that have consequences. He is definitely on the extreme end of tattoos / body alterations.
Perhaps he’s ahead of his time - having his eye whites turned black 🤷♀️🤷♀️ - but right now if he wants a mainstream job working with children he might have to be less extreme. I’m sure he’s a nice guy, I just don’t know what he’s trying to express with his eyes. It is a far stretch from teaching kids to not be scared of people who are different from them to this guy — he really seems like he’s going for shock.
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Post by librarylady on Sept 28, 2020 23:17:28 GMT
I am an adult and his appearance is off putting to me. I am surprised he made it past HR in the first place.
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Post by mollycoddle on Sept 28, 2020 23:18:23 GMT
There are 6 year olds who would be frightened by his appearance, and I am surprised that this did not occur to him. So IMO moving him was the right thing to do.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Sept 28, 2020 23:19:39 GMT
it sounds like he has an addiction to tattooing, to me. is it hurting anyone else? no... but it sounds like an addiction, just the same.
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Deleted
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Mar 28, 2024 12:14:29 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2020 23:30:27 GMT
I just saw a show with this same guy on it. They covered up all his tats with makeup and he was quite good looking except for his creepy black eyes. They were spooky and unnatural and I could easily see how, paired with his head-to-toe tattoos, he could scare children.
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Post by AussieMeg on Sept 28, 2020 23:43:59 GMT
I was ready to be annoyed that a school had moved a man from his kinder class because of a few arm tattoos. Then I opened the link and WOAH, I understand 100% why they didn't want him teaching little children. Like Darcy Collins said, he's lucky that they only moved him instead of firing him. Existential crisis notwithstanding, he must have known the tattoos were going to cause a problem. One of the teachers at my kids' high school (private school, so a lot stricter rules) had to wear a long sleeved rashie to the school swimming carnivals each year because he had a tattoo on one arm. There is no way a teacher at my kids' school would be allowed to keep their job looking like that French teacher.
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Post by femalebusiness on Sept 28, 2020 23:48:17 GMT
He needs to get a job in a carnival side show or acting in horror films. He made his choice and now he needs to man up and deal with it.
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