Posted on 03/18/2006 11:33:22 PM PST by MRMEAN
There was no hesitation when preschool teacher Alex Campbell began the process of filling her lower leg with a bright orange koi swimming in a blue pond of labyrinthine waves. The intricate tattoo is not hidden under schoolmarm tights or practical slacks; instead it has become part of the lesson plan in her class at Corner Co-op Nursery School in Brookline.
Campbell's students followed the process of their teacher getting a tattoo firsthand -- or as close as a 4-year-old can get to firsthand without stepping into a tattoo parlor. They talked about sketching, needles, and, most importantly, not touching Campbell's leg the day after she was tattooed.
Campbell, who seldom wore skirts before getting her calf tattooed, has switched over to a wardrobe that is far more skirt-friendly to display her pricey body art. Her next step is getting a full arm tattoo (those in the know refer to a full arm tattoo as a sleeve).
''I asked a few parents about how they'd feel about a teacher with tattoos on her arm, and they were fine with it," the 37-year-old Brookline resident says.
As tattooing reaches a mainstream crest thanks to shows such as ''Miami Ink," ''Inked," and even ''Meet the Barkers" and ''Prison Break," professionals such as Campbell are bringing more elaborate -- and more visible -- body art into the workplace. For Campbell, the tattoos were a non-issue at school, and even became a teaching tool that resonated with the tykes in her class. In the current tattoo-friendly climate, a number of white collar professionals are finding that body art is a helpful tool at the office -- a way to give a subtle nod and a wink to co-workers or clients that they run with a crowd that owns the new Arctic Monkeys CD ...
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
"Johnny will leave this system at age 18 unable to do multiplication, division, or read anything longer than a highway sign. But he'll know all about tattoos, interesting and unusual sexual habits, and will be socialized to the level of civic responsibility of a Hobbesian state-of-nature savage, and unprepared to fulfill any role in society, save that of welfare recipient or petty criminal."
"Thank you for your confidence in the Boston schools. Have a nice day."
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
I don't understand the appeal of tattoos. Same goes for all the body-piercing that is going on these days. Why would somebody want to permanently mutilate their body?
Is that lifted from Steven Wright, the comedian?
That sounds similar to a Church of Scientology auditing session where they promise to remove the body Thetans from you and charge you a lot to do so.
I'd rather find an inventor to fund who is just this close to patenting a tattoo ink that can be made invisible with 5 minutes of exposure to a specifice sound frequency or wavelength of light.
Eraseable, "permanent" tattoos, a sure money-maker
So she has one, and it's visible. Fine. But I don't need my four-year-old getting a step-by-step lesson in tattoo "art."
Don't be surprised if she not also will teach them how to put on a condom!??!
probably. It is a fad. Time will pass and these gals will be having them removed.
Tattoos are no longer a mark of individuality but conformance. The truly rebellious youth will keep his flesh pristine.
Well put, and I agree.
Do the world a favor. Don't have kids.
What a positively awful thing to say.
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That was precisely my response to your post.
I read this thread, mysterio, and I agree with you. That truly was an awful thing to say. Those who think they are high 'n mighty usually tend to be lower 'n weak. ;)
Sorta looks like the koi is humping her leg.
Well, I guess I have been a tactless jerk in the past when responding to someone with a different opinion, so I can't fault you for being the same.
I do not think your comment is tactless. I think it is dangerously nieve. Cutting and scarring does no damage to 4 yr olds! You lack any understanding of childhood trauma.
"Do not ... put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord." - Leviticus 19:28
We aren't talking about kids self-mutilating.
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That is precisely what we are talking about. The teacher explains about the needles, the pain, the sensitivity, etc etc. I guarantee you there are children sticking themselves with needles as a result of this goulish show and tell.
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