Post by title1parent on Sept 27, 2009 5:50:33 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1792997,2_1_AU27_TATTOOS_S1-090927.article
Classroom ink
Local school dress codes don't mention tattoos. So, then does anything go?
Comments
September 27, 2009
By ERIKA WURST ewurst@scn1.com
Scott Parillo's passion for history has literally bled from his arms.
The Kaneland High School teacher's affection for the subject shines through clearly as he stands in front of his class of juniors gushing about the invention of barbed wire like it was the coolest thing on Earth. And for a second, you want to believe him.
"You need to keep kids interested," he said. "If you don't do that, it's going to be one long year."
After 13 years of honing his craft, Parillo has proven himself as not only a worthy teacher, department chairman and varsity soccer coach, but a man of "Xtreme" passion.
"(Scott) is a dynamite instructor," Assistant Principal Ian Smith said of the educator. "The kids love him, he's a great team player and he's a joy to watch in action."
And, the tattoos?
"He has tattoos?" Smith said with a grin and chuckle. "Where does he hide them?"
Parillo doesn't hide his body art -- and the school district isn't about to make him.
"(Tattoos) are an exercise of free speech and we don't want to restrict or limit that -- provided nothing lewd or offensive is on display," Smith said of his school's policy.
According to a 2006 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center about half -- 54 percent -- of men and women ages 18 to 24 either have gotten a tattoo, dyed their hair an nontraditional color or had a body piercing in a place other than their ear lobe.
"Tattoos are a lot more commonplace than they were 10 years ago," Smith said.
History on his sleeves
Peeking out the sleeves of his blue polo shirt, Parillo's tattoos starkly contrast the normality of his khaki pants and graying beard. The 40-year-old teacher, husband and father of two teens would look just like any other educator roaming the Kaneland halls without his tattoos, which is really the reason he got them.
"I've always been a rebel," he said, thinking back to his Geneva High School years when his now short hair ran down his back.
These days, Parillo's rebellion is spoken through the colorful drawings on his arms.
Underneath his sleeves hide the permanent portrait of a Native American chief. On his left bicep, Uncle Sam rips through the American flag and a ghost of the Revolutionary War lurks eerily below. From his shoulders to his wrists, Parillo's body illustrates the Civil War and World War II, and Medieval, Native American and Egyptian cultures.
"I had no idea," Parillo's history student Eric Quigley said with wide eyes when asked about his teacher's ink. "I thought they were about music or bands or something. It really shows he has a passion for what he does."
Indeed. It took the teacher 35 years before he spent his first session under the needle. The decision was not one he took lightly.
Although his "showmanship" has inspired many of his students to inquire about the art, Parillo said he can't impress enough the importance of their permanency.
"My wife thinks I'm an idiot," Parillo said with a chuckle. "But we've been married 20 years now, so she tolerates it."
School districts, however, don't have to be so accepting.
Few district standards
Last year, the Missouri Board of Education banned visible tattoos on its educators. Illinois' policy isn't so strict. It's up to individual districts to deem what indicates appropriate attire, and many of their policies don't address tattoos at all.
"There's no board policy about dress code for teachers," said St. Charles School District Communications Director Jim Blaney. "We ask that teachers dress appropriate for the workplace and that if they do have tattoos that they don't disrupt the educational environment."
Oswego's policy is similar.
"Our expectation is for people to remain professionally dressed at all times," said Kristy Kuntz, executive director of human resource services for the district. To date, the policy has worked well,
"No problems (regarding tattooed teachers) has ever come to my attention," she noted.
And while teachers in Geneva have a staff dress and grooming code to follow, it mentions nothing of tattoos -- nor do policies in the East and West Aurora school districts.
'Mystery' for students
If Missouri's "no show" policy was to be instituted locally, some teachers, like East Aurora's Matt Harding, would likely pack up and head elsewhere.
Despite his long-sleeve daily attire, Harding's skull and cross-boned wrist occasionally makes an appearance -- as would the tattoos on about 36 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds getting ready to enter the work force, and 40 percent of 26- to 40-year-olds already there, according to the Pew Research Center study results.
Harding falls into this second age category. The Cowherd Middle School teacher has more than 30 tattoos covering his 31-year-old frame. His dad got him his first one at just 17.
Today, his ink ranges from a portrait of his daughter as a werewolf, to flamingos and leopard print.
Harding's brother, who also teaches in the East Aurora district, and his wife Cynthia, a preschool teacher in Oswego, are just as decorated.
"I wear long sleeves during the year," Harding said, although during the last couple of weeks of class he'll open his arms up for questioning.
"It remains a mystery until then," he said.
"I just don't want it to become a distraction to their education," Harding said of his decision to stay covered. "It's not like anyone told me I had to."
The East Aurora School District doesn't have a strict policy gauging educator appearance. West Aurora has no policy addressing tattooed teachers, either, although employees are asked to use common sense when they dress for work.
Talent top priority
Even on curriculum night, when parents descend upon the building, there's little said about Harding's appearance.
"If anyone's had a problem, they've never said it to my face," he said. "I actually get grief more at my second job as a part-time server at Pizza Hut than I've ever gotten in education."
And the students? They seem to enjoy their teacher's unconventional antics.
"I have a Mohawk now, too," Harding said while taking his lunch break last week. And the new 'do is thanks to last year's students, who Harding agreed to let choose his hairstyle if 70 percent of them passed their standardized tests.
When 73 percent made the grade, Harding's hair made the transition, and administrators aren't about to complain.
"I was straightforward with them when I went for my interview," he said. "I said up front, 'I have full sleeves, is that an issue?' and they said they were more concerned about my teaching skills."
"When you see Matt, you see a teacher who puts his all into his lessons, and beyond the classroom," said Harding's co-worker and friend, East Aurora spokesman Clayton Muhammad. "He's the type of teacher that becomes not only a mentor, but a guide and a coach."
"He puts his heart and soul into the kids," Muhammad said. "... You can always rely on him to get the job done."
Classroom ink
Local school dress codes don't mention tattoos. So, then does anything go?
Comments
September 27, 2009
By ERIKA WURST ewurst@scn1.com
Scott Parillo's passion for history has literally bled from his arms.
The Kaneland High School teacher's affection for the subject shines through clearly as he stands in front of his class of juniors gushing about the invention of barbed wire like it was the coolest thing on Earth. And for a second, you want to believe him.
"You need to keep kids interested," he said. "If you don't do that, it's going to be one long year."
After 13 years of honing his craft, Parillo has proven himself as not only a worthy teacher, department chairman and varsity soccer coach, but a man of "Xtreme" passion.
"(Scott) is a dynamite instructor," Assistant Principal Ian Smith said of the educator. "The kids love him, he's a great team player and he's a joy to watch in action."
And, the tattoos?
"He has tattoos?" Smith said with a grin and chuckle. "Where does he hide them?"
Parillo doesn't hide his body art -- and the school district isn't about to make him.
"(Tattoos) are an exercise of free speech and we don't want to restrict or limit that -- provided nothing lewd or offensive is on display," Smith said of his school's policy.
According to a 2006 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center about half -- 54 percent -- of men and women ages 18 to 24 either have gotten a tattoo, dyed their hair an nontraditional color or had a body piercing in a place other than their ear lobe.
"Tattoos are a lot more commonplace than they were 10 years ago," Smith said.
History on his sleeves
Peeking out the sleeves of his blue polo shirt, Parillo's tattoos starkly contrast the normality of his khaki pants and graying beard. The 40-year-old teacher, husband and father of two teens would look just like any other educator roaming the Kaneland halls without his tattoos, which is really the reason he got them.
"I've always been a rebel," he said, thinking back to his Geneva High School years when his now short hair ran down his back.
These days, Parillo's rebellion is spoken through the colorful drawings on his arms.
Underneath his sleeves hide the permanent portrait of a Native American chief. On his left bicep, Uncle Sam rips through the American flag and a ghost of the Revolutionary War lurks eerily below. From his shoulders to his wrists, Parillo's body illustrates the Civil War and World War II, and Medieval, Native American and Egyptian cultures.
"I had no idea," Parillo's history student Eric Quigley said with wide eyes when asked about his teacher's ink. "I thought they were about music or bands or something. It really shows he has a passion for what he does."
Indeed. It took the teacher 35 years before he spent his first session under the needle. The decision was not one he took lightly.
Although his "showmanship" has inspired many of his students to inquire about the art, Parillo said he can't impress enough the importance of their permanency.
"My wife thinks I'm an idiot," Parillo said with a chuckle. "But we've been married 20 years now, so she tolerates it."
School districts, however, don't have to be so accepting.
Few district standards
Last year, the Missouri Board of Education banned visible tattoos on its educators. Illinois' policy isn't so strict. It's up to individual districts to deem what indicates appropriate attire, and many of their policies don't address tattoos at all.
"There's no board policy about dress code for teachers," said St. Charles School District Communications Director Jim Blaney. "We ask that teachers dress appropriate for the workplace and that if they do have tattoos that they don't disrupt the educational environment."
Oswego's policy is similar.
"Our expectation is for people to remain professionally dressed at all times," said Kristy Kuntz, executive director of human resource services for the district. To date, the policy has worked well,
"No problems (regarding tattooed teachers) has ever come to my attention," she noted.
And while teachers in Geneva have a staff dress and grooming code to follow, it mentions nothing of tattoos -- nor do policies in the East and West Aurora school districts.
'Mystery' for students
If Missouri's "no show" policy was to be instituted locally, some teachers, like East Aurora's Matt Harding, would likely pack up and head elsewhere.
Despite his long-sleeve daily attire, Harding's skull and cross-boned wrist occasionally makes an appearance -- as would the tattoos on about 36 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds getting ready to enter the work force, and 40 percent of 26- to 40-year-olds already there, according to the Pew Research Center study results.
Harding falls into this second age category. The Cowherd Middle School teacher has more than 30 tattoos covering his 31-year-old frame. His dad got him his first one at just 17.
Today, his ink ranges from a portrait of his daughter as a werewolf, to flamingos and leopard print.
Harding's brother, who also teaches in the East Aurora district, and his wife Cynthia, a preschool teacher in Oswego, are just as decorated.
"I wear long sleeves during the year," Harding said, although during the last couple of weeks of class he'll open his arms up for questioning.
"It remains a mystery until then," he said.
"I just don't want it to become a distraction to their education," Harding said of his decision to stay covered. "It's not like anyone told me I had to."
The East Aurora School District doesn't have a strict policy gauging educator appearance. West Aurora has no policy addressing tattooed teachers, either, although employees are asked to use common sense when they dress for work.
Talent top priority
Even on curriculum night, when parents descend upon the building, there's little said about Harding's appearance.
"If anyone's had a problem, they've never said it to my face," he said. "I actually get grief more at my second job as a part-time server at Pizza Hut than I've ever gotten in education."
And the students? They seem to enjoy their teacher's unconventional antics.
"I have a Mohawk now, too," Harding said while taking his lunch break last week. And the new 'do is thanks to last year's students, who Harding agreed to let choose his hairstyle if 70 percent of them passed their standardized tests.
When 73 percent made the grade, Harding's hair made the transition, and administrators aren't about to complain.
"I was straightforward with them when I went for my interview," he said. "I said up front, 'I have full sleeves, is that an issue?' and they said they were more concerned about my teaching skills."
"When you see Matt, you see a teacher who puts his all into his lessons, and beyond the classroom," said Harding's co-worker and friend, East Aurora spokesman Clayton Muhammad. "He's the type of teacher that becomes not only a mentor, but a guide and a coach."
"He puts his heart and soul into the kids," Muhammad said. "... You can always rely on him to get the job done."