Daughter got tattoo on a high school trip to Belieze

[jen7]

You are a cool mom.

[soraya]

Am I the only one that doesn't think this is that bad? ...

A lot of people probably have stories like this about their first tattoo, and so yes, in some ways it is probably not horrible.

BUT...It's one thing if you are underage and you are able to pass yourself off as being 18, or the tattoo artist just doesn't care about age. The only only participants in the deception are the customer and the artist.

What bothers me is the complicity of the teacher. Their involvement was way over the line. It doesn't matter if the tattoo is good or bad. It doesn't matter if a 17 year old getting a tattoo is a big deal or not. We expect teachers to take care of our kids and adhere to a higher standard of care that the kid might exercise on herself. The FaceBook permission scheme was incredibly naive, and then he didn't even follow through with that, instead taking the girl's word that her mom approved, which was shockingly poor judgement.

...in Belize it might not be necessary for a minor to have parental permission to get a tattoo...

Doesn't matter to me. The teacher should be following the rules/norms of the home country, and MORE IMPORTANTLY, the expectations of the minor child's parent. This person should be fired or severely reprimanded by the school.

[AuntTudie]

You are a cool mom.

I feel very uncool at the moment.

[Colored Guy]

That teacher needs to be hung up by the balls. Did you make a stink through the school board? This is your best route if you want to be sure this nut never chaperones a school trip again. In my district, he would be out of a job. Clearly a display of poor judgement on his part, which the school is responsible for.

[Boiled Dove]

I don't think the tattoo is all that mad. My first tattoos were way worse. I hope all the blood work comes out clean but I would let her wear it until she decides it needs to change. It is a first tattoo and that is a landmark moment. I wore my, really really bad, first tattoo for over 20 years before I just could not take it anymore and covered it up.

[pidjones]

At a MINIMUM the teacher should pay for all blood work and doctor visits associated. These aren't always cheap or covered by insurance. Teachers make mistakes too, but they need to learn their lessons from them. Then, the girl should pay for any future improvement out of her pocket to impress the lesson on her.

[rufio]

So howd it go at the hospital with the blood testing?

[Reyeslv]

My 17 year old went on a trip to Believe with EF Tours through her high school. She came back with a shit tattoo. Before the trip we had several meetings with the teacher in charge. We had to sign a waiver if we allowed our 18+ year old to drink on the trip since in Belieze that is the legal age.

There was no discussion about getting tattoos, only temporary Henna tattoos. My daughter said the teacher went with them to this tattoo shop. Although I know that it was my daughters decision, I believe it was done under peer pressure.I think the teacher should have counseled the kids against making a rash decision that would be so permanent.

I messaged this teacher and he said he had all the students have their parents give permission via facebook or text. I did not give my permission. I told him the tattoo was of poor quality and would have to be fixed. He offered to have it fixed. Mind you, I was not asking for him to pay and I don't want him to.

The things I am most concerned about are the cleanliness of the shop, clean needle, and regret.

I am pretty tattooed myself. I have talked to my daughter about tattoo choices and we had agreed she would get her first after she turned 18. Although I know it was ultimately her choice, I think it was done under major peers pressure under the teachers watch. I am pissed off. Not sure if I sould or should not hold this teacher accountable. Mind you, it was not "technically" a school sponsored trip.

This is the so called artist who did the shit tattoo Ken Richmond | Artistic Skin Designs Inc.

How do I know he used clean needles. I can't really find any tattoo regulations for Belieze. Do you think my daughter needs a blood test?

The part of the story I find perplexing is this "teacher" went with these students to a tattoo parlor? Was this same teacher having alcohol with the kid that were able to drink? This just seems like a recipe for something destructive.

I grew up in a different time, I would never had wanted to hang out with a teacher and vice versa. There was a distance between teachers and students.

[AuntTudie]

Update to this post. More things have come to light. There was no tattoo parlor. The students got tattoos in a hotel room under the watch of the teacher. So I am glad I got my daughters blood tested. But we have to wait 6 months since the blood was taken so soon after the tattoo.I did not pursue this with the school board. Other parents did and the teacher is being investigated. I don't like seeing people lose their jobs. But this "free spirit" teacher obviously has no limits.

[Cork]

I don't like seeing people lose their jobs. But this "free spirit" teacher obviously has no limits.

Some people aren't in the right job and sometimes you have to do something about it.

[marley mission]

Update to this post. More things have come to light. There was no tattoo parlor. The students got tattoos in a hotel room under the watch of the teacher. So I am glad I got my daughters blood tested. But we have to wait 6 months since the blood was taken so soon after the tattoo.I did not pursue this with the school board. Other parents did and the teacher is being investigated. I don't like seeing people lose their jobs. But this "free spirit" teacher obviously has no limits.

i work in ed - this sounds like one dumbass educator - problem is that sometimes the educator is so seeking approval from the youth they are serving that they compromise their professional selves - now personally - i think this person should lose their professional license as it sounds like they supervised this scratchfest - i dont know about iowa - but in jersey i think they'd be in hot water and that this would be a pretty big story

[SeeSea]

There was no tattoo parlor. The students got tattoos in a hotel room under the watch of the teacher.

So we're pretty much at Strike 3 here in my book. Perhaps you/someone could provide the regulations for Iowa. And ask this teacher why he felt that there wasn't a need to even ensure conditions were the same as the state the children were enrolled in.

[sourpussoctopus]

Teenagers are morons, that much is expected, but what kind of chaperone allows this kind of thing to happen? To bring an unknown man into a hotel room full of foreign teenage girls, to get tattooed under unsanitary conditions no less? I'd be pissed too.

[tattooscience]

I think that's messed up! There's no excuse for this, i think.

[Shippogirl16]

It makes me soo happy I waited so long before I got tattoos, the only one that I don't love was my bodies fault for rejecting the ink, I know if I would have gotten one when I was 17 I would have regret it now. I hope the test come back clean, and she learns its OK to say no to her friends.

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[Guerillaneedles]

What bothers me is the complicity of the teacher. Their involvement was way over the line. It doesn't matter if the tattoo is good or bad. It doesn't matter if a 17 year old getting a tattoo is a big deal or not. We expect teachers to take care of our kids and adhere to a higher standard of care that the kid might exercise on herself. The FaceBook permission scheme was incredibly naive, and then he didn't even follow through with that, instead taking the girl's word that her mom approved, which was shockingly poor judgement..

As a qualified teacher myself I have to agree with this. Sounds like this teacher was a bit too keen to be 'down with the kids' and in doing so has made a huge error in professional judgement. Is he young by any chance? Not that that's an excuse but I've seen people make this mistake before. The Facebook permission is bullshit, there's no way that should ever be construed as due diligence.