Q/A: To Tattoo or Not To Tattoo
I like to begin class with a Q/A. A Q/A is a question or an idea to be explored. Here is an example:
Q/A: To Tattoo or Not To Tattoo, that is the question.
Is anyone thinking/dreaming about their future tattoo?
Has anyone decided absolutely I will NEVER get a tattoo? How about I will absolutely maybe get a tattoo?
What would be the #1 reason not to get a tattoo / permanent marking?
Write the reasons on the board. Take a vote on the best reason
What are the reasons to get a tattoo?
Write the reasons on the board. Take a vote on the best reason
Teacher Note:
1. Tattoos are big business (“last year (2017), an estimated 1.6 billion in revenue according to market-research firm IBISWorld”1). “The industry is expected to grow at annualize rate of 7.7%. The growth is coming from young people.”1 In a few years your students may be sporting a 1,2,3, or maybe 4, tattoos.
2. A tattoo is a big decision. The things you want to buy now have a lot to do with your culture, what is popular now, what your friends have and/or what you think is cool. Here is the problem, all of those reasons change with time. Cool changes quickly — check out your parents Yearbook.
https://www.menshealth.com/trending-news/a19529296/tattoos-regrets-men/
Terrific information for your students — great for class conversation
Regrets are all a part of decision making
3. The tattoo that you think looks great today; you will wear for rest of your life. As your body sags, expands, wrinkles so will that beautiful tattoo. The car I bought when I was 23, was not the car I wanted and needed 10 years later when I had two small children. Guess what, 10 years later, we needed / wanted a different style of automobile. To me a tattoo, is no different than anything else I want / need: a car, renovated kitchen, dress, shoes, phone, computer, redesigned closet. You name it, nothing really lasts. My prediction — I don’t know when but sometime in the future a Tattoo / Tattoos will not be cool.
4. Tattoo removal is not only a growth industry but it is very profitable. You can make more money removing the tattoo than a very creative tattoo artist makes. Tattoo removal is very involved and expensive because of the numbers of different shades of ink used for injecting into the skin. “Based on tattoo location, the number of colors used, your skin type and other factors most tattoo can be removed in 3 to 12 sessions” (Cameron Rokhsar, a dermatologist and laser surgeon in New York). “The price per square inch per laser treatment ranges from $49 to $300, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, which reviewed tattoos and other body modifications in 2015 because so many adolescents have them. “At $49 per square inch, removing a 3 by 5 inch tattoo that requires eight laser treatments would cost $5,880. At $300. per square inch, it would cost $36,000.”1
5. “Rules regarding tattooing minors according to the National Conference of State legislatures, including 31 that allow minors to be tattooed with consent of a parent of legal guardian; 10 that bar tattooing minors altogether; 4 allow a medical exemption; and one, Iowa, that bars minors from being tattooed unless they are married.”1
RESOURCES:
1 https://www.wsj.com/articles/tattoo-industry-wins-over-millennials-1535713200
https://www.liveabout.com/the-cost-of-a-tattoo-3189033
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/the-identity-crisis-under-the-ink/382785/
This would be a good article for your students to read — it explains why millennials are getting tattoos. You are teaching Gen Z kids, it will be interesting to discover what they think about tattoos.
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/01/16/generation-y-tattoos-toronto_n_2439295.html
Teacher Note
I like to begin each class with what I call Q/A. I use it for:
- a way to get the students in their seats, on task and thinking.
- time for me to complete tasks necessary for each class- roll etc.
- an activity that is a smooth transition into the day’s lesson or a review of previous material.
- it’s 10% of their final grade.
