Teacher Stirs Internet Debate Over Her Classroom Attire
A New Jersey educator is flaunting her teacher outfits online and stirring debate with mixed reactions for her school apparel choices.
In 1983, rock band Van Halen sang about being Hot for Teacher. Now in New Jersey, parents are worried about the same with teacher outfits. In a climate where teachers are increasingly redefining what’s appropriate in the classroom, one New Jersey teacher is flaunting her figure in ways some find objectionable.
The art instructor’s ToyBoxDollz Instagram account doesn’t share her real name, but she leaves little else to the imagination in her series of selfies sporting revealing teacher outfits. Most of the pics on her account are unrelated to her profession. However, some photos were taken at school, sparking controversy.
In one image, she’s wearing skin-tight jeans and a tight, but otherwise conservative, blouse while supervising young students painting outdoors. Several images depict her in the classroom, but from behind, “booty shots” emphasize her exceptionally curvy bottom. She carefully protects her students’ privacy by hiding their faces with stickers while she displayed her teacher outfits.
Her 870,000 followers express a mixed opinion of her tight wardrobe choices. Some praise the elementary educator for her blatant body confidence. On a video where she’s painting at home in pajamas, a comment read, “Two masterpieces at one time keep up the beautiful work love.” Other supporters thank her for her positive posts and ask where she buys teacher outfits.
Not everyone sees her persona as a positive thing. Many people have expressed strong disapproval over her teacher outfits revealing too much in the classroom. Negative comments abound, including this from a person who said she felt sorry for the criticism until she viewed her page. “Come on girl no wonder parents are flippin’ out…Do better. You know wtf you are doing. So inappropriate.” Another person said, “You have to be mental to want your butt to stick out 2 feet straight back…like a cartoon character.”
In a live 14-minute video the art teacher defends her choice of teacher outfits and the photos she chooses to share, becoming tearful as she thanks the moms of her former students for their support. “What do I look like arguing with people about my physical appearance? It is so scary and mind-boggling to me that this is really a thing.“ The teacher also elaborated on her passion for teaching and thanked her followers for supporting the non-profit art therapy program she’s creating.
Her supporters questioned why parents have an issue with her sense of style if the school doesn’t have a problem with the teacher outfits. According to this article, the school hasn’t taken any action in response to the parents’ complaints. It’s against state and federal labor laws for schools to fire teachers over their physical appearance. There’s also concern over losing a dedicated teacher at a time when teacher shortages are a real problem.
Rapper and record executive Fat Joe—real name Joseph Antonio Cartagena—came to the art teacher’s outfit defense. In a YouTube video, he stated, “I say, let the woman be great. Can you fire somebody for their looks? Can you fire a teacher that’s ugly?”
Fat Joe’s opinion drew a mixed bag of responses similar to the teacher’s Instagram account. One woman commented that after several ladies in her office failed to dress professionally with their teacher outfits, everyone had to attend a class on appropriate business attire. She said that they were told, “You shouldn’t draw attention from your work to your aesthetic.” Other viewers agreed with Fat Joe’s assessment.
One thing the art teacher seems to have avoided is neutral commentary over her appearance. As with most social media personalities, she’s quick to embrace her fans and block the haters. She interacts with her live viewers, frequently asking, “Who’s going to get blocked today?” Overall, the dilemma stirring plenty of debate and garnering the teacher and her outfits viral attention sheds light on a plethora of issues that are driving some families away from public education, thanks to educators’ willingness to expose themselves publically across the world wide web.
