Teaching in a niqab (discuss)

[mamakimberly]

My daughter is doing state testing this week so we've been at the public school each morning.

 

I was not surprised to see several Muslim moms with hijabs dropping off their kids. I was also not surprised to see a few Muslim teachers with hijabs. There are a decent number of Muslims in our area and that doesn't phase me and I have no problem with that obviously. I say all of that to preface that I'm not anti-Muslim or anything.

 

But I was surprised to see a teacher wearing a niqab. (Example here: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=niqab)

 

Would this bother you if your child's teacher wore a niqab? Would it be none of your business? This is a public elementary school in Florida if that helps your decision.

 

Discuss.

[Bang!Zoom!]

My daughter is doing state testing this week so we've been at the public school each morning.

 

I was not surprised to see several Muslim moms with hijabs dropping off their kids. I was also not surprised to see a few Muslim teachers with hijabs. There are a decent number of Muslims in our area and that doesn't phase me and I have no problem with that obviously. I say all of that to preface that I'm not anti-Muslim or anything.

 

But I was surprised to see a teacher wearing a niqab. (Example here: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=niqab)

 

Would this bother you if your child's teacher wore a niqab? Would it be none of your business? This is a public elementary school in Florida if that helps your decision.

 

Discuss.

 

Nope, wouldn't even think twice about it.

 

There's a large Central/East African population here, and the ladies dress in the most incredible fabrics, I just sigh at the beauty of them. Some of them also do the facial tattooing (I forget it's exact name) where they scar the face with patterns. They are quite beautiful as well.

 

I'm trying to think if the custom of any ethnic group has ever thrown me for a second; I'm not coming up with anything though really bizarre.

 

I did have to ask if I was considered offensive because I wasn't masked as many of the folks overseas do in airports often do. I wondered if I was considered rude not to be air-masked.

 

I love people watching in international terminals.

[NicAnn]

It wouldn't matter in the least. If any thing, I'd be more likely to send my child to that school, because clearly they are a lot more tolerant than other schools/organizations.

[goldberry]

My first instinct is that yes, it would bother me, because of how much facial expressions play in communicating ideas.

 

After thinking on it further, I realized that if a teacher was wearing covering over her face because of some disability rather than religious purposes, I would be more likely to say well, we just have to make that work.

 

So, after thinking on it rather than going by first instinct, I think that wearing a covering for whatever purpose should be accommodated.

 

Thanks for bringing this up, it was an interesting thought process for me! The issue of facial expression is real, but if I would accommodate it for a disabled person, there is no reason I shouldn't accommodate it for religious beliefs.

[dangermom]

Nah, it wouldn't bother me, unless her voice was being too muffled by the fabric. She must have to speak a bit loudly and clearly for it to come through well.

[Mergath]

Nope, wouldn't bother me in the least. I really don't see any difference between a conservative Christian wearing certain clothing for the sake of modesty and religious belief and a Muslim wearing certain clothing for the sake of modesty and religious belief.

[mamakimberly]

My first instinct is that yes, it would bother me, because of how much facial expressions play in communicating ideas.

 

After thinking on it further, I realized that if a teacher was wearing covering over her face because of some disability rather than religious purposes, I would be more likely to say well, we just have to make that work.

 

So, after thinking on it rather than going by first instinct, I think that wearing a covering for whatever purpose should be accommodated.

 

Thanks for bringing this up, it was an interesting thought process for me! The issue of facial expression is real, but if I would accommodate it for a disabled person, there is no reason I shouldn't accommodate it for religious beliefs.

 

You had my same thought process entirely. It didn't bother me religiously- it bothered me because I was thinking how much your face is used in teaching- especially with younger kids! But then I did think- well, if they had another reason for covering their face for some medical reason (??) or something, it would obviously be fine, so it should be fine for other reasons.

Edited April 17, 2012 by mamakimberly

[mamakimberly]

Nope, wouldn't bother me in the least. I really don't see any difference between a conservative Christian wearing certain clothing for the sake of modesty and religious belief and a Muslim wearing certain clothing for the sake of modesty and religious belief.

 

Do any conservative Christians cover their face? (Honest question, I don't know.)

 

This was specifically about the niqab in comparison to the hijab. I am pretty sure hijabs are well accepted in every environment (as they should be).

[Amira]

I think it's too easy to forget there is a person behind the niqab when we can't see her face. Everything else being equal, I'd appreciate the opportunity for my children to see beyond the clothing and pay attention to the person.

[mamakimberly]

I think it's too easy to forget there is a person behind the niqab when we can't see her face.

 

Can you explain your meaning here?

[Renthead Mommy]

Well if my son was still young (K-2ish) I'd worry he wouldn't concentrate on his work.

 

The first time he ever saw a woman in a niqab walk by he announced, very loudly and ver excited across the fairly empty airport gate waiting area "MOM! LOOK! It's DARTH VADAR!!!" The woman sitting across from us had to spit her mouthful of coffee back into her cup she was laughing so hard.

 

He has a Calvin and Hobbs sort of imagination. The way Calvin always sees his teacher as the space monster coming to get him. It would take a long time to get the DV music to stop playing in his head everytime she walked by and I could see him totally imagining being in battle with her.

 

Of course if she played it up, she'd have him! "Collin, I AM your teacher! The force is strong in you! Use the force to finish your math!"

 

 

If only that worked for mom.....

[duckabell]

Niqabs are interesting to me because I had the chance to wear one for a few minutes in a high school social studies class. From my own brief experience wearing one (without a personal religious context) I honestly felt like I ceased to exist and that others didn't know I was me. I do believe in the freedom of religion and that the teacher can wear one, and honestly if a woman chooses to wear one in America that doesn't bother me nearly as much as I was bothered by wearing one because I know she is doing it by choice.

 

I think they do make me more uncomfortable in other countries where I'm not sure if the woman had the choice to wear one or if the choice was forced upon her. I abhor anything being forced upon anyone, but especially something like the niqab which to me felt so isolating (again, when it wasn't worn for religious conviction). I'm sure that if I felt like I did not exist when I was wearing one other women who are not wearing it for religious purposes but it is forced upon them might not feel like they exist either and that others in public might treat them as such.

[Impish]

Never having been in that situation, I think I'd find it distracting and uncomfortable initially.

 

I base a lot of irl communication on facial expression and body language, so I'd be out of my element.

 

I assume I'd get used to it eventually.

 

Nothing to do w/religion, but on my communication patterns.

[milovany]

Do any conservative Christians cover their face? (Honest question, I don't know.)

 

 

None that I'm aware of. Heads yes, faces no. I am open to being corrected!

[Heather in Neverland]

Well if my son was still young (K-2ish) I'd worry he wouldn't concentrate on his work.

....

 

It is that way at first but they get used to it. We see them all the time here...at the mall, at McDonalds, at the beach... At first my kids were scared to be honest, but now they have seen them so many times they don't even blink.

[mamakimberly]

I appreciate how thoughtful and non-combative this discussion has been, by the way! :)

 

I was stuck at the school for 2 1/2 hours yesterday and my phone was dead, so I had a lot of time to stare at the walls and think... hence the reason I was wondering about this.

[frugalmama]

Wouldn't bother me in the slightest, unless I had a kid who needed to lip read for hearing problems. Then I might have a problem with it.

 

Fwiw, the Niqab is normally a very thin piece of fabric {maybe double layer of a thin scarf}, not thick enough to muffle one's voice really. While I don't believe it's required {and definitely not if one is only around young children} to be a good Muslim, it's their right to wear it if they so choose.

 

If you saw her outside the school {or her classroom}, it's also entirely possible she may remove the Niqab when teaching in her classroom, especially if she is teaching young children who have not yet reached puberty.

[fhjmom]

It absolutely would bother me, not from a religious stand-point, but rather from a communication stand point. My daughters, who have hearing loss, depend on speech reading and I woul have no qualms about not allowing them to be placed in that teachers class. Additionally, I have done a lot of reading and research on classroom accoustics and teacher-student communication and I would be *very* surprised if the facial covering did not significantly impact the understanding of all students in the class. The average difference between the signal to noise ratio (loudness of the speaker vs. the environmental noise) for elementary students to understand speech is actually much higher han that for adults, plus any degradation in clarity has a much greater effect on children's comprehension as well. Studies show that regularly clothed teachers in typical classrooms often do not meet the recommendations for this, thus the recent focus on better classroom accoustics and sound-field in he classroom.

 

At the very minimum that teacher should be using a sound-field classroom amplification system.

 

Not trying to be religiously intolerant, but without proof there would be no impact on student learning, I am not okay with a teacher covering their face for any reason in the classroom. If they insist she has the right to do so, then they should provide her a voice interpreter to speak for her in the class to minimize the effect on the students. Yes, I think it is that important.

[Ecclecticmum]

Nah, it wouldn't bother me, unless her voice was being too muffled by the fabric. She must have to speak a bit loudly and clearly for it to come through well.

 

:iagree:

 

This was my first & only thought. I find a lot of teachers show more in their "eyes" whether they are smiling or not, eyes are expressive too. I would just wonder how effective her voice must be to carry out over a classroom of 30 students with the fabric muffling/distorting the sounds, however, if it is of a lighter/slightly mesh material, it could work the same way as the studio microphones and actually make her voice more eloquent/enunciated. etc.

 

Being unaware of the full implications of certain religions, I did have a milli-second thought on if she is wearing that and teaching, it is kind of weird, but that seems to be because I had a steretype obviously written into my head (one I didn't even know about till now) which just means I now have to do some researching. :001_smile:

 

Honestly, I think its wonderful. To have a board of multicultural teachers is probably the best way of teaching diversity & respect. Classmates are "equals" where as the teacher always tends to be held in that little bit of higher regard, or looked up to for advice. JMO :001_smile:

[Amira]

Can you explain your meaning here?

 

Mostly what duckhead mentioned below- we might treat women who are wearing a niqab as if they aren't there. I haven't spent much time with women who wear one, but I've talked to many women who wear a hijab and the way they are sometimes treated can be hard for them.

[frugalmama]

None that I'm aware of. Heads yes, faces no. I am open to being corrected!

 

I *think* some of the Orthodox Catholic nun's do cover their faces when in public.

[frugalmama]

Mostly what duckhead mentioned below- we might treat women who are wearing a niqab as if they aren't there. I haven't spent much time with women who wear one, but I've talked to many women who wear a hijab and the way they are sometimes treated can be hard for them.

 

I wear hijab sometimes {slowly transitioning to wearing it full time}, and I've found that when I wear it I'm actually treated better than without. Men give up seats on the bus, open doors and stop cursing when they see a woman in hijab, or at least that's my experience. While yes there are a few who don't see you as there, IME they've been few and far between, at least in my part of the USA.

[Julie Smith]

It absolutely would bother me, not from a religious stand-point, but rather from a communication stand point. My daughters, who have hearing loss, depend on speech reading and I woul have no qualms about not allowing them to be placed in that teachers class. Additionally, I have done a lot of reading and research on classroom accoustics and teacher-student communication and I would be *very* surprised if the facial covering did not significantly impact the understanding of all students in the class. The average difference between the signal to noise ratio (loudness of the speaker vs. the environmental noise) for elementary students to understand speech is actually much higher han that for adults, plus any degradation in clarity has a much greater effect on children's comprehension as well. Studies show that regularly clothed teachers in typical classrooms often do not meet the recommendations for this, thus the recent focus on better classroom accoustics and sound-field in he classroom.

 

At the very minimum that teacher should be using a sound-field classroom amplification system.

 

Not trying to be religiously intolerant, but without proof there would be no impact on student learning, I am not okay with a teacher covering their face for any reason in the classroom. If they insist she has the right to do so, then they should provide her a voice interpreter to speak for her in the class to minimize the effect on the students. Yes, I think it is that important.

 

Thank you Fhjmom for explaining it so well.

 

I have no hearing loss. But I suppose it's because of my learning style I would - even as a adult find it hard to focus.

 

I wish that the world would come with subtitles. It would make life so much easier. ... and a voice over (also with subtitles) explaining what a person should be able to pick up from visual clues. :)

[hillfarm]

My only concern would be that the wearer had unrestricted vision, especially in an elementary level classroom for the purpose of protecting and monitoring the children adequately.

 

Also, I would be sensitive to anyone with hearing issues, as were previously mentioned. Not so much that the teacher had to change, but that any student who relied on lip reading for communications would be placed with a different teacher. I would also make the teacher aware of So and So student's needs so that if there was a need for the two of them to communicate (on the playground, in an emergency situation, or whatever), accommodations could be made.

[Mom22ns]

It would bother me. I have a ds who had severe language delays and language processing issues. He could not understand someone just from their voice. He needed to read their lips and watch facial expressions to have any chance of following a verbal explanation. While most children would be impacted less than my ds, many would be impacted.

 

I don't think anyone should be excluded from teaching because of it. However, I think the schools would need to be careful of the students placed in the classroom and make sure their education wasn't hampered by her religious freedom.

[Aelwydd]

I don't have many experiences interacting with woman in hijab, or niqab, though I see many Muslim women dressed thus in public in this area.

 

Once at a local park, where there is a giant sprinkler/ splash pad next to a public pool, I was with my son and noticed two Muslims in hijab sitting on a bench on the other side. It was brutally hot, and I was regretting my decision not to come in my bathing suit. I wondered how they could stand the heat, because they were wearing black, and covered from head to toe, and they'd been sitting there since before we'd arrived.

 

I finally gave into the heat, and decided that bathing suit or no, I was going to cool off. So, I went into the spray, wearing my polo shirt and capri shorts. After a few minutes, the two Muslim girls (I think they were teens) decided to go in too.

 

I was glad that they could cool off, and afterwards, I wondered if they would have just sat there, baking in that Texas heat, if no one else had gone in clothed first. I hoped that wasn't the case, but at least no one could single them out for getting wet without a bathing suit!

 

As far as teaching in a classroom, I have no problem with a teacher wearing hijab. I would be concerned with niqab, mostly because in my humble opinion, facial expression is something young kids are very attuned to. It's a part of body language, and vital to effective communication.

[mamakimberly]

If you saw her outside the school {or her classroom}, it's also entirely possible she may remove the Niqab when teaching in her classroom, especially if she is teaching young children who have not yet reached puberty.

 

I did not see her in her classroom- only in the hallway and school office and leading kids to the lunch room. She had it on all of those times, but she may very well take the face part off in the classroom- I have no idea as I wasn't in her room. That is a good point.

[Kim in Appalachia]

yes, it would.

 

I would have no issue with a headcovering, but a full head to toe covering would seem like it would interfere with teaching. The reasons have nothing to do with being offended by anything religious, but because I think there would be children who would have an even harder time focusing if they could not see the teachers face and have eye contact. I know my oldest son would never hear a word the woman said if he couldn't "see" her. My second son would also have trouble focusing if he couldn't see her facial expressions.

[indigomama]

I would have a problem-due to previously mentioned communication issues and safety issues.

 

I find reading faces and other body language to be a huge component in communication. I think it's important for children to be able to see their teacher's faces during interactions.

 

I also would worry it would inhibit her ability to see and respond to everything on a safety level. Would it inhibit her peripheral vision?

 

Also, and this may diminish with time but it seems less approachable and friendly to me.

[ravinlunachick]

Nah, it wouldn't bother me, unless her voice was being too muffled by the fabric. She must have to speak a bit loudly and clearly for it to come through well.

 

I agree with this. It *would* bother me, though, if this person were a speech therapist, or other teacher whose lips really needed to be seen.

[ravinlunachick]

Well if my son was still young (K-2ish) I'd worry he wouldn't concentrate on his work.

 

The first time he ever saw a woman in a niqab walk by he announced, very loudly and ver excited across the fairly empty airport gate waiting area "MOM! LOOK! It's DARTH VADAR!!!" The woman sitting across from us had to spit her mouthful of coffee back into her cup she was laughing so hard.

 

He has a Calvin and Hobbs sort of imagination. The way Calvin always sees his teacher as the space monster coming to get him. It would take a long time to get the DV music to stop playing in his head everytime she walked by and I could see him totally imagining being in battle with her.

 

Of course if she played it up, she'd have him! "Collin, I AM your teacher! The force is strong in you! Use the force to finish your math!"

 

 

If only that worked for mom.....

 

 

My youngest was terrified by a woman in a niqab. We saw her regularly, at my son's weekly therapy appointment, and Boo went from simply avoiding looking at her to running full bore, screaming in abject terror, "IT'S A GHOST!!!! HELP ME!!!" as the woman walked down the hallway towards her, robes flowing.

 

Thankfully, the woman had a marvelous sense of humor about it, and Boo eventually got over her fear and even sat in the woman's lap.

[EKS]

It would concern me because one of my children has an auditory processing issue and it helps him greatly to see a person's mouth while they are speaking.

[Haiku]

Yes, it would bother me because my son has hearing loss, and if he couldn't see the teacher's mouth, he would have trouble understanding her.

 

Tara

[TravelingChris]

Yes, it would bother me. I have hearing problems and covering the face makes it hard to understand. I also dislike these coverings because I think it sends the wrong message- men are uncontrollable animals and so woman have to be totally covered up so men don't attack. I think it actually diminishes both sexes.

[dirty ethel rackham]

It would bother me. I have a ds who had severe language delays and language processing issues. He could not understand someone just from their voice. He needed to read their lips and watch facial expressions to have any chance of following a verbal explanation. While most children would be impacted less than my ds, many would be impacted.

 

I don't think anyone should be excluded from teaching because of it. However, I think the schools would need to be careful of the students placed in the classroom and make sure their education wasn't hampered by her religious freedom.

:iagree: I personally have trouble communicating with women wearing one. I have moderate hearing loss (30% in one ear.) I didn't realize how much I rely on visual cues to understand people (expression and lip reading) until I tried to talk to someone wearing one. I do struggle a little talking on the phone and can only use my "good ear."

[ktgrok]

Hmm..it would depend on the age of the children. For younger children it would bother me just because I think little kids need the help of reading facial expressions, not just the words, to understand the teacher. For older kids I would have no problem. Again, my issue is that it is hard to read the woman's facial expressions, which are important with young kids, not that I give a whit about religious issues.

[ktgrok]

You had my same thought process entirely. It didn't bother me religiously- it bothered me because I was thinking how much your face is used in teaching- especially with younger kids! But then I did think- well, if they had another reason for covering their face for some medical reason (??) or something, it would obviously be fine, so it should be fine for other reasons.

 

If they had a medical reason for covering the face I still think it would make it hard for young kids, and would prefer the teacher move to teaching older elementary kids, who don't need the help of facial expressions as much as the little ones do.

[Matryoshka]

I have a question (and excuse any profound ignorance I'm showing here)... why would a teacher of an elementary school class need to wear a niqab? I thought that the requirement was to cover up in front of post-adolescent males. If the classroom is all pre-adolescent children, shouldn't she be able to teach without the niqab, even if she has to wear it in public? She could always ask any adult males to knock before entering the classroom. Or is it required to cover in front of little boys too? What if it were an all-girl class?

 

I do think it would be harder for children to understand a teacher without facial expressions, and as many have pointed out, many kids also have auditory issues. I would have no problem at all with a hijab or any other kind of head or body covering that didn't include the face, or having the teacher wear a niqab when not actively teaching in the classroom (coming to work/going home/taking kids to the bus/field trip/going out in the hall).

[frugalmama]

I have a question (and excuse any profound ignorance I'm showing here)... why would a teacher of an elementary school class need to wear a niqab? I thought that the requirement was to cover up in front of post-adolescent males. If the classroom is all pre-adolescent children, shouldn't she be able to teach without the niqab, even if she has to wear it in public? She could always ask any adult males to knock before entering the classroom. Or is it required to cover in front of little boys too? What if it were an all-girl class?

 

I do think it would be harder for children to understand a teacher without facial expressions, and as many have pointed out, many kids also have auditory issues. I would have no problem at all with a hijab or any other kind of head or body covering that didn't include the face, or having the teacher wear a niqab when not actively teaching in the classroom (coming to work/going home/taking kids to the bus/field trip/going out in the hall).

 

 

That's why I said she may remove it in the classroom. It would depend however on how visible her classroom is to the outside {like if she is ground floor with lots of windows vs. upstairs with few windows}.

[LeslieAnneLevine]

Yes, it would bother me, but a hijab would not. I don't think such an extreme covering is appropriate in a public school. I don't think that makes me anti-Muslim or anti-religion.

 

I also find the idea of covering women's mouths to be disturbing, but I suppose that's a separate issue.

[Mommy22alyns]

It would not be a concern for me.

[Excelsior! Academy]

I didn't know there were two different titles for them. I just thought they were different lengths of the same thing. Kind of like a long skirt vs a short one.

 

Not many people wear them here, but I wouldn't have a problem with it. The only thing I wonder is about heat. It gets brutally hot here in the summer. I would probably think about that. It never occurred to me to think in the context of teaching. If it is someone's religious convictions for modesty reasons, then I suppose it wouldn't bother me. if they were hot then the mom in me would. She would probably get lots of offers of popcicles and drinks from me.

[Kathryn]

Well if my son was still young (K-2ish) I'd worry he wouldn't concentrate on his work.

 

The first time he ever saw a woman in a niqab walk by he announced, very loudly and ver excited across the fairly empty airport gate waiting area "MOM! LOOK! It's DARTH VADAR!!!" The woman sitting across from us had to spit her mouthful of coffee back into her cup she was laughing so hard.

 

He has a Calvin and Hobbs sort of imagination. The way Calvin always sees his teacher as the space monster coming to get him. It would take a long time to get the DV music to stop playing in his head everytime she walked by and I could see him totally imagining being in battle with her.

 

Of course if she played it up, she'd have him! "Collin, I AM your teacher! The force is strong in you! Use the force to finish your math!"

 

 

If only that worked for mom.....

 

:lol:

 

It would bother me in the communications aspect in relation to my own autistic child. Besides that, not an issue.

[Cricket]

Mostly what duckhead mentioned below- we might treat women who are wearing a niqab as if they aren't there. I haven't spent much time with women who wear one, but I've talked to many women who wear a hijab and the way they are sometimes treated can be hard for them.

 

Isn't that kind of the point of the niqab? I find them off-putting because for me seeing someone's face is important to communication. It feels as if you aren't connecting otherwise. It creates a barrier between the wearer and everyone else. But, like I asked, isn't that the purpose of them? Is it a sort of protection for the woman? I don't know all the reasoning behind why women wear them but it seems like it would be very isolating for the woman.

[Dmmetler]

My guess is that she may take it off in the classroom. We have a mother in our co-op group who wears the full nigab outside the classroom, but when she's in the room with just the moms and kids (and she always volunteers with the littlest ones-babies and toddlers), she takes the front part off. The babies don't seem to mind either way :).

[Amirah]

ok well i think i might be the only niqab wearing woman on the boards here so i will try to answer as much as i can remember from what i read so far.

 

i wear niqab for religious reasons. i am american and i live in Canada now.

 

a woman would not need to wear a niqab if she was teaching a class under the age of puberty in class unless there were huge windows that couldn't be covered. i actually was in university studying bilingual education(spanish/eng) and i did my student teaching in a 1st grade class room they just had a small window that was covered and it was known that any male teacher would need to knock before entering. i then just threw it down over my face and done.

 

i can see perfectly fine in a huge group of people with no issues. i have never had a problem with people not being able to hear or understand me with my face covered the fabric is very thin so i don't really see how that could be an issue unless the person was very soft spoken. For people who have children who need to read faces yes this could possibly be an issue but i honestly don't know anyone who wears niqab(most of my friends do and even some of their high school age daughters do) that teach in public schools. mostly it would be temporary for student teaching purposes.

 

i do not think i am invisible nor do i try to be if you live near me i can be seen everywhere. am i hot in the summer yes i am, but sometime you have to sacrifice to please God and for me its worth a little bit of discomfort. anyone else with questions or if i missed something feel free to ask

[Mergath]

Do any conservative Christians cover their face? (Honest question, I don't know.)

 

This was specifically about the niqab in comparison to the hijab. I am pretty sure hijabs are well accepted in every environment (as they should be).

 

Yes, but my point is that we automatically accept what is familiar to us. An Amish woman with her head covered, no problem. Put her in a school as a teacher and no one is going to ask if it's appropriate. Add one more piece of fabric across the woman's lower face, and suddenly it's a big deal to some people.

[mommaduck]

Do any conservative Christians cover their face? (Honest question, I don't know.)

 

This was specifically about the niqab in comparison to the hijab. I am pretty sure hijabs are well accepted in every environment (as they should be).

I know of none. The debates usually range from when/how often to cover and married/unmarried covering, and types of coverings (how much from all the hair to slapping a large headband or hat on)...but never the face as an issue (except when someone wants to be ornery or nasty to someone that is headcovering and says something stupid like, "well then, why don't just go cover your face, too, since that is part of the head!" Believe me, I've heard it all.)

[Scarlett]

My first instinct is that yes, it would bother me, because of how much facial expressions play in communicating ideas.

 

After thinking on it further, I realized that if a teacher was wearing covering over her face because of some disability rather than religious purposes, I would be more likely to say well, we just have to make that work.

 

So, after thinking on it rather than going by first instinct, I think that wearing a covering for whatever purpose should be accommodated.

 

Thanks for bringing this up, it was an interesting thought process for me! The issue of facial expression is real, but if I would accommodate it for a disabled person, there is no reason I shouldn't accommodate it for religious beliefs.

 

I'm in this camp.

 

Honestly it freaks me out totally to think about wearing it myself...but oh well, if that is what makes them happy....I can think of a lot of things that irritate me more! :tongue_smilie:

[NASDAQ]

Yes, it would bother me. I think it's a reasonable societal norm that we don't cover our faces when we're speaking to each other, and especially teaching.

 

I also don't think that it's a positive message for children that women cover themselves completely, including faces.