A French primary school teacher, who spent £35,000 covering his body in tattoos was forced to stop teaching at a kindergarten because he gives children nightmares.
Mr. Sylvain Helaine was teaching at the Docteur Morere Elementary School in Palaiseau, a suburb of Paris, last year when the parents of a three-year-old complained to the school authorities about his appearance.
His body, face, and tongue are covered in tattoos, and the whites of his eyes were surgically turned black.
Mr. Helaine, who is considered to be France’s most tattooed said he was teaching when the parents said their son was scared after seeing him last year.
Months later, he said the school authorities informed him that he would no longer teach kindergarten children after the complaint.
‘I think the decision they took was quite sad,’ said Helaine. ‘All of my students and their parents were always cool with me because basically they knew me,’ he added.
‘It’s only when people see me from far away that they can assume the worst.’
A spokesman for the local education authority said an agreement was reached with Helaine to move him away from teaching kindergarten.
Pupils under six ‘could be frightened by his appearance’, the spokesman said.
Despite the setback he faced, Helaine said he would stick with his career as an English teacher. ‘I’m a primary school teacher… I love my job.’
The 35-year-old who now teaches children from the age of six up also said that pupils can see past his appearance after the initial shock.
He said: ‘All of my students and their parents were always cool with me because basically, they knew me’.
‘It’s only when people see me from far away that they can assume the worst.’
He added he hoped to show his pupils they should accept people who are different from the norm. ‘Maybe when they are adults they will be less racist and less homophobic and more open-minded,’ he said.
Helaine, who has spent £35,000 on his body transformation, started getting tattoos at the age of 27 while teaching at a private school in London.
