Teachers are heroic, life changing, gifted individuals who we should all pay eternal gratitude towards.
We owe them our literacy, our comprehension of the world and the building blocks which allow us to become employable adults, capable of logical thought and dividing up a drinks bill.
And yet so often teachers are held up to intense scrutiny by parents and society as a whole, with many people unable to cope with the idea that teachers have lives beyond the classroom.
This was sadly illustrated by the case of 38-year-old Tatyana Kuvshinnikova, a teacher from Russia who was forced out from her position after parents complained about her ‘dressing like a prostitute’. Her crime? Sharing a New Year’s Eve pic of herself wearing a short pink party dress on social media.
The parents also took issue with a picture of Tatyana – who is an ice bather – wearing a bikini while dancing. Sadly, she has not received the sort of support from her employers.
As reported by Siberian news source Sibreal, school director Olga Ga sent Tatyana the following vile letter, pressuring her to leave her teaching post:
This is how prostitutes dress – high heels, dress above the knees, and everything on show.
Who are you trying to lure? You do not have the right to use the title ‘teacher’. You are a stain on the reputation of the school.
It is not surprising that boy pupils are in love with you, and there is only one step left to paedophilia.
Tatyana was given her job back after protests from parents, but – understandably – quit shortly afterwards.
Female teachers across Russia are now showing their support for Tatyana, by proudly posting their own revealing pictures to social media.
One teacher by the name of Yana posted a bikini pic of herself on Instagram, writing:
I myself am a teacher and the whole absurdity of this situation is simply amazing.
Another teacher, called Dasha, posted a picture of herself with her shirt undone and books covering her chest, urging:
Life brings us changes, most often drastic,
Change the place of residence, place of work.
Dasha revealed she had actually handed in her resignation letter following Tatyana’s dismissal.
One particularly amusing video shows a group of teachers wading into the sea while wearing their classroom clothes, mocking the ridiculous expectation that they shouldn’t be allowed to show any skin.
It’s good to see these strong female teachers supporting each other, showing that teachers are humans too, just with added superpowers.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.