Ep234. ft. Mike Johnston - Beyond the Ink: How Teacher Authenticity Creates Belonging and Better Schools (Part 2)

When a school asks teachers to hide who they are, what message does that send to the students watching them? In Episode 234 of the Languages Pedagogy Podcast, Mike Johnston returns to take the metaphor of Teaching Is a Tattoo beyond personal identity and into the deeper questions of inclusion, professional judgment, school culture, and belonging. This conversation challenges educators and school leaders to examine whether institutional rules are protecting learning—or merely preserving control. Mike shares the deeply personal story behind his anatomical-heart tattoo, created after chemotherapy, and explains how visible symbols can become invitations to discuss resilience, culture, grief, survival, family, and hope. This episode explores: • Why teachers should question systems that demand conformity • How tattoo policies can exclude cultural and Indigenous identities • Why curiosity is more productive than judgment • How personal stories create powerful student connections • Why novice teachers must stop trying to imitate everyone around them • How schools can distinguish between care and control • Why every educator—not only tattooed educators—belongs in this conversation Authen...