About combs.

[SpaceCore]

Background: I take school portraits. This means I'm almost universally hated by everyone in every school ever.

There's one thing kids seem to like about school pictures: combs.
I know it was true for me, I lived for those free combs when I was a kid. Well guess what? You can't keep them anymore. The company I work for doesn't want to be held responsible for any big lice outbreaks, so we ask that all combs are thrown away after they're used. Some schools/teachers are happy about this, as it's sanitary. Others apparently fondly remember the fields of combs of their youth, and can't accept change.

So a 4th grade teacher today asks if I have any combs, and I hand over my huge collection of them only after confirming that yes, they will be thrown away when they're done. In fact, the guy sounded happy that we require that.

Of course as I'm taking his class' pictures, I start to hear several variations of this conversation:
Teacher: Okay Student, you're next. Give your papers to the photographer!
Student: What do I do with my comb?
Teacher: Well, you can hide it in your pocket, or you can give it to the photographer. But he'll just throw it away!
Student: Okay! I'll hide it!

Let's look at this. The students were just asking what to do with their combs, they had no expectations of keeping them because we stopped letting students keep them well before they started 1st grade. The teacher suggests keeping this wonderful free little trinket, or having it snatched away by the photographer, who is suddenly mean and steals things.

So I have to go through conversations like this:
Me: Okay Student, just stand right there and I'll take this order form, and I can take that comb too...
Student: No, I'll just hide it. *starts to put comb in pocket*
Me: I'm sorry, we can't let you guys keep them, it's like sharing hats, we don't want to spread lice or anything.
Student: Fine... *Hands the comb over*
Wonder why that kid didn't smile.

It's okay though, the teacher gave him another comb after his pictures was taken.

[barainga]

Seems a reasonable thing from a company. Dont want to get accused of spreading lice. Teacher was out of line.

[rose_metal_nz]

Is there any way you could report the teacher(s) that did this? I mean, while it's admittedly pretty minor, it's still pretty stink (both to the students & to you)

[thehuckster]

Is there any way you could report the teacher(s) that did this? I mean, while it's admittedly pretty minor, it's still pretty stink (both to the students & to you)

I don't consider it minor. The teacher's basically condoning and encouraging dishonest behavior, regardless of how petty it is.

[MoonCat]

Is it me, or does it seem weird that people get that attached to ....... a comb?

[SpaceCore]

The basic company policy is to bend to the whim of anyone who works at the school. The idea being that if one person had a complaint about us it would spread through the whole school and we'd lose a contract.

Mooncat - I will say, they are really good combs, at least for a guy with medium-length hair like me. But seriously, these kids who are upset they can't keep them would forget they even had the thing in an hour or two.

[Squeaksmyalias]

I did this last year, I totally feel your pain. I just LOVED when kids would throw the comb back into the comb box and you had to dive in and get it. Or you turn and see them passing the same comb down the row when there is a box of hundreds right in front of them. Watching people argue over the mirrors was fun too, I had to break up a fight between two girls over one before.

The teachers who don't listen are always a treat. We had one tell all of his senior students to tell us the wrong name, or do crazy things to their hair, make faces and generally be a pain while we took their pictures, since their pictures would be just for ID tags and not in the year book. Great job teacher, you are wasting thousands of dollars screwing around trying to be "the cool teacher" and our company would be the one getting in trouble. Not you. Always fun when they ditch you with a couple hundred kids too.

[Pagan]

Me: I'm sorry, we can't let you guys keep them, it's like sharing hats, we don't want to spread lice or anything.

But it's not, unless I'm missing something and they're all using the same comb?

[fireheart]

But it's not, unless I'm missing something and they're all using the same comb?

it's what happens afterwards. Kids lose combs, kids share combs....

Then someone blames the photographer for providing the kids with the combs in the first place.

[SpaceCore]

Fireheart's got it. I'm guessing that exact scenario happened one too many times so they made the "policy."

[Mel]

We never got combs when I was a kid! We always had to bring our own.

Besides, a comb would have never worked with my thick wavy hair! I needed a brush!

[Slayer]

Umm... school photographers give/provide combs? o_O

I've never had that happen! lol

[Mel]

Umm... school photographers give/provide combs? o_O

I've never had that happen! lol

Maybe an American thing? (I notice you're in Canada as well)

[Pagan]

Umm... school photographers give/provide combs? o_O

I've never had that happen! lol

Maybe an American thing? (I notice you're in Canada as well)

We never got 'em, either. Which I can see in going through my old class pictures from grade school. Seemed to be quite a few bed heads there.

And when I was in high school, for the girls, combs just wouldn't have been enough to get that 80's goin' properly!

[notlovinit]

Student: No, I'll just hide it. *starts to put comb in pocket*

Kid, you're..doing.. it.. wrong..
Clearly, your teacher didn't teach you how to be dishonest well enough.