Some of the most valuable skills Kathy Taylor's students have learned don't come from a textbook. They come from understanding how a haircut, scalp massage or facial can change the world.

Under the guise of beauty, Taylor, a cosmetology teacher at Ulster BOCES, is able to introduce her students to a host of edgy subjects, including drug and alcohol addiction, eating disorders, abuse and domestic violence.

"Cosmetology lends itself to so many different discussions," said Taylor, president of the Ulster BOCES Teachers Organization and a member of the NYSUT Board of Directors. "We do a whole unit on Barbie and talk about the plight of women, the glass ceiling and how women are treated."

Along with lessons on proper scissor technique and nail care are opportunities for students to use their new skills.

Several times a year they work with clients from a shelter for battered women and the Daytop Village Rehabilitation clinic in nearby Rhinebeck.

"Some of the women from the shelter still have bruises on their faces and they come in to get hair color and a scalp massage," Taylor said. The experience prompts a meaningful discussion about abuse. Students also learn compassion. "It teaches them how to be calm and open to other people."

At least twice a year students work with local residents from the Ulster-Greene Association of Retarded Citizens.

"When the ARC comes in, some of the students become different people. The goodness in them comes out and they want to be generous," Taylor said.

In a cross-curricular project with English teacher Kerri Anne Sheehy, Taylor's students are also learning about war-torn Kabul, Afghanistan.

After watching the documentary "Beauty Academy of Kabul," students discuss Muslim culture and the role the beauty industry plays in helping change how women are treated.
"The only place women are allowed to exchange money is in the beauty salon," Taylor said.

Since the academy depends on the generosity of others, Taylor's students write to beauty supply companies seeking donations.

"This is a social justice issue that we're handling right here in a cosmetology class," Taylor said.