Do teachers need a "Proper Attire 101"?

lookout123 · 07-05-2005, 10:01 AM

Story

I'm usually the one carrying the banner for casual clothing. At work I generally wearing a tie, if not a suit - but let's face it, i'm asking clients to trust me with all of their finances, i should look fairly professional. Outside of the office you will rarely find me in anything but shorts and a casual shirt - and don't forget the Van's tennisshoes. i've been wearing them for 20 years, now.

That being said, shouldn't we expect our teachers to dress professionally for their jobs? other than field trips and the like, i don't think i ever saw my teachers wearing jeans. male teachers wore ties every single day, some even wore jackets. female teachers always wore dresses or a nice pair of slacks and blouse. i don't remember ever having a teacher who dressed anything approaching risque.

how can a young teacher expect to gain respect and control over the students if they are trying to look exactly like one of the students?

fortunately some teachers still get it.

Quote:

Mark Berntson, who teaches high school band in West Fargo, North Dakota, wears a tie each day. It's a tradition he began years ago to stand out from his students. He does not wear blue jeans to class often, saving them for occasions such as the first day of baseball season.

"I don't think I'm taken as seriously if I'm dressed down and I don't think I take my job as seriously if I'm dressed down," he said. "When I dress more professionally, I think I teach better, I think I'm received better, and I think I show more respect for my profession."

Happy Monkey · 07-05-2005, 10:29 AM

My favorite and most influential teacher rarely wore more than jeans and a T-shirt. A close second always wore at least a button-down shirt, and maybe a tie. I think it depends completely on the teaching style, and what the teacher is most comfortable teaching in. Not necessarily most comfortable in, most comfortable teaching in. Mark Berntson obviously would not be comfortable dressing down, so he would not be as effective dressing down.

Clodfobble · 07-05-2005, 10:41 AM

I think the teacher's fashion sense made more of an impact on whether the students in my high school respected them or not. A female teacher wearing a tacky flower-print dress with a big white collar would get a lot less respect than one wearing jeans and a casual blouse. Likewise, a dorky guy in a plaid button-down with a striped tie would be trusted less than a guy in jeans and a light polo shirt.

Oh, and if you're a 50-something creepy social studies teacher in the aforementioned scalloped dress with poofy sleeves, with caked-on makeup that somehow still manages to look wet, don't proudly tell your students that you're still a virgin. You will not, in fact, gain their respect. You will merely gain yourself a slew of vicious pranks and vandalism in your classroom.

Trilby · 07-05-2005, 10:49 AM

Scrubs are the best thing ever to wear to work. That was the one really good thing about healthcare-no muss, no fuss and they're wash 'n wear. Everybody should get to wear them to work.

lookout123 · 07-05-2005, 11:10 AM

ok, i guess that i i wasn't even thinking about the 50 plus teachers that have their reputation already built by their effectiveness in the classroom. and i think it obviously depends on what class they are teaching. if you are in a shop class, slacks and a tie, might not be the best idea.

Can a teacher in jeans and a tshirt be a good teacher? yes, of course.

Will a button down shirt and tie make an otherwise poor teacher better? not likely.

But I still think that is very important for teachers, especially young teachers without a lot of experience and not too many years difference in age do well to separate themselves from the students in appearance.

07-05-2005, 02:30 PM

Well, giving away my age, but I come from an era when EVERYBODY had to look good for high school, even the kids, never mind the teachers. My high school German teacher had just gotten out of college and she used to wear her hair piled up in a bun to look older. All the guys were madly in love with her anyhow. My English teacher had a really funny crewcut that made his head look square - literally! And he always wore a white short sleeved shirt with button down collar and a perky red bow tie. Everyone really liked him despite this unsual attire and kids were turned away from his overflow classes every semester.

I never had a teacher give away their virginal status or lack of it in either college or high school.

I'm a firm believer in dressing professionally, myself.

xoxoxoBruce · 07-05-2005, 05:26 PM

Didn't matter what the women wore. We had them undressed with our eyes anyway.

No jeans...teachers or students...not even the janitors.

richlevy · 07-05-2005, 07:50 PM

If 'business casual' is good enough for me, it's good enough for them. I think asking someone who makes $30k a year to wear a suit is an insult. I once figured with drycleaning, it would cost $1200 a year in pre-tax dollars to wear suits. Unless the schools want to pay for uniforms, let them wear whatever is neat and comfortable. If some teacher comes to school in a micro-mini, ask her to excercise some common sense.

lookout123 · 07-05-2005, 08:15 PM

i'm not talking about suits. i'm one of maybe 15 people i see in an entire day wearing a suit.

i don't think an oxford and a tie is too much to ask though.

in the end it doesn't really matter, though. if the teachers don't see the point in dressing professionally for a job then that is their problem.

Clodfobble · 07-05-2005, 10:05 PM

Holy shit, you seriously see 15 people a day wearing a suit?

I keep forgetting I live in such a hippie Mecca. You can wear shorts to the most expensive restaurants in town. The only time I ever see people in suits are weddings, Mormon pairs, and the airport.

lookout123 · 07-05-2005, 11:54 PM

remember what i do for a living and the people i tend to interact with in that capacity. people who make$xxx,xxx often dress to impress. those that make $x,xxx,xxx dress down and make their own rules.

xoxoxoBruce · 07-06-2005, 02:54 PM

Quote:

those that make $x,xxx,xxx dress down and make their own rules.

So do those that make $xxx.

lookout123 · 07-06-2005, 02:59 PM

too true.

warch · 07-06-2005, 03:04 PM

Quote:

I keep forgetting I live in such a hippie Mecca.

You're right about the shorts and as I remember, not alot is even open before 10 AM. pretty civilized.

Most teachers I know wear jeans or khakis and athletic shoes. Particularly at the elementary level when you might be crawling on the floor or slopping paint or scooping frog guts. You gotta move.

russotto · 07-06-2005, 03:32 PM

Tie? Even most of IBM doesn't require ties anymore.

But fair is fair. Where students have to wear a uniform, teachers should too, even if not a true uniform but "proper business attire".

Aside from in those places, a "no spandex" (well, no 100% spandex) rule and some of the other ones discussed in the article (no showing midriff, cleavage, etc... gotta give the boys practice doing the undressing with their eyes :-) ) are probably appropriate, but trying to keep teacher dress codes in line with 1950s corporate dress codes seems kind of silly.

07-05-2005, 10:29 AM	#2
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	My favorite and most influential teacher rarely wore more than jeans and a T-shirt. A close second always wore at least a button-down shirt, and maybe a tie. I think it depends completely on the teaching style, and what the teacher is most comfortable teaching in. Not necessarily most comfortable in, most comfortable teaching in. Mark Berntson obviously would not be comfortable dressing down, so he would not be as effective dressing down. __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

07-05-2005, 10:49 AM	#4
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	Scrubs are the best thing ever to wear to work. That was the one really good thing about healthcare-no muss, no fuss and they're wash 'n wear. Everybody should get to wear them to work. __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

07-05-2005, 11:10 AM	#5
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	ok, i guess that i i wasn't even thinking about the 50 plus teachers that have their reputation already built by their effectiveness in the classroom. and i think it obviously depends on what class they are teaching. if you are in a shop class, slacks and a tie, might not be the best idea. Can a teacher in jeans and a tshirt be a good teacher? yes, of course. Will a button down shirt and tie make an otherwise poor teacher better? not likely. But I still think that is very important for teachers, especially young teachers without a lot of experience and not too many years difference in age do well to separate themselves from the students in appearance. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

07-05-2005, 05:26 PM	#7
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Didn't matter what the women wore. We had them undressed with our eyes anyway. No jeans...teachers or students...not even the janitors. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

07-05-2005, 07:50 PM	#8
richlevy King Of Wishful Thinking Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Philadelphia Suburbs Posts: 6,669	If 'business casual' is good enough for me, it's good enough for them. I think asking someone who makes $30k a year to wear a suit is an insult. I once figured with drycleaning, it would cost $1200 a year in pre-tax dollars to wear suits. Unless the schools want to pay for uniforms, let them wear whatever is neat and comfortable. If some teacher comes to school in a micro-mini, ask her to excercise some common sense. __________________ Exercise your rights and remember your obligations - VOTE! I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting. -- Barack Hussein Obama

07-05-2005, 10:41 AM	#3
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	I think the teacher's fashion sense made more of an impact on whether the students in my high school respected them or not. A female teacher wearing a tacky flower-print dress with a big white collar would get a lot less respect than one wearing jeans and a casual blouse. Likewise, a dorky guy in a plaid button-down with a striped tie would be trusted less than a guy in jeans and a light polo shirt. Oh, and if you're a 50-something creepy social studies teacher in the aforementioned scalloped dress with poofy sleeves, with caked-on makeup that somehow still manages to look wet, don't proudly tell your students that you're still a virgin. You will not, in fact, gain their respect. You will merely gain yourself a slew of vicious pranks and vandalism in your classroom.

07-05-2005, 02:30 PM	#6
marichiko Guest Posts: n/a	Well, giving away my age, but I come from an era when EVERYBODY had to look good for high school, even the kids, never mind the teachers. My high school German teacher had just gotten out of college and she used to wear her hair piled up in a bun to look older. All the guys were madly in love with her anyhow. My English teacher had a really funny crewcut that made his head look square - literally! And he always wore a white short sleeved shirt with button down collar and a perky red bow tie. Everyone really liked him despite this unsual attire and kids were turned away from his overflow classes every semester. I never had a teacher give away their virginal status or lack of it in either college or high school. I'm a firm believer in dressing professionally, myself.

07-05-2005, 08:15 PM	#9
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	i'm not talking about suits. i'm one of maybe 15 people i see in an entire day wearing a suit. i don't think an oxford and a tie is too much to ask though. in the end it doesn't really matter, though. if the teachers don't see the point in dressing professionally for a job then that is their problem. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

07-05-2005, 10:05 PM	#10
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Holy shit, you seriously see 15 people a day wearing a suit? I keep forgetting I live in such a hippie Mecca. You can wear shorts to the most expensive restaurants in town. The only time I ever see people in suits are weddings, Mormon pairs, and the airport.

07-05-2005, 11:54 PM	#11
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	remember what i do for a living and the people i tend to interact with in that capacity. people who make$xxx,xxx often dress to impress. those that make $x,xxx,xxx dress down and make their own rules. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

07-06-2005, 02:59 PM	#13
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	too true. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

07-06-2005, 03:32 PM	#15
russotto Professor Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 1,788	Tie? Even most of IBM doesn't require ties anymore. But fair is fair. Where students have to wear a uniform, teachers should too, even if not a true uniform but "proper business attire". Aside from in those places, a "no spandex" (well, no 100% spandex) rule and some of the other ones discussed in the article (no showing midriff, cleavage, etc... gotta give the boys practice doing the undressing with their eyes :-) ) are probably appropriate, but trying to keep teacher dress codes in line with 1950s corporate dress codes seems kind of silly.

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