Dressed for Success
Posted in Featured educationI know this is very 70’s-like of me to say, but I was just wondering……….
I don’t have a lot of recollection of my school years for the first and second grade. I mean, for specifics my memory kicks in at a critical third grade where I was forced to transfer out of our small school where everyone was family to a very different community. A community where I was basically bullied and outcast because my parents were divorced, my mother had remarried, my father had more than a high school education (he was a teacher, where as most of the father’s of my classmates were postal carriers, chicken farmers, etc).
But, the one thing that my memory hangs on tight to is the fact that every teacher (including my father at the time) was dressed in a particularly professional manner. Most of the women wore dresses (I know, I really am that old) and my father (as did the other men) wore ties. Coaches were the only men exempt from that tie ordeal and that’s because they generally taught physical education as well.
Each morning we were greeted with matronly-looking women who were soft spoken, slow moving and always caring and loving. (In my adult life I had an opportunity to run into the second grade teacher who was working for the local university handling student teachers in our area. Her theory was that all the special education that goes on is ridiculous. Yes, she agreed it had it’s place but her main thought (which I didn’t agree with at first but later had some serious thoughts about) was that when she taught, there were plenty of children with learning disabilities. But these children were taught with love and patience. Time and understanding were key to the learning for these children. Basically her thought process was that those with mild learning disabilities needed to be in the classroom with their matronly teachers who could love them, guide them and prevent those nasty labels. As I said, in the beginning I wasn’t so much on her side, now, a few years later, I think she might have been on to something.
Anyway, as I visited my son’s school yesterday 2 of the me in the building (the assistant principal and a sixth grade teacher) were dressed fully clad in a tie. The head administrator was dressed professionally enough for what this day and time deems professional but I can’t help but wonder if something more business-like wouldn’t have afforded her more respect. And the teachers, clad in jeans and t-shirts and flip flops caused me to start to totally re-think this issue.
Up until a couple of years ago the kids had uniform policies and even now the students have a particularly normal dress code but the thing is, the teachers aren’t necessarily expected to follow it.
And there in my friends, lies what I believe to be a big problem. Students with a shirt that is consider to have “shirt tail” must tuck their shirts inside their pants. Teachers who wear t-shirts or shirt tailed shirts do not. Students with shirts tucked in must have on a belt. Teachers do not necessarily have to abide by this. Yet, teachers are always reprimanding and writing students up for violating the dress code. Odd? I think so.
I think one of the biggest issues facing our public school teachers and administrators at the present time is respect. And, I honestly believe that in order to gain respect you have to give it. And by not practicing what they preach, our educators are skipping a huge step. I know, I’m so 70’s and hippie like but I can’t help but wonder if the discipline problems in my elementary and high schools wasn’t a bit better simply because of those matronly-looking women and those tie clad men.
Clothes really do make a man in my opinion in this case. If the teachers and administrators viewed their job as a business employment and dressed the part instead of simply throwing on whatever is handy, I think they would find that some of the respect afforded teachers 30 years ago just might return.
Think about it in terms of your physicians. If your pediatrician, oncologist, heart specialist comes into the exam rooming wearing a t-shirt and flip flops, to you trust their opinion as much as you would if they met you wearing scrubs or a nice dress or pantsuit for the women and collared shirts and ties for men?
Ponder that. Let it ferment. Push it around in your mind, then let me know what you think. I’m really curious about this.
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I think if you have a catalog this could be a pretty good way to get some business. great tip, thanks for sharing.
Great post! I’m just starting out in community management/marketing media and trying to learn how to do it nicely – resources like this article are incredibly helpful. As our organization is based in the US, it?s all a bit new to us. The example above is something that I worry about as nicely, how to show your own genuine enthusiasm and write about the truth that your product is helpful in that situation.