There was the same problem at my school in the past. A parent actually went to the teacher, very privately, and asked her to dress more modestly as she did not want her son getting free peeks (it was put very diplomatically). The teacher hit the roof! Nothing changed. It was very very weird! I have always dressed conservatively. At 14, my 3 older sisters and mother forced me to buy some mini skirts - I was never comfortable in them! The fashions today make it hard for anyone to dress modestly. However, with a small amount of effort it is possible to dress fashionably and modestly. You just have to work at it a little harder. I think it is very inappropriate, unprofessional, and very inconsiderate for females to wear revealing clothing to school. It is just plain yucky to think of all those kids having a view to China!
PS As for the plus size woman who says bigger women look better in tight fitting clothing - totally false! Large women look best in clothing that fits properly. Wearing the right size can actually streamline the figure and make a large woman look smaller. Maybe some of these ladies need to have their names submitted to What NOt To Wear - I learned a lot from watching them!!!!! (esp. the part about wearing clothes that fit properly.)
Her cooperating teacher needs to tell her that her wardrobe is inappropriate. She would be told if any other aspect of her performance were unprofessional. This should be no different. Big, small, tall, short or any combination of the above: teachers should dress in a manner which is professional and not provacative.
My student teacher used to come to school braless; she was so flatchested she didn't think she needed any means of support. She did, however, need something to cover the pokies. The 8th grade boys were actually goggle-eyed. She was offended when she was told to wear a bra, however. This told me in no uncertain terms that she wasn't teacher material. The kids come first, period. And when the teacher dresses like Britney Spears, they probably do. A teacher who doesn't dress like an adult has no business in the school.
We don't have any of the female issues at school. It is the male teachers and the flip flops that aggravate me. One teacher wears board shorts and flip flops pretty much all spring and fall. A coach was actually wearing khakis and flip flops the other day. I can't tell you the last time I saw him in long pants and I understand that he teaches PE. Shouldn't PE teachers wear sneakers and at least look like they are making an athletic effort. I have some dressy sandals that are flip-flop like in nature, but they are not beach type flip flops. BTW, we are in Missouri so I don't understand the board short/flip flop thing anyway.
Sorry, that I confused you, I meant speech therapist with more than 25 yrs of service. I definitely agree with this. I am just telling you her philosphy not mine.
I've seen teachers who insist on coming to school looking like the students they teach. I don't understand it, especially with the younger teachers. It's hard enough as it is to remind these kids that, even though I'm not even ten years older than them, I am an authority figure. Students aren't going to respect someone that dresses on the same level as them, simple as that. You're going to be their equal and that causes issues. And that's if you're dressed "conservatively," not even getting into the boob/butt issue. As for cleavage, I have a general rule: if I can see the girls when I look down, my students will be able to see them,too. So, needless to say, I own a ton of camis. Like many people have mentioned already, it's a great and quick fix for the cleavage problem.
Maybe they were manly ones. I am a huge fan of flip flops. I think everyone should be allowed to wear them --- not to school unless that is the type of school you have.
I love flip-flops, but I would no more wear them to school than I would wear shorts and a t-shirt. The sensibilities of the universe thank me profoundly for not wearing shorts, by the way. I firmly (heh) believe that if it moves like jello, nobody should have to see it. Young teachers often start their teaching careers wearing the same clothes they wore in college. Someone needs to explain to them that they should use that first paycheck to pay off the clothing they charged to begin their life as an adult. Slovenly teachers negate the word "professional" when people think of us.
Two years ago, my DD said that she had been looking for a job when I was at work. I had been stressing to look decent when she goes looking for a job. Well, the day I made her look professional and took her job hunting, she got a job and started working the next day. Your appearance does matter when looking for a job and should matter while you are on a job.
We have overweight teachers who wear crocs at my school. I loathe them. I think they are hideously ugly. Of course, I wear stilettos with my dress pants. I love shoes. So while I make sure I'm covered up, what I put on my feet is my business.
I could NEVER wear stilettos in the classroom, but that's mostly because I'm a klutz and have been known to fall off sneakers.
There is a teacher at my school that I work at who wears these super high heeled high kneed boots to school. They have leopard or tiger designs on the leg part and the high heel shoe part is super shiny red. Then, she matches her outfit to match the shoes, like if shes wearing her leopard boots, then she'll wear all leopard stuff on top. OH! And she bought the shoes from a company with the word "club" in it, like clubwear????? OH! and she also wears those low cut stuff. She's NOT a new teacher. She should know better. She just looks absolutely ridiculous. She looks like she's going clubbing right after work. Not a good look. :unsure:
I'm not really against flip flops, Lemon. They are just not for me, especially at school. I'm a very conservative dresser. (Please forgive me.... I shouldn't have used the "C" word........:lol::lol::lol Major.......
I don't fall off my shoes and they are mainly covered by my pants. They are also solid colours and not boots. Though I do have boots I wear in winter, or ankle books, they are always covered by pants.
I know you're not against them. In fact, I'm sure you'd like some with an American flag design accented with elephants.:lol: Speaking of flip-flops, we get to wear them today. I'll be sporting my SwitchFlops with the new switch straps I got for Mother's Day.
Hmmmmmmm, an American flag with elephants??..... What a novel idea.. How did you come up with that combo, Lemon.... Of course I would also want a NRA logo. ..:lol::lol: I'm googling right now to see if I can get a pair.....
I like the look of heels with dress pants! That said, my stilletto days are a distant memory, but I think that dress shoes or boots are entirely appropriate.
My younger teachers dress more professionaly than my older teachers. A few of the older ones frequently wear sneakers with sweat pants to school becuase they are bigger sized. My younger teachers male almost always wear a shirt and tie (or at least dress pants and a golf shirt) and my female teachers always are very careful to show no cleavage. We had a problem with a teacher two years ago being hit on her first year, so I think everyone started to understand why we need to cover up.
I was thinking about this this morning. It takes a while to get into a professional workplace mindset after leaving college. I look back at the outfits I wore my first year of teaching-nice, yes, but still a bit iffy. I wore flip flops all the time because I had no idea what shoes to wear with skirts that would be comfortable to stand in all day. So I just wore my flip flops. I wouldn't do that now. I wish there was a personal shopper for new teachers that could take them out and teach them what clothes are comfortable to move in, yet look great. It takes a lot of time to put together a wardrobe, and I would have much rather worked on my room. So I ended up wearing blah circle skirts, solid color t-shirts, a pair of ratty-yet-so-comfortable cords and flip flops.
I also love this look. There are so many looks I love, like the vintage pencil skirt with a blouse tucked in look. But you can't sit on the floor like that, and my blouse never stays tucked in. I went to a vintage store yesterday and just about bought everything on the rack. But then I realized I wouldn't be able to move in anything, so I put it all back. It's a hard compromise between comfort and fashion. I'm really getting into Anthropologie, though, because I think I meld the two with them. (I'm an elementary teacher at heart, most at the home sprawled out on the floor on my stomach with my kids, reading our books)
Jem and Alice - I've had some nasty comments about my shoes from other teachers, but I am comfortable in them and I can move in them. If I couldn't move around in them, I wouldn't wear them. I have ballet flats that I wear when I'm feeling lazy or I'm not feeling well. I also have kitten heels for daily wear. I can do the pencil skirt with the blouse tucked in because I teach middle years and don't sit on the floor lol! But when I had ECS there was no way!
I have always tried very hard to keep "the girls" covered up, for all of the reasons that have already been mentioned. I do not think it is appropriate in the educational setting to be showing much cleavage. That said, I am 7 months pregnant, and wasn't small to begin with, so it is a little hard to keep it as modest as I would like. I still wear a tank top or cami underneath nearly every shirt, but it doesn't always hide it as much as I would like. When not pregnant, though, it is much more easily covered. I have had a hard time finding maternity shirts that are not hideous this time around... Oh well! Next year, I am hoping to be able to get back into my "normal" teaching clothes -- dress slacks, or nice docker-like trouser pants, button down shirts or blouses, occasionally a jacket ... flats or low heels for me, though! I am amazed that some of you can handle the high heels, especially stillettos. I would break an ankle, but if you can handle it, rock on!
myangel, when I was pregnant and couldn't find cute maternity, I would wear clothes that were a size or two larger than my normal clothes rather than maternity.
I have been following this thread and all I can say is, there are some things I am very happy to miss out on! For school, while I don't wear a tie, I do wear dress pants and a collared shirt.
I'm young, but I do agree with the professional dress. I have many shirt I can't wear to school - because I too am a DD and don't want to show my girls off. If my shirt is more form-fitting, I bring a sweater in the spring just in case of a little nipple popping. I am horrified at some of my coworkers, though. Our school is a little lax: men- shirt and tie or polo with slacks; women - nice shirt with slacks or skirt, skirt no more than 4 inches above knee, supposed to wear stockings (but many don't) with a skirt, sleeveless shirt ok, as long as its not a tank top, open toed shoes and sandals ok. Some teachers wear flip flops - I'd only go far enough to wear dressy healed sandals (wedges, I believe). What horrifies me is that their is a group of teachers at my school who very consistently wear knee-high boots and miniskirts -- I'm sorry, I feel like they don't call them hooker boots for nothing. I could see if the skirt came down pass the top of the boots --but short skirt, high boots? Sorry, it bothers me, especially in a high school where I already had an incident with a male student because of my bust size despite my dressing relatively conservatively. I can't help my size, but I can help how the students view me. And I do agree with young teachers needing to dress more porfessionally to seperate themselves from the students. Especially in high school. When you dress like the kids, and you look young enough to be a kid, how much harder is it to help them distinguish you = adult, they = child.
