I look pretty young and well I think Im attractive Ive had the young boys make advances and I will be teaching the older kids starting in August..Can you please provide me with some good advice on how to dress and make myself appear older perhaps but without over compensating style here.. my hunny will have a fit if i dress way out of norm here..
Avoid short skirts or tight pants. Do the "bend over test" when buying blouses. If you bend over and ANY cleavage shows, don't buy it. Wear your hair up - this can make you look older. Generally, dress more conservatively, more business professional.
I agree with the no tight pants and short skirts! Teachers who wear this type of thing are one of my HUGE pet peaves! In addition I would wear jackets or cardigans too.
Try wearing 'old teacher outfits'--the knee highs and long dresses...lol...Just were 'norm' school 'a step up' appropriate clothes. Being a male, a boy--its their hormones...JUST DRESS YOURSELF...
You don't have to dress "old," just appropriately. The most important thing is to have the no-nonsense attitude that clearly communicates that you're not having that!!!
And no visible underwear, please! Have someone check the "rear view" when you bend over to make sure you're not showing any tell-tale elastic. A third layer helps you look pulled together - either a cardigan or a blazer. The best thing you can wear is a no-nonsense attitude.
I think a good rule of thumb is that your skirt MUST go to your knees, with no slits. Anything shorter is a bad idea. Wear button-down, collared shirts. They'll help you look professional and a bit older. If you'll have teenage boys, don't wear tight shirts, either. And I'm with Mrs. K - check your bra line and underwear lines. Also keep makeup reasonable.
Also, don't let what happened to one of my teachers happen to you: I had a teacher in high school who was about 30, and very pretty. It was hot, and she was wearing a long, modest white dress. Then she went to the board, the sun shone through the window on her...and the dress became see-through. All the girls in class were giggling while I and the rest of the boys just gulped and stared. :wow: :woot: Make sure that your lighter-weight clothing doesn't become transparent in sunlight! MathManTim
Make sure you are dressing maturely. A good rule of thumb is "Would a high school student wear your outfit?" If the answer is yes, then you probably should re-think things. When I started teaching, I was a year older than the oldest kid in my class. I had several students ask me out on a regular basis. I made a real effort to dress as a more mature person. This didn't mean I dressed like Mrs. Frizzle, but I just updated things and looked outside of the juniors department for my school wardrobe. A little bit of a heel goes a long way. I have a pair of black boots with a 3" heel that I have wore all winter that I absolutely love. They were comfortable the first day I wore them. I also agree with the wearing the hair up or in another more mature style. Ponytails make us look younger.
I invested in lots of camisoles/tank tops. If I have a shirt that shows cleavage, I just wear one of the camisoles underneath. That way I can wear all my favorite shirts without having to worry. You can even do the fun thing where you layer different colors. When I became a teacher, I swore to myself and my husband that I would never wear a holiday cardigan, jumper, or loafers! With a few tweaks, you can still dress young and trendy without being revealing.
I don't know, Falcon Flyer... I always wanted to organize an Ugly Christmas Sweater Day at school. You know. With reindeer and blinking lights and maybe even one that sings
Heh... at the preschool I was at for a couple of years, we actually DID that once the Friday before Christmas... it was hysterical
One intern that I worked with wore skin tight clothes and low rise pants with high heels. Wow, the high school kids had trouble getting anything done. She loved the attention and the boys would do anything for her, this is a classroom management technique not normally used! When she would bend over, and this was often, her whole back end would show. She was only about 21 at the time.
Regarding bending over, there's a right way & a wrong way. If you have to get something on your desk that's that far where you have to bend & reach over too much, then it's in the wrong place on your desk OR walk around & get it. If it's bending down to pick up something that fell on the floor, as we all should know, we don't bend from our waist & have our butt all in the air, we bend our knees & keep our back straight & pick up the paper. Plus, as we know, it's our whole attitude/personality. If you really don't want the unappropriate attention, don't dress any way that's considered sexy. Save that for the weekends & after work hrs. If a teacher says, "I don't know why the HS kids are acting this way" & the teacher's wearing a length of skirt that's shorter than it should be or a too revealing or tight top, then that's the reason why the kids are acting that way.
