Parents, how do your teachers dress for school?

[Liberty Belle]

This is all pretty interesting. I plan on dressing in khakis and dress pants with flats, mostly because I will be on my feet most of the day. It wouldn't make sense for me to get TOO dressed up because I will be accompanying the kids to art, gym and music class.

Right, and depending on the students you get, you may be running down hallways, sitting/crawling on the floor a lot, "snotted" and "drooled" on, carrying them, etc.

Last year we could wear nice track/sports/jogging suits. They were comfortable, looked nice, though casual, and helped us to be very physically flexible. This year we're not allowed to wear them.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I disagree about the Crocs-I see nothing wrong with wearing them with a pair of slacks. And teachers are active at every level-not many good teachers sit behind a desk all day. We all need comfortable shoes. Someone else posted that Tennis shoes are unacceptable-again I disagree. I have some brown Sketchers tennis shoes, and some black Sketchers (love the brand) that look like Crocs, that I wear all the time. I always dress professionally, but comfortably.

I wear Crocs to work all the time. Some days I only sit down for lunch. I also have to wheel a wheelchair up and down a steep bumpy hill, run in gym class, etc. I'm not about to let fashion come before being able to do my job well.

 

[Teacher03]

I teach in a Catholic school, and we are expected to dress professionally, but we are allowed to wear khakis, dockers, etc. No flip flops, tank tops or anything like that. We are never permitted to wear jeans, except during the dress down day during Catholic Schools week. At our staff meeting the other day, our principal reminded us that we are not allowed to slow cleavage!

As a parent, it did bother me when the teachers wore something that looked unprofessional. There was a young teacher at my kids' school who went through a divorce. Soon after the tops got lower and shorter, the jeans tighter, and the heels higher. She was cuter than cute, but not for school.

 

[Aliceacc]

Well, let me reiterate what I told my dd's middle school principal in re her 7th grade English teacher.

"If teachers want to be treated like and paid as professionals, then they need to BE professional in all ways, including their dress. Unless you want to be treated like a professional hoochie, showing up to work in a tank top cut down to there and a denim skirt cut up to there, is NOT professional."

IOW: Dress like you want to be treated. If you want to be treated like a kid or a hoochie, then dress accordingly. If you want to be treated like a professional doing their job, then dress accordingly.

As a 23 year veteran teacher, I agree completely!!!

The major department stores have lots and lots of options for comfortable professional dress at affordable prices. Lots of teachers out there pay more for their jeans than I do for the suits I find on sale.

Not everyone has to wear suits and stockings to work each day. But dress pants and a decent top (ie-- not too sheer or showing cleavage) or a long skirt and sweater-- these wardrobe choices are affordable, comfortable, and appropriate for most classrooms.

Elementary and Special Ed classrooms necessarily have to be a little less formal, since those teachers spend time on the floor with their kids.

But if we as a group wish to be treated as professionals, then I think our wardrobe choices should reflect that wish.

Several years ago I brought my youngest to our local elementary school to be tested for Speech. I could NOT believe the dress of 2 of the 3 professionals with whom I spoke that day. They knew they had a parent meeting, and that they might very well have had to break some news I didn't want to hear. Yet both women dressed as would the high school kids I teach. (The third wore a suit and tie.) As much as some teachers might not want to hear it, the fact that he dressed as a professional gave his remarks far more credence than those of his colleagues.

College Education courses should most definitely cover professional dress!!!

To the OP: how about hitting the clearance racks and finding some colored cotton T shirts, long skirts, and sandals for the first weeks of school? In most parts of the country, that would be weather appropriate, and neither too dressy nor too casual until you get the feel of the building in which you'll be teaching. Throw in a blazer or two for those days when you'll want to look a bit more authoritative (say that first Open School Night for parents.)

 

[Lunchlady]

I work in a school and would like to tell you about a sub we had one day. She was wearing flip flops. She had just walked away from me and then a minute later she was on the floor. A child had stepped on the back of her flip flop and tripped her. She ended up wih a broken hip and was out of work for a very long time. I don't think that flip flops should be worn at school. A think teachers should dress professional. Next year our system goes uniform and would love to see the teachers have to follow some sort of dress code also.

 

[mskani]

Last year when my dd was in 6th grade, her math teacher, a former football player, would wear jeans and polo shirts that barely covered his bulging biceps, which revealed his multiple tatoos! It's a good thing that the kids were young, if they were any older, I don't know how they could be expected to concentrate on math while having to look at him! He was gorgeous!

 

[MushyMushy]

Last year when my dd was in 6th grade, her math teacher, a former football player, would wear jeans and polo shirts that barely covered his bulging biceps, which revealed his multiple tatoos! It's a good thing that the kids were young, if they were any older, I don't know how they could be expected to concentrate on math while having to look at him! He was gorgeous!

6th grade you say? Are you kidding me? I bet half the girls weren't able to concentrate! Those hormones are brewing away in there.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I teach at a high school. We have jean days about twice a month but have to pay $1 for the right to do so. For another dollar we can wear tennis shoes with them. I always pony up the $2. We wear "eaglewear" with it (any spirit shirt for our school).
I HATE dressing up, so over the years I've adapted my style to what it is now--dress pants/khakis (capris when it's warm) with a nice shirt or sweater. The occasional skirt. I gave up pantyhose a few years ago. I used to always wear flat shoes but now I look for at least a little heel on them so my calves look better. Gloria Vanderbilt has a type of pant that is almost like jeans, but in dress colors, and I love those.
I gave up suits sometime after my first baby (who is now 16). And I will never again wear one of those dress shirts with a bow at the neck. It's bad enough I have to wear my little reading glasses now; I don't want to completely look like an old maid schoolmarm.
It cracked me up on the two "teacher work days" we had when the newbies all dressed up. I wore shorts. I have messy work to do on those days to get my room ready. Plus there is no AC in my part of the building.
Some of my colleagues really dress up--a woman with no kids comes to mind--and others are business casual like me. I never get notes on my evaluations about being less than professional so I don't worry about it.
Robin M.

 

[figment52]

Teachers should dress professionally.

If they (and any other adult for that matter) expect students to respect them they need to dress as an authority figure not as their friend.

 

[Jeafl]

Hi. Good luck with your new job.

I'm a para and I wear khakis, twill pants, sometimes skirts, nice tops, etc. We are only allowed to wear jeans on spirit days. We can't wear sweatshirts or tshirts, either, even with khakis (though we can wear nicer, t-shirt shaped tops).

Thank you. This is going to be very different for me. My degree is in business, and I worked in advertising for 11 years before I stayed home with my kids. It's going to be a big adjustment!

 

[chobie]

My DH always dresses in slacks and nice shirts. Only wears a tie occasionally, but never jeans except on pep assembly days then he wears his jeans and collared pep band t-shirt because he is the band teacher. He used to wear jeans when he first started but soon realized the kids respected him more when he dressed better.

 

[Planogirl]

Our teachers dress pretty casually. They wear slacks or capris and comfortable shirts most of the time but they do seem to have intermittent jeans days. The principal and assistant principal dress a little nicer but not always.

I see nothing wrong with them dressing casually. I haven't seen any change in how the kids respect or listen to them.

 

[torinsmom]

I work with Pre-K/K's and I DO wear jeans and denim capris often. I wear sweaters, polos and other nice looking shirts with them. And GASP! I do wear my crocs or my tennis shoe most days. I am on the floor 3-4 hours out of my work day, on the playground, in the lunchroom helping kids with lunch, etc. I need to be comfortable to do my job well. I dress more formally(LOL Khakis and sandals) when there is a special occasion(first days of school, parent education night, etc)

I think it really depends on the age group and your job duties. If I was standing/sitting in a classroom giving lectures, I could dress in business casual all the time.

Marsha

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

I know last year DS's teacher (Pre-K) wore khaki or black slacks and a nice polo shirt usually, unless it was school spirit day (Friday). Then she wore her staff polo with jeans.

 

[MM27]

Teachers should dress professionally.

If they (and any other adult for that matter) expect students to respect them they need to dress as an authority figure not as their friend.

A good teacher can gain student's respect regardless of what they wear.

 

[chobie]

A good teacher can gain student's respect regardless of what they wear.

True, but when kids come in for the first day of school and see their teacher dressed professionally, I think it sets the tone for respect.

 

[torinsmom]

I won't even SEE the parents at my new school on normal school days, so I don't worry too much about how they perceive how I dress. The important thing is how I do my job. As far as the kids, they love my Disney crocs and they love that I can get down on the floor for lessons, chase them on the playground and help them with the painting work without being worried about messing up more formal clothes.

I try my best not to form judgements on anyone by what they wear. Respect is something that is earned by your actions, not by what you wear, IMHO.

Marsha

 

[december]

I work with Pre-K/K's and I DO wear jeans and denim capris often. I wear sweaters, polos and other nice looking shirts with them. And GASP! I do wear my crocs or my tennis shoe most days. I am on the floor 3-4 hours out of my work day, on the playground, in the lunchroom helping kids with lunch, etc. I need to be comfortable to do my job well. I dress more formally(LOL Khakis and sandals) when there is a special occasion(first days of school, parent education night, etc)

I think it really depends on the age group and your job duties. If I was standing/sitting in a classroom giving lectures, I could dress in business casual all the time.

Marsha

But most good teachers don't just lecture all day. Teaching by talking AT kids is a thing of the past. Kids respect teachers who do their job well, and who care about them (not by being their friend-by teaching them what they need to know). No, hoochie clothes are not acceptable. We aren't allowed sleeveless, or to show cleavage, or too much leg. But we also don't dress in suits-the principals wear collared shirts and slacks. As I stated, I wear Dockers pants, polo or tshirt shaped (but nicer) shirts (except on Fridays), and croc type shoes or tennis shoes. I am the authority in my class, but I'm also approachable.

I think some of you have a strange idea of what happens in a classroom!

Good luck OP.

 

[Aliceacc]

I try my best not to form judgements on anyone by what they wear. Respect is something that is earned by your actions, not by what you wear, IMHO.

Marsha

I don't entirely agree.

For starters, I teach HS math, so I'm at the board for a good part of the class, and walking between the rows for the rest of the time. So suits and more formal attire are well suited to the job I do, while I understand it would not be appropriate in your position.

But I DO judge people by what they wear to some extent. First impressions are hard to ignore.This summer I had to meet two surgeons: one for my July surgery and my upcoming September surgery, and a plastic surgeon for September. Both wore professional dress: suit and tie. I have to be honest: had either one worn cutoffs and a Budweiser T shirt, I would have reconsidered using that particular doctor. Perhaps it's narrow minded of me, but I expect a professional to dress the part.

Likewise, if my banker is dressed in a skimpy braless tank top and micro mini with her bellybutton ring and tongue ring showing, I'm going to think twice before taking her advice. She may be the best financial advisor in the world, but her judgement concerning her wardrobe is going to make me question her financial judgement.

A bathing suit and coverup at a funeral is going to get some judgements, regardless of how sincerely the person is mourning or what a good person she is.

People, particularly people who don't know you well yet, ARE going to judge you by what you wear. It may not be fair, but I think it's a reality.

Again, I'm not equating some of the teacher outfits mentioned here with the rather extreme examples I brought up. But I do think that sometimes you need to dress to fit the job or the occasion, and that you will be judged by what you wear.

 

[LaraK]

This is an excellent article about first impressions....it's a little long, but spot on from my experiences.

http://www.businessknowhow.com/growth/dress-impression.htm

Current research shows that first impressions are formed in 1/10th of a second.