I Don't Want To See My Teacher's Feet!

The new school year is upon us again (YAY!!!!) and we are in the throes of back-to-school preparations.  Today, I spent a couple of hours with my daughter at school for orientation where we paid for school fees, picked up agendas and schedules, and ordered yearbooks.  While waiting in the numerous, long lines, I realized something significant:  I couldn’t tell who the parents were and who the teachers/administrators were. 

There were some adults that were dressed professionally and waiting in lines with their children.  Obviously, these were working parents.  But amidst the throngs of teens, a majority of the adults were clad in summer apparel.  And by summer apparel, I mean the very casual kind that you wear to bum around the yard on the weekend.  Cargo shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, sandals, and flip flops were everywhere!  To my shock and dismay, I realized that the teachers and administrators were wearing this summer apparel.  The principal himself was trotting around in crocs (ugh!), shorts, and a t-shirt.  This is just sad.

This may not seem significant to some people, but to members of the Y-generation, it’s huge.  Our generation believes in having manners, good work ethics, and we respect authority figures (even when we don’t like it).  So, seeing all the teachers and administrators dressed like they were on a weekend vacation at the beach was disheartening and it shows the degradation of our business and work ethics.

Yes, I understand that it’s technically not a school day, since school doesn’t officially start until next Wednesday.  But the teachers have reported back to school and are officially on the clock again.  They should be dressing for the job.  I don’t care that it’s 100+ degrees outside and all the students are in shorts.  The staff should still dress professionally for the job.

Sadly, the problem stems from the fact that the dress code for the school staff has also changed over the years.  Capri pants, blue jeans, and open toed shoes are the norm for women staff and rarely do you ever see anything dressier.  For men, I see them in jeans and casual pants with a golf shirt.  (And I’m happy to report that I don’t usually see the men wearing open toed shoes in the classroom.)  Unfortunately, the casualness of it all is totally unacceptable.  What happen to the days where you dress to impress?  Where men wore a sport coat and slacks and women wore dresses, skirts, and dress slacks with work appropriate shoes?  Which, by the way, cute sandals (aka, fancy flip flops) are not. 

What’s more frustrating, is the fact that the students have to adhere to the school district’s strict uniform policy.  Yet, the teachers and administrators can “dress down.”  And this dressing down business is NOT the same thing as business casual.  It’s just plain sloppy.

Teachers and administrators often complain that kids don’t respect them anymore.  Well, if the teachers would present themselves in a more authoritative fashion, maybe they would gain back some respect.  Dress to impress, own the classroom, assert themselves as the authority figure and command the respect.  They will be taken more seriously and probably be liked better by the students and fellow teachers.  And if not, at least they look good.  J