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What (Not) to Wear

Have you been to the gym lately? No, I wasn't implying anything... I just mean, What are people wearing to the gym these days? Anything ...

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

What (Not) to Wear

Have you been to the gym lately? No, I wasn't implying anything... I just mean, What are people wearing to the gym these days? Anything from biking shorts to yoga pants, tank tops to cut-off Tees.  I've seen tops and bottoms with holes in them, slogans from odd to vulgar.  And while we're on the subject, I was once running on the treadmill next to a guy who smelled so foul I had to get off and do weights instead.

Have you been sleeping lately? No, I'm not implying you look tired, I just... Well, of course you've been sleeping.  Perhaps not well, but still. What do you wear to bed? Keep it PG.  Maybe some fluffy pjs, or an old favorite shirt, or sweat pants that shrunk in the wash.

What are you wearing right now? No, that's not a pick-up line.  Wherever you are, reading New Teachers Newsletter, whether it be the Pentagon or the Boston Globe, in your favorite leather or velvet wing back chair, I'm sure you are in the quiet majority.  Those of you who are at university or in your first years of teaching, perhaps you're in a cotton shirt and jeans, or leggings and an over-sized sweater.

Now, what do those three experiences have in common? All three qualify as TYDWTWAAT:

Things You Don't Wear To Work As A Teacher.

I don't believe that clothes make the man, but I also believe that first impressions count.  I do not believe you need to wear new, expensive clothing to make a good impression, but I do believe your clothes need to be neat, clean, and modern.  

This is a truth at once unnerving and unavoidable: your students will notice what you wear way more than you will realize.  I once had a high school class announce that they knew if I was in the building by the orange coat I owned, which I would shed and hang on my chair.  I didn't even know they had seen it, but I guess I wore it often enough.

While you aren't dressing to impress your students, you should certainly care how they view you.  If you wear yoga pants and hoodies, do you think your students will view you as a professional or view you as a peer?  If your shirt is always untucked and your pants have holes in the cuffs, will you command respect or derision? And I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but everyone looks at your butt when you write on the board. Do you really want it revealing your unmentionables?

Today, a very sad portion of society views any item of clothing as an acceptable option for public display.  This is not a viewpoint you will have. You will look like you take pride in your appearance and you care about how you are viewed by the families you serve.

Take a cue from your principal.  How does she dress? If you are called into her office on a whim, will you shrink a little bit in your outfit, or stand tall? Why wouldn't you dress the same as you did for your interview? Show her that how you presented yourself that day was true, inside and out.

I once worked with a teacher who drove this point home for me. She dressed exactly as she taught: haphazardly.  Her clothes never matched, her shoes were fraying at the toe, and her shirts were always too tight.  And surprise, surprise, her instructions were unclear, her lessons were random, and her expectations were low. 

So maybe your school has casual Friday.  Guess what? Your first year calendar will show business-class Monday-Friday.  But Mr. VeteranTeacher wears jeans, you say.  When you are a veteran teacher, you can too.

You may have heard the expression, Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.  Here at New Teachers Newsletter let's say, Dress for the job you have, if you want to keep it.  Maybe your clothes won't be the reason you're hired, but let it be one more reason to keep you.



Thursday, April 21, 2016

Summertime and the Living's... Uneasy?

I am a huge John Mayer fan.  Perhaps you aren't, but stick around. We'll move on from him soon enough. (Let's leave his philandering personal life out of this!)  He plays a song called "Wildfire" and in part he croons,

"a little of bit of summer is what the whole year's all about."

While 12 weeks of sunshine, grilling, beach days and blue skies sure help us New Englanders forget about our six months of winter, as teachers, do we go a bit too far? Are July and August the months we live for? Even worse - do we teach our students to do the same thing? What message does that send to them?

I really like this teacher's post about why she stopped counting down to summer. She explains 5 reasons and the last is the most powerful for me: counting down to a certain day assumes that today cannot be as good as the future.

Believe you me, I've counted down in my day.  My wedding, for example.  Every trip to Disney World (yes, more than 1, or 5, or 13...).  The Paleo diet I did for the 28 days of last February.  Sometimes counting down helps me realize that the present order of things is only temporary.  It builds anticipation and expectation, which for a trip or other event can heighten the actual experience.

When we really think about counting down with our students to the end of school, I think we can all agree it creates a subtle atmosphere of discontent.   As a student, I start to think: If even the teachers can't wait to get out of here, why should I like school?  Why should I put effort into my last book report, because in 11 days it won't matter anyway?  If I'm the student that has an unhappy (or unsafe) home life, and school is my relief, how does this attitude affect me?  Now I feel even more out of place because I'm happy to be here when no one else is, not even the adults.

As a teacher it can be difficult to keep your motivation and energy when the windows are open, birds are singing, and you know you'll be having drinks on the deck in T minus two hours.  But we are being paid to do a job and I believe if it's worth doing, it's worth doing well.

Let's be happy about the weather and the activities, but let's embrace what we do with our kids.  Class outside? Nature scavenger hunt? Quiz review relay races?  Plant a garden? Field trips! Fresh air!  Resist the urge to coast through the last few weeks of school.  Try something new.  Keep looking for exciting ways to present your curriculum.  Make your students feel like you want them there.  And maybe at home we'll countdown, but let's make those final days count.