I have a question that I receive varying answers on depending on where I am at. What do you consider to be appropriate dress for a teacher? Are you allowed to wear denim skirts on non-"dress down" days? Do you feel you have to dress to the nines or do you dress professionally, but comfortably. I ask this question because I know a student teacher who has been ridiculed for her outfits. One of her co-ops told her that she wore the same outfit too many times. Just wondering what all of your opinions are on this subject.
We usually wear nice pants with blouses or sweaters. We can wear denim skirts any day, but denim jeans only on Friday.
When I was doing my student teaching (18 years ago), I was told to wear a dress every day, even if I only had one dress and had to wash it every night. I haven't worn a dress now in about 4 years, but I do wear nice pant suits nearly every day. .
I think it is important for teachers to look professional. The teachers at my school and I dress professionally but comfortable! We are not allowed to wear corduroy or jeans, except on free dress days. I also haven't wore a dress or skirt in ages! I don't think it is appropriate to tell someone they wore the outfit too many times!!! What matters is that they look nice and clean!
We too are only allowed to jeans on Friday's or other special occassions. Blue Jean skirts are allowed anytime. We can wear dresser Capri's as long as they are below the knee and are worn with dresser tops and shoes. This may sound silly, but what I wear each depends on what I am doing that day or if there is a meeting. On meeting days, something that is already ironed ( like my dresses) is a must. Some days, I am tutoring. Pants and my clark shoes are a must on these days. Some days I wake up and know that I need to really clean the room, khakis it is. I think the vibe at my school is professionally causual. Most are dressed to get right in the floor with the kids and work, yet they are still in slacks and sweater or basic top with blazer.
I have a walk- in closet full of clothes. Yet, I have faithful pieces that I wear each and every week. They are easy to iron ( or require none), are comfortable, and I just simply love them. If someone doesn't like that I weat the same outfit every 5 days, then too bad. Although, I am a fashion girl, I am there to teach not host a modeling shoot.
My first school I taught at was beyond casual...one of the teachers wore a sweatsuit sort of outfit nearly everyday- and she wasn't a PE teacher. Teachers at my school now are a nice mix. Jeans on Friday for many, but many wear them during the week as well with a nice top. There hasn't ever really been a conversation in the past four years that I have been there about dress code so I guess there hasn't been an issue with it.
We used to be able to wear jeans on EVERY FRI and on special days like Field Trips, state testing...
Now we are only allowed TWELVE days a year to wear them. Our principal gets to decide when we can use those 12 days. Lucky for us she bends the rules now and then and we get an extra day.
I am not much of a dress wearer. Quite honestly it is hard to be an elem teacher and wear power suits and dresses as much as I sit on the floor with my kids.
I usually stick to kakais (sp) or black pants with nice tops.
When I worked at my previous school it was sooo old that the air was very unpredictable. Some years it was off for an entire week in the hottest part of the year and we were on the THIRD floor. In instances like that I never wore hoses and such b/c you could NEVER predict how hot your day would be and TX isn't exactly a 'cool' state.
What?! The same outfit too many times? Does her cooperating teacher want to fund her wardrobe? As long as her outfits are professional, there should not be a problem. I tend to dress more professionally than most teachers at my school because I look very young. I would not wear a denim skirt.
I have a standard uniform I wear almost everyday. Pants and a polo shirt. On fridays I wear jeans. Soooo some might say that I wear the same outfit too many times. Oh well!
I think it depends on the school environment. In my district there are schools where the standard teacher uniform is "Sunday Best," while other schools have anything from sweatpants to shorts.
My school does not have a dress code, but most teachers either wear skirts or nice but comfortable pants, including nice jeans, and a simple top.
As some of the PP said, as long as the student teacher is dressed professionally, the CT needs to lay off.
When I started teaching I felt I needed to dress professionally all the time. I wore dresses, skirts or slacks. When I did my student teaching the teachers told me I was dressing up too much and that after a year or two my dress would change. I have taught at a number of schools and fifteen years later I am still dressing professionally. I have had to change somewhat, though, as now I live on a tropical island and many of the teachers here wear shorts, jeans and sandals. My dresses turned into sundresses with light sweaters and my slacks have turned to khaki's on Fri only for a dress down day but I still think I need to dress professionally. One day I wore jeans and it became a school announcement practically. I wore them with dress shoes, a jacket and blouse but that didn't keep me from taking a lot of flack. I guess my thought is it shouldn't matter what you wear if you are following policy, and if someone doesn't like what you wear, well, opinions are like elbows --- everybody has a couple.
My schools dress code is pretty lax. No jeans, but anything else is ok. I try to dress professionally yet comfortably.
I can't believe a co-op teacher would criticize a student teacher for wearing the same thing too often. Does she not realize that not all college students have an endless supply of money to buy a wardrobe to student teach. If this girl is appropriately dressed, it should not matter how often she wears her clothes. Professional clothing is essential, but I truly think that it takes time to build a work wardrobe and I have been known to wear the same thing over and over again if I'm in a rut.
I wear dress pants and nice top. Jeans on Friday.
Most around here wear about the same plus skirts,dresses.
I haven't worn a dress to work for years, people would
fall over!!!
We have an optional collection box for Jeans Friday.
Money goes to a local charity.
When I was a student-teacher I was not supposed to have a second job. (This is the case in most universities, I think.) Where I went to college, student-teaching was a year-long internship. I bent the rules and waitressed on Sundays because I absolutely had to have the cash to make it through the week. However, there was no extra money for me to spend on clothes or shoes. In August, I went shopping and my mom purchased 3 'professional' outfits that were seasonally appropriate. I had enough in my own wardrobe to make it through the week. However, I wore the same pieces every week. When cold weather came, my mom bought 3 more outfits and I just combined them with what I already had and got by. All year I wore 2 pairs of shoes (one brown, one black).
I paid my own way through college and it was really important for me to leave with no loans. It was especially tough to pay for tuition and other expenses during my student teaching. Most young college kids dress very differently to attend class than they do when it's time to student-teach. My focus was on my education and the education of my students. Not my wardrobe. I'm glad that my CT was able to look past my clothes and see my skills.
rude for anyone to comment on the ST's outfits. I wear the same 5-6 slacks and switch out a variety of tops but never really pay attention to how often a certain combo comes together. Most of my tops are combos of a cami or t-shirt and an overblouse that buttons up. Sometimes the last things washed and put away are right there at the front of the closet and easy to grab again.
We also wear jeans every Friday and most Wednesdays--we pay $1 on Wednesdays to different causes...sometimes I wear a nice blouse and dress shoes with it and sometimes a school t-shirt and clean white athletic shoes. One teacher that wears skirts everyday sometimes wears jean skirts on other days and nothing is ever said. I would say it is more about how she carries herself than what she has on.
In Spain there are no rules for teacher's clothes. We can wear jeans, flip-flops, shorts, t-shirts... I usually wear jeans and trainers alamost every day. And some of my colleagues wear miniskirts. I'll attach a photograph of an spanish group of teachers.
For many years teachers were required to wear khaki pants with a school logo shirt or a dress or skirt. They opened it up this year to slacks and a nice blouse. We all look so much better now. We are not allowed to wear jeans except of the very occasional time when the head of school gives the okay.
And then it must be with a school shirt, which I hate. We can't wear jeans any other day but denim skirts are fine. We are allowed to wear capris and open-toed shoes, which I've heard some schools don't allow (hope I don't ever end up at one of them). As long as we are decently covered and it's not jeans, we're fine. I very rarely wear skirts or dresses. Pants are just easier, and so much more comfortable. Now I will say when it gets hot I wear skirts more often because they are cooler. No hose EVER! I will wear tights in the winter.
but we just got a new superintendent, so hopefully that stays true!
We don't have an official policy in writing, but we've been told the policy states:
No flip flops
No jeans (colored included) except on Fridays--denim skirts are fine. We donate about $40 for the year to charity to wear denim
No tennis shoes unless it's a special occassion
No short skirts
No bra straps showing,nothing too low cut
Very basic--there is a wide range of dress. I typically wear chinos from NY&Co. during the week, or cordoroys from Ann Taylor Loft in the winter, and in the spring and fall I wear capris (same type of matieral) or skirts.
Good grief, most students are poor! At least she is clean and professionally dressed. I remember one CT I had who told another ST to nix the jeans and only wear dress pants, even if he had only one pair and had to wash them every night. I don't know that I agree w/ that, but I get her point. As long as a teacher is clean and not a slob....there's that fine line and every one has a different idea of where the line is.
Our principal has made it known that he does not like blue jeans, any other color denim is ok (WTH?) and he also does not like hoodies or tennis shoes. Now, there is no formal dress code and he does not confront anyone who wears those, so we pretty much dress how we want. That said, we are all a casual dressy group (khakis, dress pants, nice shirts, occasional jeans). We used to have a young gal who wore very skimpy clothes, but principal never had the nerve to correct her (I think he liked it )
I know I always feel happier and more comfortable in jeans (nice ones) but I limit it to recess duty day since they are my warmest pants.
We are not supposed to wear blue jeans except for Fridays and our current $2 Tuesdays which is a Relay for Life fundraiser. I wear khakis and polos or turtlenecks most of the time in K. When I taught higher grades I sometimes wore skirts. Our PreK teachers were granted permission to wear scrubs. We are fairly casual so if someone is really dressed up we will wonder if its a special occasion for them.
not have a "dress code" in our district. We are required to follow the students code. So, I guess in a way we do. We can't wear spaghetti strap tops or flip flops. Jeans can't be saggy or is the word baggy? - You know with the boxer shorts hanging out. Boobs should be covered. That's about it.
In May/June when it is really hot. There are many teachers who do wear nice expensive sandals without backs on them. It is difficult to find sandals with backs.
In answer to your question, a jean dress or skirt is fine any day. So are jeans. Many teachers do wear them everyday with beautiful tops.
We can wear jeans whenever we want. They do have to be neat & clean. We can wear tennis shoes whenever we want. I do wear skirts many days. We can wear flip-flops when it's really hot. Here in the southwest, we have 100 degree days from late May all the way through September.
You are always going to find different answers on this subject because of all the different types of schools and school locations. Know the school's dress code and comply. Other than that, it's not anyone else's concern.
I don't particularly care what everyone else is wearing. They hired me to teach classes, not be the fashion police. I'll check to make sure my students are compliant with their dress code, but I'll leave the adults to the administration. Not my job.
Our school does not have a written dress code for teachers, but nobody seems to wear anything too bad. There are some who dress more casually than I would think --jeans/t-shirts/athletic shoes--every day, but they're doing their jobs well, and it's not my job to dress them.
I'm sort of a "casual" or "business casual" kind of person, so I'm typically in slacks or khakis--long or capri--with a variety of shirts & blouses & sweaters. I'll throw in a skirt here and there, mostly denim or khaki. My feet give me trouble, so I'm in comfy shoes, although I don't like frumpy looking ones. I can't wait for sandal weather to arrive. There's always somebody in our building in jeans. Tomorrow a good portion of the staff will have on jeans and t-shirts/sweatshirts because we're having "UK Day" since the college team is in the NCAA game tomorrow afternoon. I'll be wearing my "weekend" jeans tomorrow. Typically for work I wear a dark-wash jean with a casual shoe and blazer/cardigan/blouse when I'm in the "dress down" mode.
My school is beyond casual!
I wear (everyday) cargo pants and polo shirts! usually with uggs. in the summer with sneakers. we go outside for recess everyday so I dont spend big bucks on my wardrobe!
We are allowed to wear jeans on any days. I try not to wear them more than twice, one day being Friday. Not all teachers at our school think you should wear jeans on other days but our principal said it was okay, so many of us do.
03-18-2008, 07:14 PM
What matters is that they look nice and clean! 
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