John: How to Dress for Success at School

It is spirit week at my school. Homecoming on Friday, music playing in the hallways between classes, pie eating contests, Ms. Homecoming Court, and more festivities make up the events of the week. For teachers, spirit week can either be a headache or a great way for your students to see you get out of your comfort zone. Assuming you choose the latter, you are going to do lots of dressing up each day.

I love clothes. My wife gives me a hard time about how much I enjoy shopping for clothes. Her rule is that whenever I spend money on clothes she gets to spend the same amount on her own. For my fellow fashion lovers going into the teaching profession, there are some pieces that need to be added to your wardrobe for your first year of teaching.

Suit: Guys or girls need a solid suit that they can wear to job interviews. You won’t be overdressed. Most principals wear a suit every day. I’ve even worn a suit to IEP meetings if I think it would be appropriate based on the people attending.

Old-man clothes: As a new teacher you will get sick of people asking if you are a student. I started to keep track of how many times I was asked, but just know it was a lot. Teachers at my school are not required to wear a tie, but I do nearly every day to stand out from the students. Even on days when we are allowed to wear jeans, I still try to dress them up and sometimes wear a tie with them. I don’t know what girls would wear to look older, but it’s something to think about.

Functional everyday clothes: For most teachers, but especially special education teachers, everyday clothes needs to be functional. Wearing a slim fitting skirt isn’t going to fly for a preschool special education teacher who spends most of the day on the floor in circles and centers with her students. On days when I do the coffee shop with my students, I don’t wear a dress shirt and tie; I stick with a collared shirt and khakis.

Comfy shoes: Comfortable shoes are a must! I spend all day on my feet, and I can tell a difference in my back, feet, and legs when I wear less supportive shoes.

Spirit week clothes: High school teachers and even some middle and elementary school teachers will have spirit days or spirit week to prepare for. Here are some popular dress-up themes so you can prepare ahead of time:

• Retro day-your school might have a ‘70s or ‘80s theme. This one is easier for those teachers who were around during those time periods and view everyday as retro day. 
• Camo day- every spirit week I have been involved with has had some form of camouflage dress up day. Go all out—head to toe—in camo.
• Tacky day-another one that is easier for some teachers than others. When I was in high school, we had “Geek Day.” Most schools have moved to a more appropriate name for this day. Get some thick-rimmed glasses and put white tape around the nose piece. Add a pair of suspenders to your pants that are pulled up halfway to your chest and you are set.
• Favorite college or team day-for teachers who have recently graduated this one is pretty easy.
• School spirit day-after getting hired, find out how you can get a t-shirt or collared shirt from your school. I have several students involved in cheerleading, the marching band, JROTC, and other school groups. I try to get t-shirts that support the things they are involved with and wear these shirts on designated days. My school allows teachers to wear jeans and Dorman gear every Friday with a $1 donation to a designated charity. You might want to suggest this to your principal.

Hope these suggestions help you prepare for your first year as a teacher!

Comments

[Stephanie]

I've always been a person to, we'll just say, not think too much about her looks. I was an athlete all through college and tended to wander into class wearing the same grey sweats and t-shirt everyday. When you work out twice a day, it just made sense. Moving into the professional world I have learned a lot about how much clothing can affect how people regard you. I am the farthest person to care about looks over anything else, but have definitely changed my mindset about the image it gives off. Teachers are professionals, and in order to be treated like one, need to exude the image of it, with practicality of the job. There are plenty of clothes that can be worn on the floor with kindergarteners and still be better than your saturday jeans and sweatshirt. Here's to being professionals!

[Tim Larrabee]

Great points! The way someone dresses speaks volumes about how they regard what it is the are doing and their opinions of those with whom they are interacting. Whoa, this may not be true but there is a difference between the message one intends to send and the message one actually sends. Teachers are professionals and should dress accordingly. Yes, the functionality and sensibility of the attire is a factor in our given environments but they are not the only factors. The way I dress as I go into the classroom everyday sends a message to the students, parents, administrators, and everyone else I interact with. I need to be thoughtful about just what the message I am sending is.

[Jo]

In a world where business casual, or just casual is very acceptable in almost every work place, I think it's great that teachers still tend to dress up. It not only makes them look professional, but I think students tend to respect teachers and (other) adults when they are not looking like they think they're still teenagers. I love wearing jeans, and when I was a paraprofessional, I enjoyed Fridays when teachers could dress down and wear jeans and sweatshirts if they preferred. But the other days of the week, I wore dress pants. As you pointed out, I think it's important for teachers (especially females) to be conscientious about wearing tops that are too revealing, or an outfit that you can't bend in very well. Love ties on men too!

[Nick]

John- I will be starting my student teaching next semester and really enjoyed this blog! I too enjoy buying and wearing nice clothing and and Suit is the next thing on my list to purchase before I begin teaching. Wearing a tie to set yourself apart from your students is a good idea, and something I now plan to do. Thanks for the advice!

[Hailey K]

John, Seeing you posted a blog about clothing caught my eye right away! First of all the comfy shoes is important for everyone, especially in special education! I finally have found a pair of flat shoes that are a tennis shoe style, but still look like dress shoes that I love... so I bought them in every color they came in! One thing I have noticed is that when you see a teacher wearing an outfit that is inappropriate at school you notice and you wonder, "why would they wear that to school???" When I get ready for school each day I always think this to myself.. "what would other professionals think of this outfit? Am I dressed professionally?"

On another note with it just being halloween, I love dressing up with my students! It's part of the fun of being a teacher. For halloween I wore a batman shirt and my cooperating teacher was "Super teacher" my students got a huge kick out of us being super heros... even my middle schoolers! I loved too how our first grade teachers all wore scrubs and dressed up as nurses/doctors- they all caught the eyes of their students! Spirit week can be a lot of fun, but it throws a lot of are academics out the window- good thing it is only one week! Thanks for your post :)

[Emma]

I agree with dressing up, but also dressing appropriately. I'm currently doing my student teaching at an elementary school and have opted out of most casual Fridays, because other teachers and parents in the school make the assumption that I am a high school student volunteer. As a woman myself, when trying to figure out clothing that would be appropriate for me to wear to school, and I hope not to offend anyone by this, I just think "Would my mother wear this?" If I answer yes, then I wear it. If the answer is no, I try to rearrange or pair different pieces of clothing with something else to make it more of my mom's style. I've also become more aware of the teenagers that I see around town and in the school. If I see them wearing something that is in my wardrobe, then I put that into a pile to wear on weekends.

[Avery]

My school recently had a spirit week which followed the same pattern of wearing crazy clothes to school. I choose not to participate in most of the days. I need my students to have as much confidence and respect in my ability to be their teacher. I felt like crazy hair day may undo some of my hard work.

[John]

@Tonya I whole-heartedly agree with what you said about your students having a teacher that looks like all the other teachers. That reason is a great one for dressing up for spirit days. Sometimes my school has a door decorating contest, and I always make sure my students are involved so our door doesn't stand out from the others.

[Tonya]

I appreciate this post about special dress up days! As a special education teacher I typically have not participated. The High School where I teach recently wrapped up their homecoming week. This is my second year at this high school. Previously I had always taught in the elementary setting. Last year, I was very anxious about the homecoming week and all its activities. I was so worried about how my students were "doing" during these special days, I didn't enjoy it myself. I definitely did not take the time to participate in any dressing up days.
This year I did a bit more. What I found out that was more important was that I did do the dress up days so that I would look like every other teacher in the school. This helps my students feel like their teacher is like every other teacher. This helps them feel like every other kid.

[Stephanie C]

I am currently student teaching in a middle school/ high school. They recently had homecoming and along with homecoming came dress up days! I made an effort to dress up everyday because I believe if a teacher dresses up it shows that they are enthused about homecoming as well.

I strongly agree on the comfortable clothes and shoes. With my experiences in the classroom I have always been kneeling on the floor, speed walking from place to place, etc. My family always laughs at me because if I got clothes shopping for school I always tell them I am going to go buy more teacher clothes and shoes.

[Sabrina]

We recently had "Spirit Week" at our elementary school. I was bummed out when it came to "Jersey day" because I do not own any type of Jersey clothing. We also had "Nerd Day", which I love because I can completely mismatch and it is okay. However, there were comments from some teachers who refused to call it "Nerd Day" with their students, instead they called it "Silly day". I thought this was a tad bit odd and asked why they did that. It was confusing the the students when the whole school kept referring to "Nerd Day", they kept asking, "What is a nerd?" (Kindergarteners) When I asked about it, the teacher said to me, "The word 'nerd' is a negative word that has negative connotations." Hmmm, I do not agree.
I do 100% think all teachers should wear comfortable shoes- not flashy heels. Heels can be distracting. Students in my class, when they hear someone walk through the halls with "clicky" shoes will say, "Ughhh, there are those shoes again- how annoying!" Haha. Well, I mean if high heels are comfortable for you, that is fine...but I will stick to my flats.

[Kayla]

John,
Thanks for sharing your wardrobe tips. I am currently a student and have had field experiences in a number of different schools. I have noticed that the way teachers dress in every school differs quite a bit. Some, I have found, dress professional all week long, no ‘jean day’ there. Others are very laid back and I have seen teachers in jeans and school sweatshirts every day of the week. It has been interesting to see the different attitudes toward wardrobe in different schools. Through my experiences I have also learned that I need to be prepared for spirit day. Some of the schools I have had experience in have spirit day once a week, while others have them on occasion. For those schools with a spirit day every week, I ran out of school colors, but the students wouldn’t let that be an excuse! Spirit day is an important day for them and the rest of the school so I wanted to do what I could to be a part of it. It gave me the chance to be creative when wearing school colors and celebrating spirit day.

[Laura]

John, I am currently student teaching in a high school. I just recently wrote my journal on the importance of homecoming spirit week. I think it allows the students to see the teachers as a 'real person who has a life outside of school'. The students seem to have a great time with spirit week, however, I think the teachers have an even better time!

I enjoyed reading the part of your journal where you described the different dress choices for teachers. When I was trying to find clothes this past summer for student teaching I always had to answer the question, "is this practical?". Most often, I found myself answering "no". I came to realize pretty quickly that comfortable clothes that are formal are fantastic! I don't remember the last time I wore heals or even something that resembles them. I stick to, what most of my non-teacher friends call, 'old people shoes'. I on the other hand love them. When you are running around all day, bending down to help students, attempting to get students off of the floor, etc. it is not reasonable to wear cute dresses and skirts.

The life of a special educator!

[John]

@Jacob that's a great suggestion! I never thought about having a routine like that, but I think it's a good idea. It gives you some variety.

[John]

@Mary Beth thanks for the comment! You have a good suggestion about having two suits. When I was in college I had to wear a suit for my job. During the morning shift, I ripped a large hole in my pants... Had to buy a new suit and get it emergency tailored before the night shift. :)

[Jacob]

I had a teacher in middle school tell us that in the work place Monday and Tuesday are tie days, Wednesday is khakis with a button down shirt, Thursday is a polo and dress pants and then if you have a casual Friday its jeans and a polo or a school shirt.

[Mary Beth Diehl]

Hey, watch it with those Retro Day comments! [kidding :)] Seriously, I have seen some trends arrive, leave, come back, and then come back again--it's like the UnDead of style.

On an actual serious note, would recommend trying to purchase 2 suits for interviews. I know, it's a stretch with $$ [women have it easier--you can do a solid dress & sweater combo], but if something happens to yr one suit & you still have interviews that day/next day you are stuck.

Have fun w/Spirit Week! :) Mary Beth

[John]

@Pat I couldn't agree more. Especially in my setting--teacher employment skills-- I have to set a good example of professional dress in the workplace.

[Pat Hensley]

These were great suggestions! I agree that everyone should own at least one business suit. I have worn it for interviews, for IEP meetings, or times I wanted to give myself a boost of confidence. It also sets a great example for students to see this. The hard thing is for women to find a comfortable but dressy shoe (I believe men have it easier but that is just my opinion). I believe low heels and lots of cushion in the sole helps. I have seen too many women wear sloppy casual shoes and then use the excuse "I need to be comfortable." I think this sets a poor example for students.

[John]

@Shelly Thanks, Mom. :)I love Merrell and Clark. Bri just got a pair of Naturalizer that she loves too.

[John]

@Dr Fred Young thank you for the comment! I think dress is one of the more important factors for a young teacher establishing a reputation and rapport among students.

[John]

@Nicole I hope you enjoy spirit week! I think it is very important to dress in a way that separates yourself from students, but spirit days are a nice break from that routine and they allow students to see you more relaxed.

[John]

@Kari thanks for the comment. Good luck with student teaching!

[John]

@Brenna great comment. Dressing up for spirit days can get students involved in school who otherwise might not have an opportunity to participate in band, sports, etc. I think school spirit can be a big factor in student achievement. I work better when I'm having fun, and I think students do also.

[John]

@Brandi I love your comment! Your "no cracks, front or back" line made me laugh. That's a great tip.

[John]

@Chandra great comment. I remember turning 21 and being so thankful that I wouldn't have students older than me in any practicum settings anymore. I didn't turn 21 until after my junior year so all of my practicum students were right around my age. Dress becomes very import in standing out.

[John]

@Danielle great tip to take pics! I like your recomendation for shoes. Clark's are great. I have a pair that I wear almost every day. I also wear Merrell's. My wife just bought a pair of Naturalizer's for teaching, and she loves them.

[Shelly Romig]

Hi! I'm John's mom! Isn't he great! I don't have to worry anymore about being mistaken as one of the kids. However, comfortable shoes are a must for me! I've tried all of the good, expensive shoes, but the only brand I can wear that don't make my feet and legs ache by the end of the day is "Merrell." Great blog, John!

[Dr Fred Young]

I remember my first tenure track position; I taught mainly business students. Although my colleagues in philosophy were appalled, the only factor that influenced my student evaluations was the way I dressed. Soon was wearing suits. Clothing is a way to communicate, and is almost as important as body language, tonality, and energy manipulation

[Nicole]

John- This is such a laid back but important post. Before I started student teaching this year I had many of my friends, who have been teaching for a few years, tell me the importance to be comfortable, especially shoes. Differencing yourself from the students clothing is also important. In the elementary I am at it is easy but in high school I blend in because of my height so I have found nice professional clothes that set me apart but are still comfortable with a long day of moving around a lot. I couldn't agree more about getting into Spirit Days! It is homecoming this week and my cooperating teacher has been encouraging me to dress up! Though it's sad that I haven't seen many of the teachers dressed up for the theme days. I have noticed that the younger students love it when the teachers participate in things like that which makes the days even more enjoyable.

[Kari]

I found this to be a fun and beneficial post for future teachers! I am also still going to school and will be student teaching in January. It is good to know some of these musts before I go out there. I also think dressing "older" is good because even within my field experiences I have been asked if I was a student as well. In order for students to respect you, you must look older and not just like one of them. I also think it is important to participate in the spirit weeks because it gets the students excited and it's a way to bring the school together. Thank you for the great ideas on clothing!

[Brenna]

Good advice on teacher clothing! I am still in college, but am student teaching my entire senior year. I have already discovered that comfort definitely trumps fashion, especially in special education. I find myself constantly kneeling on the ground, crouching down, and basically bending over backwards to talk to my students sometimes. Comfortable, yet professional, clothes are a must! I also think that I have the absolute worst feet imaginable and I searched high and low to find a pair of shoes that were reasonably priced and comfortable for all day wear.

I also found out the hard way that dressing up for school spirit days is a must for teachers as well as students. The Monday of Homecoming week at my school I forgot to wear my pj's for pajama day...big mistake! My 6th graders were bugging me the whole day because I didn't have pj's on. I'll have to remember this next time spirit week comes up at school.

[Brandi]

John--I loved this easy, fun post. There is definitely a lot more to teaching than just academics and lesson plans. How we dress as teachers reflects our personalities, as well as our professionalism. I am currently in an elementary school, and the floor is my best friend at times. I have worked in a high school, and making sure there is "no crack, front or back" is always important for those female teachers. Students notice how you dress, and it is important for us as teachers to show them that we are professional. This will hopefully bring forth some respect from those students. Thanks for your post!

[Chandra]

John- I am currently student teaching in a middle school and I definitely agree that you need to dress to make yourself stand out as an adult among the students. I am not very tall, and am easily lost in the shuffle of the students in the hall. I think it is important to dress for success as much as possible to set that great impression especially if you don't have an actual teaching job yet. I think that your comment about the IEP meeting is important as well, you want to make sure you know your parents and what would be the best thing to wear around them. This might sound weird to an outsider but you wouldn't want anyone to feel uncomfortable by the way you are dressing and we all know how important that parent-teacher relationship is.

[Danielle]

As a veteran of five spirit weeks, don't forget to take pictures, too! As much as you think you don't want to remember yourself dressed like a member of Lambda Lambda Lambda for 80's movie day or in Mis-Matched clothing or whatever it is, you definitely do!! I have all of my spirit day pictures up on Facebook so that when my students graduate, they can friend me and see the old pictures. They love the old memories, and (while I will never admit this again!) so do I!

Although, in all fairness, I'm just as happy when the craziness is over and I can go back to wearing real clothes again, too. :) So is my poor service dog, who has been made to wear all sorts of things for spirit week, even though I've never dressed her up for anything else. Anything for the kids, right?

And the shoe thing is a MUST. If your school won't let you wear sneakers all day, then a pair of supportive dress shoes is extremely important, and this can be very hard to find if you are a woman! They aren't cheap, so I usually spend $100 or so on one pair at the beginning of the year and wear the shoes into the ground. Good brands are Dansko, Clark, Eurostep (usually), and Naturalizer (sometimes).