Why Dress Code Shouldn’t Diminish a Teacher’s Professionalism
Do jeans make the teacher? Some people are adamant that teachers who wear jeans to school are somehow less effective teachers than those in professional dress.
Some schools allow jeans on Fridays (well-deserved, teachers, well-deserved), some schools actually make you pay for a jeans day (seriously), and then there are those schools who absolutely do not allow their teachers to wear jeans…ever.
But, here’s the question.
Does wearing jeans make teachers teach differently, ie — worse? Of course not. Why on earth would a teacher teach in a different manner wearing jeans, rather than slacks, a skirt or a dress?
If anything, a teacher in jeans may have a better chance of building rapport with her students, appearing to be a “normal” person, just like them, not a superhero in her costume, unapproachable and out of touch.
Of course there are those who believe that teachers have an obligation to present themselves in a professional manner. They are not wrong. However, teachers wearing jeans are still professionals and are still able to present themselves as such, just as if they were wearing a dress. Jeans can still present professionalism. It’s the person who makes the professional, not the clothes.
There should be no more “jeans days”. Teachers should be able to dress comfortably, jeans or no or no jeans. Teaching is not for the faint of heart and being told they are not a professional because they find that comfort in jeans, is just shameful.
So the next time that Teacher Appreciation Week comes around, maybe they should receive gift cards to Macy’s or Kohls to buy another pair of jeans instead of one from Dunkin.
Signed,
A jeans-loving teacher
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