The Costume of a Teacher
One of the bibles of the business world is a book called Dress for Success. This book describes how to dress for the roll of a successful business person and that wardrobe will help you step into that role. In many ways the Dress for Success tells us that how we dress for work is somewhat our "costume" and that putting on that costume of a business professional, you naturally begin to play that role.
Most schools will have a dress code that you will have to abide by as a teacher much as they do for the students. That dress code assures that you will dress in a way that is not dangerous or districting or inappropriate to the job of teaching. And that dress code brings you in line with what the administration expects of the students. But aside from those general guidelines, there is a lot of leverage left to you in your dress so you can express your personality in the "costume" you wear to teach school.
The important thing to remember about the outfits you select is that they do send a message to the students. If you dress very formally, you are telling them to address you respectfully and that you are very much the adult here and they are not. Even if students don’t know they are getting your message, they are and even you don’t know you are sending a message, you are. So its a good idea to think about what message your outfits are sending and how you might customize your wardrobe so the students understand who you are and what your expectations are of them just from how you present yourself to them in class.
One big message to send with your costume is, "I am the teacher and you are the students here." This is not a message of superiority. It is a message of distance. First of all, be aware that this distance between you and the youth socially is necessary and must be part of your approach to your job if you want to be success long term. The classroom is no place for a midlife crisis. Even if you like dressing in a stylish or youthful way outside of class, in class dress like an adult and in a formal enough way that your clothing makes a clear demarcation between you and them.
This distinction actually makes your students feel more at ease with you. Students get uncomfortable when the adults over them try to blend in to youth culture too much and become "with it". Youth people like the authority figures in their lives to be clearly designated and for you to live up to your role as authority figure in your behavior, your language and your wardrobe. So dress for success by having your clothing say, I am the teacher and the students will respond in kind.
Your outfits also have to be practical. Sometimes teaching can become a physical event. You must be prepared to bend down to pick things up and to do some level of low key physical labor even with students in the classroom. This means no tight clothing that restricts your range of motion. It means no short skirts that has you worried about the hemline and your legs all day long and shoes that can keep you going for an entire day of very a very active teaching life.
Just as almost every profession has guidelines for how to dress, these hidden messages and quiet efficiencies you include in your wardrobe selection will go a long way toward making your teaching day successful and comfortable. When your wardrobe is right and you are dressing in the costume of a teacher, you will "become" a teacher and step into that role you were born to play.
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Word Count 647
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A Little Psychology Goes a Long Way If you are working your way through teacher's college, you are getting a ...
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A Modern Way to Start Your Career in Teaching Not everybody goes into teaching by getting a degree right out ...
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Becoming a Truly Professional Teacher There is something so satisfying about working with a true professional in any line of ...
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Breaking into the Working World of Teachers In every college in the country, there are ambitious and starry eyed youngsters ...
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Can You Teach if You Are Old? If you are just preparing to enter the ranks of professional teachers and ...
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Decorum in Teaching One reason that many if not most teachers go into teaching in the first place is that ...
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Giving Your Students an Appreciation of the Arts When you set out to become a teacher, it isn't always enough ...
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Going to Bat for Your Students When you set out to become a teacher, you set out to do more ...
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Good Reasons to Teach The teaching profession is a unique career field in a lot of ways. Because you are ...
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I Want to Teach in Your School A job interview to teach in a public school or in any institution ...
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Meeting the Class for the First Time Preparing to become a teacher is a big undertaking. Its easy to get ...
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Passing the Teacher's Certification Test Most of us learn a lot about how to take exams when we are in ...
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Preparing to Become Certified We require a lot of our teachers. It is one way that society maintains a high ...
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So What Do You Want to Teach? When a person introduces themselves to you as a teacher, the question that ...
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Talking to Students or talking AT them There is a phenomenon that all public speakers encounter when they are addressing ...
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Teaching With Powerpoint The software tool, Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most versatile tools that the huge software giant ...
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Test Driving a Teaching Career Deciding to become a full time teacher is a big step. You may be able ...
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The Brass Tacks About Teaching Like any job, teaching children is often idealized and romanticized by young people preparing for ...
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The Costume of a Teacher One of the bibles of the business world is a book called Dress for Success. ...
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The Courage of a Teacher When you think of career fields that call for courage, jobs that may call for ...
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The Cyber Teacher Becoming a teacher today is means learning to teach with new tools and resources that were unheard ...
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The Inner Calling to Teach When you determine that you want to be a teacher of children or teenagers, that ...
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The Power of Differentiation The last two decades have taught us a great deal about how students work and think ...
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The Social Side of School If you are preparing to become a teacher with the anticipation of leading a group ...
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Where the Teacher is Mom There is an army of teachers in this country and around the world that get ...
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Disclaimer
The Publisher has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in the creation of this website, notwithstanding the fact that he does not warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate due to the rapidly changing nature of the Internet.
This site is a common sense guide to The Costume of a Teacher. In practical advice websites, like anything else in life, there are no guarantees of income made. Readers are cautioned to reply on their own judgment about their individual circumstances to act accordingly.
This site is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, accounting or financial advice. All readers are advised to seek services of competent professionals in legal, business, accounting, and finance field.
Any perceived slights of specific people or organizations are unintentional.
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A Little Psychology Goes a Long Way
A Modern Way to Start Your Career in Teaching
Becoming a Truly Professional Teacher
Breaking into the Working World of Teachers
Can You Teach if You Are Old?
Decorum in Teaching
Giving Your Students an Appreciation of the Arts
Going to Bat for Your Students
Good Reasons to Teach
I Want to Teach in Your School
Meeting the Class for the First Time
Passing the Teacher's Certification Test
Preparing to Become Certified
So What Do You Want to Teach?
Talking to Students or talking AT them
Teaching With Powerpoint
Test Driving a Teaching Career
The Brass Tacks About Teaching
The Costume of a Teacher
The Courage of a Teacher
The Cyber Teacher
The Inner Calling to Teach
The Power of Differentiation
The Social Side of School
Where the Teacher is Mom
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