Fashion

This week as we were reading and looking at fashion, I was drawn to think about school uniforms.  Personally, I think they are a fabulous idea, and this weeks' research continued to solidify that thought for me.  I feel like fashion has more power than we give credit for, or want to believe in.  Schools' primary job is to educate in core subjects.  Now, don't get me wrong, I know that there is other education that happens in schools that isn't academic, but with all the distractions and competition for attention that already exist in schools, this could one that is relatively easily removed.  Because fashion can have such a powerful effect, it is one less thing a child needs to worry about.


The other thing this week led me to think about was how as a teacher my goal is to get the kids to feel like they are dressed in whatever is appropriate for the context which they find themselves in.  My job is to give them the tools to act in a way that is appropriate for the situation.  I am a fashion designer of the mind.  When the stars of What Not To Wear are helping to teach the people what is appropriate attire for different situations (i.e. work, casual, out etc) I am teaching students how to learn what to do in situations they find themselves in (math for money or building, science and research for discovery, and then reading is the "little black dress" of the education world; versatile and necessary for lots of situations).   My goal is the same as fashion designers that the people I work with feel confident, happy and successful, the tools I am equipping them with are slightly different, but again the goal is the same. 

The final way I was thinking about fashion in schools was as a teacher.  It made me wonder about the way I dress and how I am perceived by my students.  It also made me think about how I come across if I am feeling different ways about myself based on how I am dressed.  I have heard many people refer to a entire "genre" of clothes that are "teacher clothes."  Would it be a different profession if we dressed differently, or do we dress the way we do because kids respond to it better?  I wonder about holiday wear, in that when "professionals" wear it they are told they are not fashion-savvy, but do teachers get a pass because we are trying to show holiday spirit to kids, who get reindeer on a sweater, but may not feel as holiday about a sparkly broach?  I have to say, when I put on my spiderweb shirt at Halloween I feel like I am showing the kids I care about something they care about which is important, I am not thinking about how I would look walking down Rodeo Drive.