Classroom priorities
I am writing in response to your Aug. 18 article “Lessons in class cool.” As a teacher in the Memphis area, I certainly value the notion of promoting respectful, modest, yet modern dress to set a positive tone and provide a solid role model for students.
But I feel this article is insensitive to publish in The Commercial Appeal, especially considering the massive reform our systems are going through right now. First of all, most teachers I know, myself included, do not make the salary that allows us to shop for the purposes of keeping up with trends our students value. We usually shop for function over fashion as we are on our feet more than eight hours a day, bending over desks and walking everywhere with our students to make sure they are safely transported. Not to mention many of our city’s teachers are on a salary freeze or have taken a pay decrease. Trendiness is last on my list when I walk out the door to go teach my students.
Next, dressing to keep up with these trends would be counterproductive for most of us. We live in Memphis, which is a city with a significant set of socioeconomic struggles. Dressing to the nines would seem to create a gap between myself and my students; they would see me as irrelevant. I know that I care more about developing what is inside my students such as their intellect, communication skills and self-esteem. If I seek to have them value me for my fashion-savvy wardrobe, what am I really telling them?
Finally, teachers deserve more credibility than to be known for being “cool.” In a system where instruction drives achievement and achievement plays a significant role in teacher retention (and possibly license renewal), teachers are to be more cognizant about what comes out of their mouths, what resources they’ll plug into lessons, and how they use their data to drive instruction, as opposed to what jacket they’ll wear with their new skinny jeans. If I am trying to maximize my students’ potential within themselves, why would I try to impress them with my own exterior?