As the new school year quickly approaches me (T minus 8 days of summer before my new teacher orientation!), I have been thinking about outfits for the first few days/weeks.
For those who don't know me personally, I am one of those people who always gets mistaken for younger. When I was 18, my cousin, 12 at the time, was often mistaken for my older sister. At my first teaching job (and second), I was stopped in the hallway and asked to present my hall pass. Granted, I teach high school, so at least people don't think I'm 10. I had hoped that 6 years post COLLEGE graduation, I was past that stage of my life.
Skip ahead to yesterday. A wonderful classmate of mine from college volunteered to give me a tour of my ginormous new school. (Here's perspective: the high school I'll be at is more than 4 times larger than the last one I taught at full time.) In the hallway, we met up with another Social Studies teacher, who very politely asked me if this was my first year teaching. Seriously. My first year teaching was in 2008. But hey, I guess she didn't think I was a student. (Though I was introduced as the new social studies teacher.)
So that leads me to my big questions: Does anyone else out there have this problem? Not just in the classroom, but any workplace.
How do you dress to overcome some of that?
Young, young looking, or young at heart teachers, how do you dress at the beginning of the year to have visual leadership in your classroom?
I always buy a new first day of school outfit, so I'm looking for some inspiration for my upcoming year.
Oh, and feel free to leave any stories you have of being mistaken for much younger. The only time it really doesn't happen to me is when I'm with my nephew, who has my eyes (they're pretty common in my family). Then people at least don't openly state that they think I'm young. They probably just think I'm a teenage mom, with a 6 year old.
Melissa had/has this problem too. It may be annoying now, but should be a blessing later in life.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I have it quite as bad as Melissa, probably attributed to my height. If it weren't for teaching high school, I probably wouldn't even get those types of comments anymore. I just keep telling myself that same thing; I will appreciate this later.
DeleteMy first two years of teaching (two different schools) the lunch monitors would throw me out of the lunch line when I cut, thinking I was one of the students. I had to wear my ID badge everywhere I went! :)
ReplyDeleteMy tip is for you to dress very professionally your first week of school. Maybe not power suit professional, but definitely wear your blazers and power heels. The first week is not the one to dress young. You want to stand out in the crowd as a teacher. Maybe even dress pretty spot-on professional that first month. Once you've made your presence known and you've established yourself, you can lighten up on your wardrobe. Good luck in your new building!
Thanks! I was spoiled at my last position in that it was a small school, so after a few weeks I didn't need to wear my ID badge anymore. Of course, that was also pre-Sandy Hook, so the school wasn't as strict on that rule. (I did keep my ID attached to my keys, but I also handed those out to kids who needed to pick something up from the computer lab, so I was without keys frequently in the AM.)
DeleteOkay, so I had to giggle at your post because this is SO me. I have taught at my school for five years. I STILL get mistaken for a student sometimes. And I work in a small school (think only 50 teachers on staff max). Some teachers who see me from far away or from behind think I'm a student. I usually take it as a compliment. At thirty, if I look HALF my age, that's great! To help with this though, I wear a lot of dresses and what I call 'pulled-together' outfits. Most students don't add a fancy necklace and flats to their clothing. Most don't wear cardigans. So at least I can distance myself a little from them in that regard.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Stephanie in that dressing "up" for the first week or two sends a good message to everyone from staff to administration to students that you are a teacher and one to be taken seriously. If you invest in a couple of blazers, you can make any outfit look professional. I have a black one and a beige one that I can wear over anything.
At least I'm not the only one! I definitely understood it at first, particularly my long term sub position where my students were 18 and I was 21. In the latter parts of my time at my last school, it was the substitutes who mistook me the most. Or if I was sitting in a desk. That really throws people! (Near the end of the year, when exams are going on and things are hectic, I tend to sit in desks to help individual students. Whenever even CURRENT students come in, they can't find me. Sometimes I did this on purpose, just to see the look of confusion on their faces!)
DeleteWhere do you get your blazers? I've got 1, and it's dry clean only. Which is fine, except I am one of those people who can't make it through the day without dropping some kind of something on my outfit. I definitely need some that are washable.
I got mine at Deb. If you cut and paste into your browser, you can see they have lots of cheap styles: http://www.debshops.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-DebShops-Site/default/Search-Show?q=blazer
DeleteI love these because I can throw them in the washer and dryer!
Kohl's and JcPenney also have some really cute ones. Hope this helps!
Thanks! I definitely need to go BTS shopping this week!
DeleteDefinitely more on the conservative and professional side for the first few weeks and months! I still get mistaken for a student and I have been there 6 years! The first year, I went to pick up my materials before orientation, and a new principal that wasn't there when I was a student was in the office when I first arrived. he asked how he could help and I replied; he said, "but you are a student...why would I give you teaching materials"...finally the administrators I knew came out and told him I was the new Social Studies Teacher. He said, "oh...wow". Crazy! My first few months were spent dodging outfits that my students had as well. Yes, I wore the exact same outfit as a student on the same day as she...even CRAZIER! You will find a good balance probably by Christmas!
ReplyDeleteLOL this doesn't exactly make me feel better :) Thankfully, I don't think I've worn the same thing as a student, at least not on the same day!
DeleteI've had both ends of the spectrum. I'm very short so I blend in with my high school students in the hallway. I try to always wear my id or keys to set me apart lol. However, I've also noticed that teenagers are not good at gauging age! I had a student ask if another boy in the class was my son...yep I'm 23 with a 16 yr old son. I also had a girl who saw a picture of me with my husband ask if he was my son. Btw, my husband is 2 years older than me. I don't think I look matronly lol I mean I always get carded. I'm convinced my students are crazy and I will one day be happy that I look younger than my age :)
ReplyDeleteLOL! I totally agree with that summary of student perceptions! At 24, I was asked by a student if I was 20. I used it as a slightly sarcastic teaching moment though. I said, "Teachers need 4 years of school, right?" "Yes" "So I'd have to be how old?" "22" "And I've taught here for 2 years, and I was at another school before that. Now how old am I?" "Ohhhh...."
DeleteI haven't been asked if someone other than my nephew was my child, but I was once asked if my volleyball players were my sisters. I was also asked mid-match by a referee if I was an injured player. I was 23 or 24, my players were 13-15.
I had to laugh at this post, since I'm 24 and I regularly get carded if I try to buy beer or volunteer to stop and get the fiance his cigar. Even more confounding is the fact that though I look like I'm much younger, I'm 5'10", for Pete's sake!
ReplyDeleteMy solution is heels, even though I'm already hu-mun-go. I also attempt to wear clothing as professional as I can. I'm currently in the process of accruing more for student teaching. I find that if I wear makeup and lots of accessories, I'm less likely to be pinned for a student.
My first pre-service teaching experience in HS was made easier for me because all of the kids wear uniforms. However, I'm hoping to land a job in public school. Oye, the problems I'll have then!