Thursday, September 16, 2010

Putting our best foot forward

"Yoooou-whoooo! Kids! It's clean up time!"
 Are there things we teach without meaning to? Do we ever think about how much the children hear from us with what we are not saying? What about our fellow teachers and families we work with?
I was actually thinking not only our actions but our appearance.
I know that I focus so much on the children at times I really have to spend some time and effort looking professional.
So how do you all do it?
There is actually a discussion tonight on the spnetwork.com on how beauty relates to success. But what is beauty really? Does our appearance really impact others?
I would like to hear more about this.

4 comments:

Theresa Milstein said...

I think looking polished for students is important. It shows we care. It shows we take our job seriously. I think even little ones pick up on it.

Report back what you learn.

Barbra The Bloggess said...

I am really getting that feeling, too.
I will definitely be reporting back. For those of you that can make it at 7:00 to this webinar just click on the
spnetwork link. It's free and live. You can type in your own questions.

Jenni said...

I think there is a definite difference, but is it because of the CLOTHES we WEAR or WHO CHOOSES those clothes?

Does the teacher who chooses to dress more professionally take her job a bit more as a profession and, therefore, radiats that to her students and parents?

You are going to dress the way you think you should act!

I do think, however, that PARENTS definitely treat teachers differently who dress more professionally and maybe that also plays into how the children react as well, as they are feeding of their parents actions as well?

Just a thought.

I think it's one of those "which came first the chicken or the egg" questions: does the professionalism come from the teacher WEARING the clothes and, therefore, causes him/her to FEEL more professional and, therefore ACT more confident and professional OR does the teacher who has the CONFIDENCE act more professional, therefore FEEL more profesional and, therefore, CHOOSE TO DRESS more professional?

Great questions!

Barbra The Bloggess said...

@Jenni
Some of the very points you brought up were discussed actually. I was glad that they have it on in the archives for us to watch, too.
When I was in college my professor told us that how we dress could affect whether of not we get a raise on the job.
Seems like it could even go further than how we simply feel but how others would feel about us.
Are we portraying the right image in the right environment?
Perhaps what we go to the gym in isn't for work and vise versa.