Dressing for Success

Dear Bloggers,

Recently one of my friends in a very corporate job was just complaining to me that his office went to “business casual” - which by today’s standards means wear jeans. He attributed this to the fact that “millennials were complaining”. This was not the first time that I’ve heard this from friends in a corporate environment - that interns and new hires simply didn’t know how to dress in appropriate work attire.

This reminds me of a college professor I had that required us to dress up for class as if we were attending a job interview at least once a month. I remember my classmates complaining. Many thinking that they looked ridiculous for other classes. I welcomed this though. I thought of it as a chance to begin to acquire a professional wardrobe.

I recently viewed a post in a chat room for learning and development trainers inquiring if it was appropriate to wear a suit when their audience was not dressed as so. My opinion - an emphatic yessss! I’ve never felt uncomfortable when a trainer came in dressed professionally on a PD day and I was in jeans. In fact, I don’t think I would have given his/her words much valor if they were dressed as we were on a “no-kids” day. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. If your goal is to be successful, then dress it.

Furthermore, when going on a class trip, and students are required to dress nicely, they carry themselves differently. Just as we as adults walk a little taller when we ourselves have on our best.

When we, as a society, allow standards to be lowered - whether it be with dress code, use of improper grammar, acceptance of attitudes and actions that would have never been considered years ago; then the fabric of society begins to unwind and we are left with little more than we expect of ourselves. AMERICA, I implore you - stop lowering your standards for the expectations of what we expect from ourselves in society!

The media and politicians are constantly comparing today’s schools with other countries. Claiming that we are not producing “college ready” students, and with each generation of graduates, America is far less equipped to compete in a global market. This is not entirely the fault of schools.

As educators, our hands are tied. Parents complain, children complain, and then administration bends. It is time to take back society and begin to raise upstanding, contributing, competitive members of society. We need to establish clear rules and expect the best. Do away with participation trophies and make our society competitive once again. Rebel against the casual work environment and dress in a suit (men and women) and show the younger generation what success looks like.


Sincerely,


The Frustrated (soon to be) Ex-teacher