Teacher Dress Code

Teacher Dress Code: A Helping Hand

Lindsey L Ware

University of West Alabama

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Abstract

Teachers have a difficult time managing the daily task of teaching, testing, sharing with

parents, and even trying to impress their coworkers and administrators. The state board of

education keeps piling on the pressure while teachers keep getting crushed under it. Why not

stand up for our teachers and give them one less thing to worry about? Teachers are faced with a

dilemma about what is considered “appropriate” to wear to school on a daily basis. The

requirements in the state of Alabama vary from administrator to administrator and school to

school. Why not take away the inconsistencies? Beginning and even veteran teachers have

enough on their plate without having to worry about if the principal is going to approve what

they wear on a day to day basis. I believe, this worry should be taken off teachers and a clear

boundary should be created as to what is appropriate and inappropriate.

Keywords: Teachers, Dress Code, Appropriate, Blue Jeans

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Teacher Dress Code: A Helping Hand

Every student that walks through the door of a school is expected to follow a dress code,

so why aren’t teachers? Many will argue that teachers are adults and should be able to have the

freedom to choose the appropriate clothing to wear to work. I believe that this argument is valid,

but there are also a few problems with that thinking as well. Teachers are faced with pleasing

many people in their job field, and often have trouble attempting to please everyone. Teachers

are humans and are going to make mistakes; even when it comes to their apparel in the

classroom. There has been no consistent dress code for teachers appointed by the State Board of

Education in Alabama. The only school system known in Alabama to have a dress code for

teachers is Mobile County School System, and even there, the dress code is very broad. Along

with no consistent dress code in the state of Alabama, there is not much taught about dress code

in the teacher’s programs in college. Being in the teacher’s program at the University of West

Alabama, I have had only one educational book that mentions how teachers should dress. This

book is not very accurate because it is so outdated. It states that smoking in the teachers’ lounge

is still acceptable. It is very common knowledge that smoking in the teacher’s lounge has been

shunned, and even outlawed, in the state of Alabama for years. Teachers should have a dress

code because of many political and social issues. Two of these issues consist of teacher shaming

and another is the inconsistency of the appropriate attire from school to school; if there is to be a

teacher dress code written, it should have clear guidelines on what is acceptable and what is not

acceptable for daily wear.

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Teachers Face Issues

Teacher shaming is a way that teachers get attention, but for all the wrong reasons.

We have come to a time where looking in the mirror before you leave the house just does

not cut it. My sense of style is not going to be the same as the person sitting next to me, neither is

my sense of what is appropriate in the classroom. For example, while I believe that blue jeans

should always be acceptable in the classroom, there are many teachers dress codes that state that

jeans are only acceptable on causal days or other days appointed or approved by the principal.

This issue has come down to publicly shaming some teachers today. A great example of this is

an exemplary teacher who taught at a public school in Atlanta. Her name is Ms. Brown, but the

media tagged her as “TeacherBae”. On her Instagram, she posted many pictures of herself with

her students in her classrooms. In those pictures she was reading with them, working one on one