Dress is very important
Because always dress as a professional the instructor create a enviroment that everyone respect and make all be in an office area
Hi Lynn,
I like the part about makeup that is enhancing and not extreme. I will use those words to explain about makeup to my students. Also, appropriate dress is necessary for success.
Hi Debra,
This is a good read on professional dress. We need to dress professionally in relation to the perceptions of our students, their composition, and the course content. You are right on with how you are presenting yourself as a professional educator in the different settings.
Gary
My level of dress is different depending upon the class I'm taking. I mostly teach general education courses so I have a lot of incoming freshman. I tend to dress casual for the most part--sometimes in jeans and blazer on Fridays. If I'm teaching a night class, most of those students are non-traditional and I tend to dress up for them as they are usually older than me and don't always take me seriously. They are a little more conservative in their views of what a college instructor should look like.
Hey Bert! It's nice to see your name on the board. I'd have to agree that piercings and tats don't necessarily mean a lack of professionalism. Indeed one of my most mature students had a face full of piercings and by the end of the semester I'd learned to overlook them. As for your tats, I've known you for several years and can vouch that you are a true professional.
The tat/piercing debate aside, I'd toss out that there's a balance about the dressing. On one hand, return students will likely expect instructors to dress well, but on the other hand younger students will likely feel less intimidated if they are addressing somebody who is dressed down a bit. It seems to me that the business casual I often see you dress in at school is the safest route.
Elizabeth
Hi Bert,
I think there is probably two sides to this arguement. I think what is being said here that for the most part the business world is clean cut. You don't see a lot of long hair and tats in the business world and most probably don't want to see this. On the other hand it is without a doubt a stereo type and a book should not be judged by its cover. I have a friend that I met many years ago when working at G.E. Capital. When I first met him he had hair down to his waist and he looked like Howard Stern and he had many tats as well. I thought why are they hiring a guy like this, are they that desperate. Well Today Tony is running an entire building and while he does not have the long hair anymore, the tats are still there and he is "the man" so to speak.
I think the problem is that a lot of companies don't want to see this even if they personally do not care, will their clients? I don't think you have anything to be ashamed of, you are who you are and should not be ashamed of that or have to explain that to anyone, but should see the other sides perspective.
Hi Joseph,
Correct. The point is to dress professionally for the career area. This can range from scrubs to uniforms. No matter the dress the instructor needs to be neat, clean and as you say well put together. This shows pride in the profession.
Gary
Hi Daniel,
Good point. Many times our external appearance reflects our internal processing. Your former professor is a classic example of this which is why you remember him to this day. It is so much more professional to present to your students the first class an instructor that is dresses professionally, organized and ready to conduct class. This as you know sets the tone for the entire course.
Gary
This is true but it should also reflect the industry. Not all industries where suites but being put together well, no matter what industry, still shows a level or professionalism.
If appropriate dress is the first thing the students notice, it sets the tone for the class. They realize you are the expert, professional in the field. They realize you took the time to act the part therefore what you have to say is important. I remember a professor in graduate school who dressed poorly, always had pants that looked like they were in the dryer for weeks before he put them on. He was the most poorly organized instructor I ever had.
Appropriate dress puts the student in the frame of mind required for the profession. Casual attire doesn't reinforce professional attitudes.
Hi Bert,
In your last comment you hit on the key point when it comes to professionalism. Knowing when to dress appropriately and how to conduct yourself as a professional in your field. This is what you are doing. There are many different kinds of professional dress and knowing the whens and wheres of being in that form of dress is the key point. Based upon your extensive experience and expertise I am sure your rapport with students and respect from them helps to create an atmosphere of learning and development.
Gary
Why is that? Just because someone has a tatoo or piercing means they are not or cannot be professional? I have 11 tattoos, mostly from my time in the military. But, I am a very professional instructor and each of my tattoos has a story behind it and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I have many students...some of my best students in fact that have piercings and tats...that makes them not professional?
I personally don't believe dress has anything to do with being a professor. I have been teaching for 16 years now and I make an attempt to dress in a non-authoritative way. During football season I wear a football jersey once in a while...baseball, a baseball jersey. I wear clean jeans, nice pull over shirts, and sneakers or casual shoes. I teach at the largest community college in the country and in the Criminal Justice field...Forensics to be exact. I am a retired U.S. Marine and Criminal Investigator. My students respect me and learn just as much as someone who teachines in a shirt and tie. In fact they feel more comfortable approaching me because I do not put myself upon a pedestal, or make them call me "professor"
or Mr. or Sir. I have an excellent rapport with my students and am not their "pal". They know their limitations when approaching me. However, when they do their oral presentations I require them to be in professional dress and I dress the same way.
I agree. I have found that dressing appropriately is important and part of the 1st impression. In the real world you are judged by your appearance and students need to understand that, especially when trying to land a job, that they dress the part. They can loose a job to someone, even though they may not be as qualified, the employer felt that they would take the job more seriously because they dressed professionally.
Thanks Patricia, I believe you have the reason, because as you wearing as every one respect you, so congratgulation to have same idea like me
Hernando
Hi Patricia,
Well said. Often times our students really aren't sure what is appropriate professional dress for the career field. By demonstrating the proper dress the instructor is providing the students a standard from which they can measure their own professional development.
Gary
This may be the simplest way to "lead by example". I recall my own college days where i looked towards my instructors for the standard in professionalism, and i carry those examples with me to this day!
Bingo!! The key phrase here is that "we should also explain why...." My professors were all well dressed. Nothing extravagant but well dressed and groomed. However, the same concept was not explained or reiterated to myself or my colleagues.
Regardless of the course topic, I think it is extremely important to address the studen't attire for class and how practicing appropriate dress "now" will prepare them for the real world.
Dress is absolutely important. I require that students dress appropriately at all times during class. During my college years, not too long ago, I remember that many of my colleagues were always dressed inappropriately. Dress was never mentioned by any of my instructors..verbally or within the syllabus.
