Professional image is important because it gives the student an impression about the teacher that he or she knows about the subject well. Also, it provides the students a role model to dress themselves and present in class professionally.
Hi Lou,
Absolutely! Students expect us to be professional and anything less is totally unacceptable. Our students hold us to extremely high standards, and we should act and look the part of a professional.
Patricia
Hi Patricia,
What do you feel objectivity has to do with professionalism?
Patricia
Teachers need to establish the order of instructor with the knowlege and leadership;and by distancing themselves from students establishes this hierarchy .
Professionalism establishes the role of leader by setting the example of being on time ; completing the work and folowing through with plans establishedin he syllabus.
it establishes your role as the instructor with the knowledge to teach
It is very important to maintain objectivity and
to be available to all lerners.
I believe that projecting a positive professional image is critical for classroom instruction and management. Students expect a professional and that's who they should get. "Being buddies" has no place in an instructor and student relationship.
Lou Cannon
Hi Robert,
What a response! I have found that whenever a question is supported as to what is expected in the workplace, the response tend to make more sense to the student. They understand the reason as to while the rule, policy,or procedure has been implemented.
Patricia
Hi Clarence,
What do you do to maintain a professional image?
Patricia
Hi Maria,
Yes, we are some of our students only role model. We must show professionalism in all areas. We are preparing these students for the future.
Patricia
Instructors are people that students must look up to. So the Instructors must always show professionalsm and must observe boundaries.
because that is what will be expect of them in the industry
I think this is actually a stickier issue for us than it seems, because too often our instinctive answer is really pretty circular. When we explain why a professional image is important, I have noticed (even on "career" websites) that the answer is really just a variation of the question: "Professional image is important because you want people to take you seriously." Well, to me, that doesn't really explain the issue - it doesn't explain *why* or *how* image helps you get taken seriously.
If a student wants to play that kid's-game of "Why?", we're going to have to do better. If they ask why image is important, we can answer that it will help you get taken seriously, but if they ask why image helps you get taken seriously........
The way I have discussed this in the past with students is to first get them to accept the premise: that, as you said, the work force requires it. If they at least agree and understand that other people think image is important, even if they themselves don't, I then ask them, okay, if you know that people take your image seriously, even if you think they shouldn't, what message do you send about yourself if you are willing to blatantly thumb your nose at their expectations? Even if you don't agree that these expectations are fair or relevant, if you at least understand that other people (employers and customers) DO care about them, why would you want to deliberately violate what your own customers and/or employers care about? If you are willing to freely disregard the conventions and norms of your industry regarding your appearance, what other conventions and norms might you be willing to disregard? Might you also be a little "nonconformist" when it comes to safety, legality, reliability, etc.? Once the precedent is set that you're willing to violate certain "rules," it's hard to then claim that there are some rules you WON'T break. By breaking rules about image, you're telling the world that you're willing to break rules. At that point it's a little too late, and frankly a little contradictory and silly, to try to claim that you DO obey some other rules.
I think in all cases we all know what the expectations are. You can always try to convince me that you are so skilled that you're focusing more on your skills than on your appearance, but whatever clothes you put on in the morning, those are the clothes that you CHOSE. If your shirt reveals a tattoo, that's a shirt you CHOSE. So I really don't want to hear that you don't care what you wear and that I shouldn't either. (It reminds me of the old Rush song: "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.") You grabbed that shirt or that pair of jeans; accept the consequences of that selections.
We might cling to some teenage rebellion and we might claim that we don't care about those expectations, but we at least generally know what they are. At our campus, we require specific uniforms. One day, a student arrived on campus wearing colorful socks that were blatantly in violation of those uniform standards. She was clearly not happy about being asked to change her socks, but I found myself thinking, wait - you CHOSE to wear bright orange and green-striped socks (seriously) instead of white or black. And at that point, she's really in a no-win situation: if she chose to violate those standards, what does that say about her, and if she somehow forgot the standards or didn't think about them that morning, what does THAT say about her? Neither option speaks very highly of her.
As much as our modern touch-feely educational system might like to tell us that "we're all special," we're usually not. Very few of us have skills that nobody else has. Very few businesses do something that nobody else does or will do or can do. I can always find another web developer, another wedding-cake designer, another graphic artist. If I don't like the appearance of your employees, chances are that there's a nearby or at least easily accessible business that WILL have employees that meet my expectations. You really can't afford to have some cocky attitude that your performance and your skills are so unique that they should win me over no matter what, especially if your appearance makes me not want to even give you the chance to impress me.
Hi Erika,
We implemented a professional dress code for students at my institution. If a student violates the code, the student is sent home for the day, which is an absence. Instructors also have a dress code, therefore we lead by example. In Pressional Development class students must dress every Thursday as if they are going to an interview. At my institution, we also share with our students professional dress code policies from local employers. We have a professional from the community to speak about professional dress at an assembly. Students have been very receptive to the practices that we have put in place.
Patricia
Hi Gladine,
What an awesome response! You made some really valid points. The teaching affair should be strictly business. Personal is not part of the equation. Our students have enough problems of their own; they should not have to burden themselves with our problems.
Patricia
I have heard a few students comment regarding their appearance and how they should be accepted for their ability to do the job alone. Besides being a role model, what are some practical ways to help students realize that whether or not they approve the work force requires this professional image?
Hi Michael,
I like how you lead by example! You walk the walk. What you expect of your students, you certainly exemplify it.
Patricia
Hi Keith,
Absolutely! The instructor should always stay in the role of the instructor. Closeness in a student/teacher relationship is frowned upon.
Patricia
I attend each day in a professional way, well groomed and dressed as well. I expect my student to do as I do. We conduct class as well in a professional setting. I respect them as well as them to me. These are thing that have been diccuss at the begining of the course so everyone know what is expeced of them.
