Professional Appearance, part 3

Hello everyone,

I was afraid that I might touch a nerve with the daily emails about personal appearance. I received the following email today, and I think it's worth talking about. My comments and replies to the email are in CAPS:

"I have been monitoring these 'professional appearance' emails and I must say
that I am really surprised at a lot of the nonsense that I have read. Of
course, we should all use deodorant, brush our teeth and comb our hair; this is
common sense."

I KNOW FOR MOST OF YOU THIS IS COMMON SENSE. I CONFESS THAT ONE OF THE REASONS I'VE INCLUDED THIS SUBJECT IN A GENERAL SORT OF EMAIL IS THAT I DON'T ALWAYS HAVE THE GUTS TO GO UP TO INDIVIDUALS AND TELL THEM THAT THEY HAVE NOTICEABLE PROBLEMS WITH HYGIENE. IF YOU ARE AMONG THOSE VERY CERTAIN OF YOURSELF, FEEL FREE TO IGNORE THE SUGGESTION. I MEANT TO AVOID THE DIRECT OFFENSE, AND I HOPED, RATHER, FOR A GENERAL SELF-EXAMINATION. (PERSONALLY, I THOUGHT I HAD VERY GOOD HYGIENE WHEN I BEGAN TEACHING, BUT MY STUDENTS OCCASIONALLY POINTED OUT MY LAPSES, AND I FIND THAT I HAVE TO CONTINUALLY MONITOR MYSELF AS I AGE. I DON'T KNOW HOW I'D FEEL IF SOMEONE TOLD ME MY BREATH STANK OR MY BODY SMELLED, BUT MY STUDENTS HAVE COMMENTED ON THINGS LIKE THAT OVER MY CAREER, AND I AM AWARE THAT IT INFLUENCES THE CLASS.)

"As far as sweating... a ninety degree classroom does not help the situation, neither does having high blood pressure or some other condition with similar symptoms."

OUR STUDENTS ARE GENERALLY MORE FORGIVING WHEN EVERYONE IS HOT. THEY KNOW THEY STINK, AND THEY ACCEPT IT WHEN WE DO. JUST REMEMBER THAT YOU WON'T WANT TO GO TOO CLOSE TO A STUDENT UNDER THOSE CONDITIONS.

"And how about the students who take P.E. the period before coming to class? --Are you aware of the fact that students at this school can not take showers after P.E.?"

I DIDN'T KNOW THAT.

"By the way... what is the reason for this? Are we saving money at the expense of their hygiene?"

I INVITE ANYONE WHO KNOWS THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION TO LET US ALL KNOW. I'LL RESEARCH A LITTLE AND SEE WHAT I CAN FIND.

"Also, the reference that insinuates that having gray hair and an older appearance (in the
first email) is more effective for maintaining discipline in the classroom is completely asinine."

IT'S NOT ALWAYS TRUE THAT GRAY HAIR AND AN OLDER APPEARANCE ARE MORE EFFECTIVE, BUT THEY CAN WORK TO A TEACHER'S BENEFIT IF A TEACHER KNOWS HOW TO USE THEM. I HAVE MOSTLY PERSONAL OBSERVATION AND ANECDOTAL INFORMATION ON THIS, BUT I AM PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT A TEACHER'S APPEARANCE IS A MAJOR FACTOR THAT THE TEACHER MUST CONSIDER IN MANAGEMENT. TEACHERS THAT APPEAR VERY YOUNG HAVE TO REALISTICALLY DEAL WITH THAT, AND IT AFFECTS THEIR CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT. (THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH BRAND NEW TEACHERS.) TEACHERS THAT APPEAR YOUNG (BUT NOT LIKE A STUDENT) AND HAVE AN ENERGETIC, FUN APPROACH TO THE CLASSROOM HAVE A BUILT-IN ADVANTAGE, SO LONG AS THEY HAVE PREVIOUSLY CONVINCED THEIR STUDENTS THAT THEY WANT WORK FROM THEM AND NOT JUST PLAY. MIDDLE-AGED TEACHERS OFTEN BRING AN EXPECTATION OF EXPERIENCE TO THE STUDENTS. (IT'S EASY TO KILL THESE EXPECTATIONS, BUT THEY ARE ALMOST UNAVOIDABLE. BY THE SAME TOKEN, STUDENTS CAN BE VERY CRUEL TO OLDER TEACHERS WHO ARE NEW TO THE PROFESSION.) OF COURSE, AS THE HAIR GETS GRAYER, THE KIDS COME TO EXPECT A MORE GRANDFATHERLY OR GRANDMOTHERLY APPROACH, AND IT CAN BE A PROBLEM WHEN THE GRANDPARENTS DON'T MATCH UP TO EXPECTATIONS. PERSONALLY, THOUGH, I HAVE FOUND THAT MY GRAY HAIR MADE IT MUCH EASIER FOR ME TO CONVINCE MY STUDENTS THAT I KNEW ANYTHING AT ALL.

"Perhaps we should all dye our hair gray and throw on ankle skirts or 'Barry Manilow ties'?"

WE ALL KNOW HOW THAT WOULD WORK, THOUGH I HEAR BARRY MANILOW IS COMING BACK IN FASHION. (HEY, HE WAS BETTER THAN DISCO.)

THE OPPOSITE IS JUST AS BAD--MAYBE WORSE: OLDER TEACHERS SHOULD AVOID TRYING TOO HARD TO APPEAR YOUNG. YOUNG TEACHERS SHOULD NOT TRY TO APPEAR OLD--JUST PROFESSIONAL. AT LEAST OLDER THAN THE STUDENTS.

JEFF COMBE