What do K-12 teachers wear to work these days?

My friends who are teachers tend to wear nice slacks and shirts, both men and women.
Sometimes the women teachers in middle and high schools will wear skirts and/or dresses, but elementary not so much. They’re on the floor some of the time.

Teachers at my daughter’s K-8 school dress slightly less than business casual. Slacks and sweaters or golf shirts for guys and slacks or skirts and blouses for gals. Neat and smart.

It’s casual business. A lot of knee length shorts when it gets warmer. Often we’d dress with some sort of theme.

At a local elementary school it looks like blue jeans and sweatshirts are acceptable.

Everyday, or on Fridays, @gondwanalon?

Out here, there appears to be little if any emphasis on clothing propriety among teachers or students for that matter.

My wife wears jeans or cords and a button down shirt on most days. Some schools have stricter dress codes for teachers. And she can wear any kind of t-shirt or sweatshirt with the school logo on it.

Do you think teachers would be better off wearing business attire like suits? That they would be respected more as a profession?

No, I don’t think that would automatically create respect. Kids are pretty immune to outward trappings, and go straight to the heart of the personality.

@Dutchess_III I didn’t mean the kids. I meant from other adults.

Oh, I see! Oh, I don’t think so. There is still that ridiculous adage out there that says, “Those who can, DO. Those who can’t, teach.” Anybody who actually wants to work with kids can’t have much brain, you know?

Also, I think it’s understood that teachers are on the move a LOT. In the younger grades, and sometime in the older, we’re crawling around on the floor and stuff. We’re also on stage. We do a lot of gesticulating and body language. We do things that other “professionals” don’t do, so we dress accordingly.

I think teachers wearning suits would create a barrier betwen them and the people they’re working with. It could make them appear unapproachable to their students. A good teacher commands respect but also needs to develop connections with their students. I think a suit would be detrimental to that. Plus, teachers need to wear appropriate clothing for their workplace. With younger kids that might involve paint, glue and the like. Within reason, I don’t think how the teacher dresses should determine whether they’re respected by their students or the student’s parents.

I agree teachers of younger kids do more physical stuff, and suits are unnecessary and would be a hindrance. Not many “regular” professionals wear suits now, not like the old “dress for success” days. Most places are “business casual.” There are exceptions, of course. I have family members that work on Wall Street (mind you most Wall Street jobs are no longer actually on Wall Street) and it’s business casual there, too. There is a dress code but it’s not suits.

Pretty much any job that was seen as a woman’s job back in the day gets less respect or less money. That’s starting to change. Nurses are paid well now, and some secretaries/admins are paid well, that varies a lot around the country. Teachers fall into the same category. In some states they are paid well.

Sweater dresses are very cute during cooler months. Many teachers wear those.

Since this question was asked, I finally caught up with my almost 60 year-old sister who teaches 5th grade (10–11 yr. olds) at a public school in Virginia. Here is her response.

She can only share what is worn at her school. Times have changed since we were gradeschool age. Teachers rarely sit behind a desk in the front of room. They are roaming about and often kneel next to a desk when a student needs guidance. There are more group activities, and they often involve sitting on a carpeted area on the floor. During recess, many of the teachers play games with the students.

What do they wear? She said that many of the male teachers wear shorts and a t-shirt. A few women do as well. Some wear dressier clothes, but no one wears anything like a suit. The reason is that their clothes are often ruined through physical activity. This included playing part-time janitor in order to keep the classrooms and the teacher’s lounge clean.

She also mentioned that children this age love to touch their teachers. Because of this, she tends to wear tops with sleeves and either trousers or cropped pants. On the rare occasion, she wears jeans, but it depends upon the day’s schedule and her mood. Other teachers wear them more frequently.

Does it negatively impact their respect level? She said, “No.” When it comes to the children at that age, they aren’t bothered. As far as she is aware, no parent has mentioned it either. However, they are very vocal about how their child is treated in their eyes. Teachers in her school spend a tremendous amount of time documenting everything; much more than they had to when we were growing up.

I’d rather see a teacher who was dressed in such a way that she was ready to get down in the dirt with the kids, than a professionally dressed teacher who keeps a lint roller on her desk.