Jeans Do Not A Professional Un-Make.

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If you know me at work, you also know that I am that employee always scurrying for cover in order not to be caught by the superiors for the nth time wearing the strictly forbidden Jeans. We have a strict no-jeans policy at work and I have chosen to fight against it here in my widely-published and credible professional blog.

... Yeah.

So we all know their reason for the no-jeans policy. Jeans are just way too casual to be worn in prestigious workplaces such as the one I work in, and it is imperative that we command respect in our fly suits and stiff upper lips. Cool, cool.

However, considering the nature of our job (teaching), it's pretty difficult to keep up with this. No, I'm not saying that we should all be allowed to come to work in our deconstructed jeans and faded apple-bottoms and start krumping our students into perfect English. I agree that not even the most "inconsequential" students should be subjected to the sight of their teachers showing off the occasional camel-toe inspired skinny jeans.

But there are a lot of nice, decent, dressy "non-work" pants that we can wear to work with a nice, dressy, respectable top, and they just happen to be denim.

I mean, it's ridankulous.

1) Suits are expensive in this shithole. The nice ones at least. Fuck, just the jacket is expensive. We teach everyday of the work week, so the teachers must have at least 3 decent jackets to alternate (this, of course, to maintain that whole being-respectable froufrou. Our students are nice and superficial, and they tend to.. how to say this.. keep track of what their teachers wear.) So can we at least get a clothing allowance? No? Okay, then, number

2) Half the teachers teach children. Imagine teaching kids in a suit. It's like the Men In Black came to the classrooms to de-alienate the students. (See what I did there?) It doesn't help that kids teachers are required to be active and sing-songy and super-friendly to those nice little buggers. I can't see how that can be achieved with a suit. A nice pair of comfortable, decent, dark denim jeans, perhaps, and a nice, decent, work-appropriate top would make it easier for both students and teachers to get along in class. No? Okay, then, number

3) Let's say you're a student who paid shit-tons of money to learn English. Now, let's say your teacher walks in wearing a splendid, respectable suit. Gorgeous. Beautiful. You can get used to this. Clearly, the class is worth all that money. (Don't forget, you are nice and superficial.)

Except for one thing. It's just your luck that you got sure, the BEST teacher your money can be, but she's also the kind of woman who is JUST NOT COMFORTABLE wearing a suit. Or maybe she's just not a shopper, or a fashionista, so she happened to buy the "wrong" suit, and it doesn't seem to flatter her or it's just not the suit for her personality type. Something is just... OFF.

Distracting, yeah? I mean, seriously, WHO CAN LEARN ANYTHING FROM A WOMAN WHO CAN'T EVEN DRESS HERSELF? Oh no, forget the fact that she's perfectly trained for her job, excellent qualifications, blah blah, who gives a shit? Look at that cheap suit!

Would you not rather have a teacher who is not only good at her job, but who also looks comfortable DOING her job in nice, dressy denim pants and a nice, dressy top? Especially if that's the kind of outfit that is "SO HER"? You know, coz she just looks so CONFIDENT and COMFORTABLE that she makes YOU feel confident and comfortable? No?

Fine. We'll just stick to the no-jeans policy.




Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 3, 2010 at 10:51 AM

    I'm lucky to work in a place that has a comparatively lax dress code. We can wear jeans at work, but we have to do a bit extra so we would command respect throughout the campus. It could range to wearing a stylish and professional looking blouse to a well-chosen accessory that students find too "oldsy" to wear.

    ReplyDelete
  2. nessreenJanuary 4, 2010 at 6:14 AM

    LOL @ "oldsy" accessories.

    I think we would've gotten away with that if we worked at a campus, too. The problem is that I work at a company, and we have a corporate culture that follows the no-jeans policy. We're not considered an educational institute, more like an office, kahit na we teach (we are called "instructors", not "teachers". That kind of crap). Nakakainis!

    ReplyDelete

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