What Not to Wear :: No More Pajamas At School

“Mrs. Frasier, why do you dress up so much?”

“Mrs. Frasier, why don’t you just wear sweats to school?”

My response: “This is my job, and how I dress shows my respect and appreciation for the opportunity to be here – and for you.”

My fear: The next generation is going to show up for their job interviews in pajama pants and crop tops.

I am so tired of seeing pajamas at the high school where I teach.  One of my biggest pet peeves is students who really do just roll out of bed and head to school in their pajamas and worn-out sweatpants. The only person in my family who should be wearing PJs in public is my newborn (because seriously, infants and footie jammies!).

Footie Jammies

Last year I had two students show up for a field trip to a BIG 12 university campus in footie jammies…because it was cold outside. Ummm…wear a coat.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good pair of sweat pants, and I love Team Spirit Day when I can wear a t-shirt and jeans.  However, I am a firm believer that sweats and pajamas have their place, and it is not in the classroom – particularly in high school.

As a teenager, I hated that my parents were constantly checking my wardrobe, always asking, “Are you wearing that?”or “Did you do your hair today?” However, looking back those questions set expectations for me as a high schooler and a future adult.  Now that I have a two-year old (who thinks she is 15), I can understand apathy towards fighting the daily wardrobe battle – but I am so glad my parents fought it!

What you wear says a lot about what you value and your attitude, whether you think it should or not.  We’ve all seen at least one episode of TLC’s What Not To Wear, right?  The same principle applies at school, too!

In general I have noticed that students who show up to school “ready” for the day – meaning hair combed, some sort of effort made to be presentable – are more willing to participate, are willing to be engaged, and overall have a better attitude about sitting in a classroom for 7 hours.

The same applies to me as an adult, so I assume it should work for teenagers, too.  If I get dressed up and feel ready, I am in a better frame of mind to do my job well (whether that’s going to work or staying home).

I heard a story recently about a refugee family that arrived in Wichita, and the father took his young boys to enroll in school wearing suits that he bought after arriving in the US.  While I am not advocating for suits and ties for school, am I suggesting that what this father knew, some of us could learn.  He understands that education is important and that it is the best chance for his children. In order to show respect and thanks for the opportunity, he and his sons dressed the part.  Perhaps the rest of us should consider this as well…

Lindsay
Lindsay was raised in Augusta, graduated from K-State, majored in PR, and met and married hubby, Ryan. They moved to Newton right after graduation where she worked for 5 years in non-profit, then decided to ignore her college degree and become a teacher. She now loves (90% of the time) teaching freshman and senior English. She is the proud momma to Maelle (pronounced May-Elle) who is 3 going on 16, and Tucker, who is 3 months and sweet as sugar and full of smiles. Outside of work, she enjoys working with the middle school youth group, cattle ranching, reading, drinking coffee and Cherry Coke, music and living room dance parties –current favorites songs are “All About that Bass” and anything Disney.

3 COMMENTS

  1. I am completely with you. Everyone, in general, needs to dress with some sort of effort. Everyone is busy but don’t let that be an excuse to wear pajamas out in public. I see a lot of moms doing this too.

  2. Amen! I am an elementary teacher in Wichita and I am very thankful to teach at a school that has uniforms. The days that I wear jeans and a sweatshirt to school I definitely feel less motivated to work, I am more relaxed and I don’t feel professional. We need to lead by example. If we could just get the parents to not come to school in pajamas…

  3. Okay…. Don’t you think we have bigger fish to fry then a student or a group of students wearing pjs once in a while to school?? I mean shouldn’t we worry about school fights? Drugs?? I will take footie pajamas at school any day then drugs. In my middle school and high school- I could go in to the bathroom and get any sort of drug I want. In high school it was stall 1 was pot, stall 2 was herioin and stall 3 was everything “worse” then the prev two.

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