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Dress codes for teachers

Discussion in 'Education news' started by loodle1, May 28, 2016.

  1. loodle1

    loodle1 Occasional commenter


    I've just read today's secret teacher article and I have to say that when I was at school I absolutely hated wearing a tie, especially in hot weather. However as a female we had the option of an open neck blouse in the summer, whereas boys often have no such privilege and have to swelter through hot days with ties and top buttons done up (although granted there probably aren't too many of these in the UK given the typical British weather!).

    I actually find it harder to concentrate if it is hot and I'm not dressed in cool clothing. I know that ties are often expected in the private sector but offices generally have air conditioning etc. In schools staff are often lucky if they have the use of a plug in fan!

    So, is it sexist to expect boys and men to struggle with ties when it is seen as acceptable for women and girls to wear cooler attire in the summer?
  2. DIrectorStudies

    DIrectorStudies New commenter

    I have a dress code at my school - modest skirts/dresses for women. I don't have a problem with it at all. I tend not to sweat the small stuff.
  3. loodle1

    loodle1 Occasional commenter

    @DIrectorStudies That doesn't answer the question. Do the men have to wear ties and is this unfair when the women can wear dresses?
  4. phlogiston

    phlogiston Star commenter

    The enforced wearing of a tie seems unreasonable - especially given the far wider range of clothing available to female colleagues. It has nothing to do with the quality of teaching. However it is probably an important part of control for authoritative management.

    I enjoyed wearing a range of ties - but this was my choice, and part of my maverick teaching style.
    Anonymity, indusant, Shedman and 7 others like this.
  5. Flere-Imsaho

    Flere-Imsaho Star commenter

    Men shouldn't have to wear ties and should be allowed to wear dresses if they wish.
  6. lunarita

    lunarita Established commenter

    The tie is one of those absurd conventions I will never understand. It serves no purpose whatsoever other than to cover up the odd missing button.
    hammie, Barkerrl, Juliet6079 and 4 others like this.
  7. phlogiston

    phlogiston Star commenter

    The tie serves a range of functions. It can act as a social indicator (old (public) school, MCC, regimental, or workplace minion indicator. It can act as an agent of social control school pupil or workplace minion.
    For me it acts as almost the decorative part of clothing I can wear, the same way ladies wear brooches, necklaces, bracelets, hairbands and the like.
  8. FrankWolley

    FrankWolley Star commenter

    I didn't mind wearing a tie at school - but I took it off the moment I sat in my car in the car park.

    Since retiring I've only worn one at funerals, and a couple of 'posh' restaurants...

    But I have 2 drawers full of ties looking unloved!
    Startedin82 and delnon like this.
  9. lunarita

    lunarita Established commenter

    Actually, they can be a little bit useful when you're absolutely at a loss for a present....
    drek and Middlemarch like this.
  10. blazer

    blazer Star commenter

    Likewise, I have a collection of about 120 weird and wonderful (and LOUD) ties which I wear to school. I even have a couple of novelty bow ties that see the light of day on occasion. In fact I am wondering what to do with them all once I retire this summer.
    The only negative experience with a loud tie was many years aggo when I went for an internal interview for a HoY post. I didn't get it and on of the SMT took me on one side and told me that one of the Governors decided that I was unsuitable because of my tie!
    Salmz88 and loodle1 like this.
  11. loodle1

    loodle1 Occasional commenter

    Also many years ago I missed out on an internal HoY post to my colleague with the craziest ties in the school! I guess it's down to individual preference!

    I used to quite like loud/comedy ties and so did most of the students to be fair.
    delnon likes this.
  12. summlard

    summlard New commenter

    I have never worn a tie to school in my seven years of teaching! Thankfully I don't have to.
  13. hammie

    hammie Lead commenter

    i had to wear a tie form the age of 5 to about 40. I no longer do as I prefer to feel cool to hot and constricted. I did work in one school where a female deputy in open toed sandals and an open necked blouse tried to tell me that I should be wearing a tie. Up to that point I had done most days in the cooler months, from then on, not one single day!
    I have objected big time since I worked in the bank and had to wear a three piece suit while the women wore blouses and objected to the windows being open because they were cold....
    Lara mfl 05, drek and loodle1 like this.
  14. chelsea2

    chelsea2 Star commenter

    Summer is when I'm glad I'm female - skirts, blouses, T-shirts, (and quite often shorts, as I taught a lot of PE) and especially SANDALS. I can't imagine working in the summer wearing shoes and socks, but it's rare to see men in most jobs in sandals. Their feet must be boiling!
    palmtree100 and drek like this.
  15. hammie

    hammie Lead commenter

    i guess you get used to it. I don't actually object to sandals by the way, but on health and safety ground open toed footwear is a big problem. Ask anyone who has managed to rip off a toenail (usually the big toe) at work of many kinds. Mrs Hammie managed it while carrying out personal care and moving a bed. Dropping things onto unprotected toes is also a fun idea.
    Lara mfl 05 likes this.
  16. les25paul

    les25paul Star commenter

    Not so much these days, schools are a little bit backward when it comes to modern business practices.
    drek likes this.
  17. peakster

    peakster Star commenter

    I'm a bit of a scruffy sod (I admit this) but I always wear a shirt and tie to work and couldn't imagine myself ever doing anything else.
  18. delnon

    delnon Lead commenter

    In some schools, offbeat ties were an unofficial staff competition. It can be a way of asserting some individuality in an increasingly regimented situation.
    I think it just goes with the territory, and agree that it can have its uses. As a supply teacher in one "challenging" school it was a way of establishing a rapport with some of the pupils. "'Ere, sir, where's your Star Wars tie?"
    Especially if I wore it on the third of the month... ;)
    Now I'm retired, they maunder on a set of tie racks, except the black one which comes out too often for my liking.
  19. caterpillartobutterfly

    caterpillartobutterfly Star commenter

    Women wear tights/stockings and men wear ties.
    Both uncomfortable in hot weather, but fit the general idea of professional attire.
    bevdex, drek and delnon like this.
  20. loodle1

    loodle1 Occasional commenter

    I've never known there be a rule that women had to wear tights. Quite often women wear trousers.
    harsh-but-fair likes this.

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