Disclaimer: I started writing this post last year when I wrote about why I dress up as a high school teacher. But then life and teaching got in the way and I had to put the post on the back burner for a moment in which I had more time to do it justice.

As I said at the time of that initial post, “All day long I stand in front of students. I teach them with my lessons, with my visual aids, with the activities planned, with the readings assigned. But it isn’t just in the execution of a lesson that I teach them. I teach them in the clothing I wear; in the way that I take care of my appearance for them each and every day…” And now, after nearly three years of teaching high school girls I’ve become even more convinced that dressing up every day to teach them is something really important.

10 Reasons To Care about Your Appearance as a Teacher:

ONE:: To Set a Good Example. Whether we want to admit it or not, as a teacher, our example, our speech, our dress, our reactions, our facial expressions, pretty much everything we do is being examined and analyzed by our students. We are setting an example for them to follow. We want to set a good one not just in the way we run a classroom and the lessons we teach, but also in the way we dress.

TWO:: To Give Them Something Nice to Look At. Dressing well is a courtesy toward those around us. We don’t have to look at ourselves all day, those around us do. So dressing in a way that is pleasing to the eye is an act of charity for those we will encounter, and especially toward our students.

THREE:: To Put An Extra Little Pep in Our Step. While it is true that dressing in comfortable, even at times frumpy clothing might be the kind of mood we are in when the alarm goes off in the morning. We all know that when we dress well and look good, there is an automatic little pep in our step that wouldn’t be there if we were in a pair of sweats or oversized ill-fitting sweater. To give ourselves the confidence boost that is sometimes so needed to get through a day of teaching children, it’s worth it to dress well.

FOUR:: To Communicate Our Student’s Great Worth. We dress up for people that mean something to us, or for an event that we consider important. When our best friend is having a birthday party we show up looking good, even though we know they love us and care about us no matter what we are wearing. By dressing up for that party we are communicating in a non0verbal way that our bestie means a lot to us. The same can be said about dressing well for our students. They might not acknowledge the fact every day, but they notice when we dress up and they know in some way that part of that effort is for them.

FIVE:: To Keep Their Attention. I have found no better way to keep a student’s eyes on you than by wearing an outfit they really like. LOL No, but seriously, when we dress well, students are more likely to pay attention to us and to give us the respect we deserve.

SIX:: To Be Ready for Anything the Day Throws at You. When we are dressed well, we are ready for that end-of-the-day parent-meeting, a last-minute request to help at some school function, or just to have a sit-down with the department head. Dressing well allows us to focus on the meeting ahead and not be worried about whether we look appropriate or what someone might think or say about our appearance that day.

SEVEN:: To Communicate Your Own Worth. You are worth dressing well and looking good every day. And you are worth it even on the days when you seem like the ‘worst teacher ever’ or when you are unpopular for an assignment that’s due or for an ‘apparently’ unfair class requirement. You are worth looking good and feeling good as a result. I’ve found students tend to have more outward signs of respect for the teachers who obviously take time with their appearance. Even in my own classroom, I’ve found the days I’ve more relaxed and laidback in my attire, it’s harder to maintain the classroom environment.

EIGHT:: To Illustrate a Set of Standards. When our physical appearance and classroom appearance looks good and is refined, the students pick up on that. Yes, they will still leave wrappers laying around, and the desks will still be out of whack by the end of the day. But they are also more aware when they act in a way that isn’t aligned with the classroom standards.

NINE:: To Give You One More Thing to Plan. Just Kidding. But if you are like some teachers I know, you might consider having an outfit calendar that chronicles what you wore when so you aren’t repeating the same looks too often and keep things varied. I don’t have a calendar, but I’m pretty good at remembering what I wore when and I don’t tend to repeat too frequently.

TEN:: To Keep the Kids Guessing. When you take time with your appearance and try to dress well daily, the students take notice - every single day - of what you wear. They look forward to it. They comment on it. Heck, I can remember one teacher when I was in high school whose outfits we tracked because we were positive in the two years she taught us she had never worn the same thing twice. Turns out we were right. Dressing well keeps them on their toes. It keeps them guessing. It keeps them coming back for more.