In Image Counts, Gavin Heaton of Sydney, Australia, agrees with Mike Wagner's comment that dress is a part of establishing your classroom brand. As Garth explained,
"In my university days...I remember directing a play and noticing the difference in the style, presentation and effectiveness of the performances based on how I dressed. When I dressed in a blazer the performance was better than when I turned up in ripped jeans. After a couple of bad performances, I just decided to dress "up", more conservatively, and more obviously attentive to my appearance. I must say that the changes were remarkable.
It was pretty clear to me that if I wanted to achieve a high level of team performance, I needed to dress a certain way. This, in itself, was quite strange -- as the work we were performing was considered avant-garde, non-conventional and self-consciously artistic. But the more that the performers were pushed, the greater was their need for a solid and dependable base (which was me). And the more conservatively I dressed, the better the performance was. The troupe and I were building an unspoken, but deep trust."
Our students need to feel comfortable with us and trust the environment we are building in our classrooms. They need us to both act and look the part of someone who is credible.
Gavin's story is awesome!
I'm glad you posted it here for your readers.
Over the years I have been fortunate to have had great teachers. Your commitment to helping teachers take their classroom skills to new levels of effectiveness is also awesome!
Keep creating...and teaching,
Mike
Posted by: Michael Wagner | July 01, 2006 at 03:02 PM