Teacher told her outfit is inappropriate and people can't figure out why
Every week there’s a story about a student being citing for dress code violations that often leave some scratching their heads as to why. But students aren’t the only ones being targeted.
Yes, that’s right. Teachers are now being criticized for their clothing choices at work. On Friday, Detroit radio show Mojo in the Morning shared a photo on Facebook of a teacher whose outfit was deemed inappropriate by her school (the school wasn’t named). She was asked not to dress like that for school again.
“Is this outfit appropriate for a 4th grade teacher? She was told not to wear it to school again,” the post read. The photo featured a female teacher wearing a gray fit-and-flare dress with a cowl neck that barely showed so much as her collarbone. The dress had cap sleeves and went down to her lower thigh. She had a black belt around the waist of the dress with black tights underneath and over-the-knee heeled black boots. The only skin you saw was on her arms and a bit of her neck.
Many who read the post could not find one thing wrong with the outfit, though a few called attention to the teacher’s boots. Now a debate has broken out in the comments, with more than 1,200 comments so far.
“As a math teacher I some times wear tennis/athletic shoes,” commented a male teacher. “The stereotype of those shoes has gotten me in trouble before, because people assumed that I was into athletics and tennis. I once wore them with a polo shirt and khakis and everyone started thinking I was a golfer. This is ridiculous that anyone thinks her shoes defines her outfit in a professional setting. They are healed shoes, not sandals, not open toe, not clown shoes, and she is teaching 4th grade. Not overly-hormonal high school boys.”
Added another: “I think she looks good even for school. What’s pathetic is when I see teenage girls wear sluttier outfits and don’t get sent home.” That comment, of course, set off some debate. “You find [it] more offensive that a student dresses inappropriately than a teacher who supposed to be setting the example? That seems silly. I think the student should be handled as well, but the teacher should be held to a higher standard,” one commenter replied. Another wrote: “What’s pathetic is adult women sexualizing teenage girls.”
Then there are those who took issue with the boots. “I think the dress is fine, the boots are cute but thigh-high heels are not what you should be wearing to teach…those are more for a night out with your girls. Leggings with some flats or even flat boots that don’t go so high,” a commenter wrote. That comment incited debate as to whether or not the teacher was actually wearing heels or the commenter was just assuming.
Then there are the countless commenters who compared her outfit to that of Julia Roberts’s character in Pretty Woman. “Cute for the bar but not for working in a professional environment. They remind me of the boots Julia Roberts wore in Pretty Woman. Remember what her profession was?” someone wrote, to which another commenter responded, “I thought the same thing about Julia Roberts!! Lol.”
That ticked off another follower, who wrote: “Seriously? This is not the 80’s! She is very [professionally] dressed! You two are the problem!”
Others pointed out that fourth graders wouldn’t be noticing the teacher’s outfit. “Does it matter what grade?? 4th graders don’t care what the teacher is wearing. They think she is 100. She is covered, looks professional and stylish at the same time,” one commenter wrote.
Then there’s this woman who said what we’re all thinking:
So, boots or no boots? That is the question…
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