When I was in high school, friends of mine kept track of how many times our Chemistry teacher said a particular phrase. I think it was “um,” but surely that is too banal. Surely we had better things to do in Chemistry than tally the number of times our poor teacher hesitated every class period, day after day, right? Of course, we also kept track of at least one teacher’s outfits: ah, there’s Tuesday’s skirt! Right on cue, Thursday’s dress! And my sister’s class once united to torture a student teacher by tearing out their notes, day after day, then pretending she had not given the previous day’s lecture.
Clearly, this was before cell phones.
I am now in my 50s, and some days I feel lucky if the students even notice if I’m in the room, but these memories explain this morning’s dilemma: what to wear to school? I have plenty of options, but it’s March and I am sick of every item of winter-adjacent clothing I own. Plus, of course, I couldn’t wear the green palazzo pants today because I want to wear them tomorrow when we have a guest speaker. Why do I need to wear those pants for a guest speaker who I’ve never met before and may never see again? I do not know, but this morning that was my only fully-formed idea about clothing. As a result, I stared longingly at the green pants for several minutes.
Eventually, I reached for a black dress with white stripes, but I suddenly feared it might be my “Wednesday” outfit. I put it back, deciding that my safest bet was something navy – because when was the last time I wore navy? Minutes later, I realized that I probably hadn’t been wearing anything navy because I couldn’t find my navy shoes or any cardigan that coordinated even vaguely with navy.
At this point, getting dressed – something that normally takes me no time at all – had taken me quite a bit of time indeed. I texted my carpool buddy that I was running late and, ignoring the nagging voice in my head – the one with a distinct Southern accent – that whispered “No white before Memorial Day,” I grabbed a white cardigan. I finally located my navy shoes, then ran downstairs to grab breakfast. I threw together a lunch, and took my breakfast to go. My carpool buddy arrived, and we headed off to school: me, confident that I was not wearing a Wednesday outfit and knowing that, at the very least, my shoes were appropriate. No tally sheets for this teacher!
No tally sheets, that is, unless my students are keeping track of days when I have completely forgotten to put on any make up. Sigh.
At least tomorrow’s outfit is ready to go, and – who knows? – maybe the guest speaker will be really impressed by my green palazzo pants. Maybe he’ll add them to a secret tally sheet of “really well-dressed teachers for a Thursday in March.” I bet I top the list for that one.
Persistence and Pedagogy 
A getting dressed sliced. I had a principal who had “outfits.” The same brown pants always worn with the same brown sweater. Always. The patterns we notice! I was right there with you and now fretting that I’m also tired of all of my clothes…what will I wear today?!?
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Oh no – do I wear the same outfit every time? Another thing to tally…
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🤣
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I think we can all relate to this slice — I wish someone could just tell me what to wear most days!
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The number of times I’ve dreamed of throwing it all away and doing that thing where you wear the same thing every day….
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Totally! My partner is a PE teacher at our old school and gets to wear a uniform. I envy him sometimes but then I think I’d never wear any of the other clothes in my closet!
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Amanda, your slice rang true on so many levels. The things students notice….I had a six-grade student many years ago who would often comment on my outfits. He would even go so far as to rate me: 7/10 if I was missing the right type of shoe; 8/10 if I was missing a vital accessory. I remember the day he awarded me a 9/10….the skirt, the blouse, the shoes…everything on point, he said. But why not a perfect score? “You just need a bold red lipstick, Ms. P, and then it would be perfect!” I wonder if that kid is dressing models on some runway right now! Thanks for triggering this memory today with your slice, Amanda! It’s a joy reading your posts!
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Oh my! Bold red lipstick 😂. I almost included an anecdote about kids realizing I was friends with another teacher because we both came in with a new manicure on the same day – and we had, indeed, gone to get our nails done together. They miss nothing!
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Yes, the things students notice and remember aways amazes me. Little third grade boys often noticed my hair cut/color when my family did not! You do remind me of long ago when my children were really small and my stress level was really high when I had 5 dresses for 5 days that were rotated every single week in order to make working and living possible! The dresses varied only in color to make matters worse!
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