Is the way in which teachers dress an issue? Teachers don’t seem to think so, but parents do.
Following parents’ complaints to the department of education, Education Minister Naledi Pandor mandated the teaching profession’s watchdog, the South African Council of Educators (SACE), to step in. The council now has to produce guidelines on what constitutes a proper dress code for the profession.
But “proper” and what that means appears to be the contentious matter. This is because how teachers dress is influenced not only by personal taste, but also by factors such as climate, a school’s own norms, community values and tradition. Consequently, what is acceptable at one school may not go down too well at another.
Rej Brijraj, chief executive of Sace, told the Teacher that educators should dress in a manner that enhances the integrity and image of teaching as a profession. They should refrain from dressing in a way that brings the profession into disrepute.
“It was felt that some teachers were not properly attired to be in the classrooms and that some women teachers were dressed in a very revealing way,” said Brijraj. He said it was obligatory for teachers to dress in a way that is deemed appropriate in the eyes of the community they serve.
“Once you have chosen to become a teacher, you have chosen to abide by the demands of the profession. You cannot wear physical education shorts when teaching an academic subject or dress in a way that is too revealing, especially in front of grown-up learners,” Brijraj said.
He said instead of drafting the protocol themselves, the SACE has “instructed” schools to formulate their own guidelines in consultation with all interested parties, especially school governing bodies. Brijraj said the guidelines should take into account local dynamics such as costs and community sensitivities.
Brijraj said the SACE does not promote the idea of uniforms for teachers. “Some schools do have uniforms, which work well and schools are at liberty to choose that route. But there are cost implications and we cannot prescribe uniforms for educators across the board,” he said. Where schools do not have guidelines in place concerned parties can contact the council directly.
the Teacher spoke to some teachers – they preferred to be called by their first names only – about the subject. Some support the idea of conforming to some kind of dress protocol where-as others felt that what should count is a teacher’s commitment to the profession and his or her capability to teach.
Said Bongi: “Although we do have individual rights, I think, as teachers, we should be exemplary and always see ourselves as role models. I don’t think we should wear clothes that reveal too much flesh.
“I personally would not object to wearing a uniform. I think this would make it easy for people to be recognised as teachers, just like nurses, police and other professionals. To me attire like mini-skirts, shorts and sandals are absolutely no-no.”
Excelsior differed: “I personally do not care about how and what a person wears. To me what matters most is whether a teacher is capable of delivering the goods – ensuring that learners perform well. What has attire to do with my ability to teach? What is the point of dressing well and yet producing mediocre results?” she asked.
Yet another teacher, Elroy, thinks it depends entirely on the individual. “I think, at the end of the day, it rests with an individual teacher. Surely one should know when he or she has crossed the boundaries. You cannot, for instance, as a female teacher wear a mini-skirt, or as a male teacher wear pants that are too tight and revealing. It is just not on. I don’t think it should be enforced, though, as it is really a personal call,” he said.
Meanwhile, spokespeople of teacher unions said the issue is not a priority, though they support it. They were unanimous that it would be a challenge to monitor adherence to the code. They said none of them had received any complaints related to any dress code violations and therefore “we cannot fix what is not broken”.
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