What Happened to the Tie?

For those who know me, you'll recognize the fact that I have a closet full of ties. These ties include solid colours, fancy plaids, distinguished patterns, and yes, even paisley (you can thank my wife). I shy away from the gimmicky ties with cartoon characters and festive scenery simply because I can't pull those off. I don't think I have the right personality. To compliment my ties I have what I would refer to as a pretty wide selection of collared shirts, again, in many colours, plaids, and patterns. I have this selection of ties and collars because growing up I always wanted to be a teacher and that was my vision of what teachers wore to work. So, I started my collection early and became one of the few adolescents that embraced the formal appearance.

Skip ahead a decade and a half and I'm still sporting the shirt and tie. Only now I'm in front of the classroom and facilitating the learning. I have my own weekly dress routine and believe in starting Mondays with the formal attire; dress shoes, dress pants; formal shirt and tie (jacket optional depending on the day). Each day I dress a little less formal and usually lose the tie by Thursday, so that I can ease into casual Friday (the day that I believed was the only day that teachers could wear jeans). I'm a firm believer in casual Fridays. I'm also a firm believer in dressing to the profession the rest of the week.

Here's why I write about my shirts and ties.

On three separate occasions this school year I have been asked by colleagues if I had an interview that day. The question itself doesn't bother me as it is always nice to have people you work with interested in your success. Upon each interaction I replied with "No. Why do you ask?". The response each time was a commentary on my tucked in shirt and tie. Now, a couple of things about these exchanges perplex me. One, it's commonplace for me to be wearing a tie while teaching. Two, since when do teachers only wear dress shirts and ties for interviews? Has the shirt and tie become such an endangered look throughout the teaching sphere that we can't help but ask someone if they have an interview if they're sporting the double windsor?

Please don't take my rant the wrong way. I'm not attacking the physical appearance of the teaching profession, I'm merely questioning my own perspective of what I thought the image of the teacher to be. While it's obviously just the opinion of a journeyman teacher, I still hold this profession to a high standard. I still believe that teaching is a prestigious career that is positively accented by the shirt and tie. It represents respect in one's self, one's profession, and one's position. I believe the tie generates an added level of respect from students as well. Likewise when colleagues have asked about the tie/interview relationship, I've had students seek me out to ask where my tie was on days I dressed down.

So, what happened to the tie? Is the tie an endangered part of the teaching wardrobe? Is it a result of the 'we are all students in the classroom' movement? Or is it a collective view that teaching isn't the prestigious career it once was? I don't know the answer. What I do know is that I will continue to dress the part because I hold this profession to a high standard, while also acknowledging that it's not the attire that makes the teacher. It's simply an opinion. The next time you see me wearing a shirt and tie shouldn't be associated with the idea of having an interview. It should be associated with the profession. It should be associated with quality of work we're doing. It should be associated with the high standards that I hold myself accountable to.