so, re your poll - I'm Australian, and grew up doing a lot of camping, hiking etc, and I also grew up with a Dad who was very into having the right gear for the activity, and didn't/doesn't care about fashion (although he wears a shirt and tie and *trousers* to the office and has every day for thirty years). So i'm kind of one of those people who thinks that shorts are appropriate for all kinds fo physical activity, although i would never wear them on a formal occasion. I ticked that i would wear them to the movies because, well, i have, and also because once your'e at the movies it's dark in there, and also because i often go to the movies in summer because it's so hot and the cinema is air conditioned (and i'm on holidays) and you better believe if it's 44 degrees Celsius outside i'm wearing shorts!!
also, about the teaching in a college classroom - i have actually had lecturers (=professors, for the USians *g*) wearing shorts to lecture, but they were always quirky, passionate zoology lecturers, so it kind of fit. i've never had a lecturer in the humanities or social sciences (or other sciences) wear shorts to a lecture or tutorial or prac. although i can imagine those three-quarter length shorts working in some circumstances, if it was really hot and the outfit was put together right.
i personally would never wear shorts to teach in a university c lassroom (which i'm hoping to do for the first time next semester!) because i'm a (relatively) young female and (more importantly, perhaps) i don't shave my legs. which i'm comfortable with, but i'm just enough of a paranoid hypocrite that i can't show my hairy legs in public unless i'm among close friends.
oh, and i think ti matters what kind of sporting event you're attending. plenty of people wear shorts to informal summer sports games here, but no-one except the players would wear shorts to a footy (Australian Rules Football) game because it's too bloody cold in the winter! but kids spports games, the kind where adults are porbably helping out in some capacity - totally. but these are usually men helpers, not mums. *shrugs*
I don't think I've ever had a professor teach in shorts (although I have seen a few grad student colleagues (always male) and one professorial colleague teach in shorts). Men can get away with a lot more than women can in terms of dress and teaching persona, particularly young women. When I started teaching undergrads, I was just barely 21 and I could pass for a teenager. I got carded for rated R movies until I was about 24 or 25. So I had to do a lot of things to generate and maintain control of the classroom that my husband, also teaching for the first time and only a year older than me, did not have to do because he's a guy.
If you don't wanna talk about teaching personas, tell me to shut up because I could go on for a long time about this.
you're welcome! :D it was very interesting to think about. and i'm very interested in hearing about teaching personas, because although i have a lot of experience teaching primary school students one-on-one, as well as a lot of experience coaching groups of teenagers in various sports, i have no classroom experience as yet. (my tutoring gig for next semexter hasn't been confirmed yet, but i'm optimistic that i'll get something.) i've had a *lot* of disucssions over the past few years with my partner about his experiences tutoring (at uni level), but the one thing he can't help with is the female thing! he also doesn't have quite the same problems of looking young that i do (although he has a ponytail). i am actually 29, but in terms of size i could easily be read as 19. i think i'm going to need to get some more formal work clothes! (at school i ususally wear jeans and shirts or plain t-shirts).
yeah, i think you're totally right that men can get away with more than women wrt dress etc. i remember we had a (male) maths teacher in high school who used to wear shorts and sandals with socks (the ultimate in dagginess!). sure, the students made fun of him a bit, but i can't imagine a female teacher getting away with anything even remotely similar.
I've found as a woman that formal dress is really important, at least until you establish a reputation as a teacher at your institution. I also tend to start out very strict and relax control throughout the semester. I've found that if you give some students an inch, they'll take a mile, especially if you're a chick. I've adopted some rules that help with that--I never discuss a student's work or grades outside my office. It can undermine your authority when the rest of the class is watching you deal with a whiner, or God forbid, an actual mistake you made. LOL I also don't back down. Whatever policies you lay out, follow them, or they'll eat you alive. No waffling.
Thanks for the tips - all valuable stuff for me to keep in mind. :)
My own studies are in interdisicplinary areas - Gender Studies and Social Health (which is like an expanded version of the sociology of health and illness using insights from other disciplines including anthropology). The subjects i'm hoping to teach are also interdisciplinary, but are organised around themes rather than being specific to any established interdisciplinary area of study like Gender Studies, Social Health, or History & Philosophy of Science (just throwing that in there since it's what my partner studies *g*).
The subject that i'd most like to tutor for is called 'Drugs that Shape Society' and is taught by a pharmacologist, a lawyer, and a medical historian. The three main drugs that are covered in the course are alcohol, penecillin and thalidomide, with various case studies and reflective exercises, as well as the basics of the physiologivcal effects of alcohol on the nervous system, addiction, etc etc.
There's also an interdisciplinary subject on Climate Change that sounds fantastic (including discussions by panels of experts) but i suspect my music-teaching commitments will preclude me from tutoring in the that one this time around.
I know, right?! Unfortunately a lot of the students seem to resent being 'forced' to take these new interdisciplinary subjects (as part of a 'breadth requirement' - this is new for Australian universities, our university is trialling a new model more similar to the US model with 3-year BA/BSc/other basic Bachelor degree +2 year Masters + 3 year PhD).
I would have jumped at the chance to study these subjects back when I was an undergrad, and so would have most of my friends! But I (and a lot of my friends) studied a BA/BSc double degree, so perhaps we're different to the average student...
I've just discovered that the university is going to introduce another new subject called Sex, Race & Social Justice, which also sounds fantastic! So many great subjects to choose from.
Oh how disappointing that the students aren't into the curriculum. I suppose that's the one constant of teaching. Most of the students piss you off most of the time. LOL
LOL, indeed. Don't worry, i'm prepared for that aspect from my years of rading academics_anon, and also from hearing about my parenters' experiences.
I think a big part of the issue with the Drugs subject is the shift from making Medicine a course that could be entered directly from high school to making it compulsory to do an undergraduate degree first. So, a lot of students who are hoping to study Medicine at the graduate level ended up taking this subject because it seemed 'the most relevant', but then they weren't really interested in thinking critically about the issues. One of my friends asked if it helps to think that a lot of the students probably just aren't trying very hard/don't care, but on reflection that doesn't make it better At all because I don't want the world to be populated with doctors who don't care or think about these issues critically!!
But hopefully some of the info about the course will have trickled down to the next lot of students and more Arts students will choose the subject, so there'll be a higher ratio of interested students: 'i'm just here 'cause it was the least bad option' students.
Anytime there is a curriculum or policy/procedure change, it takes awhile for people to become accustomed to it or for it to have the affect intended. Hang in there! :)
i don't shave my legs. which i'm comfortable with, but i'm just enough of a paranoid hypocrite that i can't show my hairy legs in public unless i'm among close friends.
I often don't shave my legs, but I'm usually wearing pants. I shave whenever I wear skirts.
I pretty much prefer below the neck hairlessness for both genders (pubic hair) included, but I realize that's a very extreme preference. (Oh, man the slippy slide of no hair is awesome! LOL)
hooray for pants! the last time i wore a skirt was to a mid-winter wedding (two years ago) and i got away with wearing black stockings and not shaving.
oh, i lie! i wore a skirt to my friends' engagement party in February (v hot here) the start of last year. but these people are good enough friends that they're used to my hairy legs, and it wasn't a formal party nor a formal skirt. *g*
also, about the teaching in a college classroom - i have actually had lecturers (=professors, for the USians *g*) wearing shorts to lecture, but they were always quirky, passionate zoology lecturers, so it kind of fit. i've never had a lecturer in the humanities or social sciences (or other sciences) wear shorts to a lecture or tutorial or prac. although i can imagine those three-quarter length shorts working in some circumstances, if it was really hot and the outfit was put together right.
i personally would never wear shorts to teach in a university c lassroom (which i'm hoping to do for the first time next semester!) because i'm a (relatively) young female and (more importantly, perhaps) i don't shave my legs. which i'm comfortable with, but i'm just enough of a paranoid hypocrite that i can't show my hairy legs in public unless i'm among close friends.
oh, and i think ti matters what kind of sporting event you're attending. plenty of people wear shorts to informal summer sports games here, but no-one except the players would wear shorts to a footy (Australian Rules Football) game because it's too bloody cold in the winter! but kids spports games, the kind where adults are porbably helping out in some capacity - totally. but these are usually men helpers, not mums. *shrugs*
thanks for making me think!!
Reply
I don't think I've ever had a professor teach in shorts (although I have seen a few grad student colleagues (always male) and one professorial colleague teach in shorts). Men can get away with a lot more than women can in terms of dress and teaching persona, particularly young women. When I started teaching undergrads, I was just barely 21 and I could pass for a teenager. I got carded for rated R movies until I was about 24 or 25. So I had to do a lot of things to generate and maintain control of the classroom that my husband, also teaching for the first time and only a year older than me, did not have to do because he's a guy.
If you don't wanna talk about teaching personas, tell me to shut up because I could go on for a long time about this.
Also, congrats on the teaching gig!
Reply
it was very interesting to think about.
and i'm very interested in hearing about teaching personas, because although i have a lot of experience teaching primary school students one-on-one, as well as a lot of experience coaching groups of teenagers in various sports, i have no classroom experience as yet. (my tutoring gig for next semexter hasn't been confirmed yet, but i'm optimistic that i'll get something.) i've had a *lot* of disucssions over the past few years with my partner about his experiences tutoring (at uni level), but the one thing he can't help with is the female thing! he also doesn't have quite the same problems of looking young that i do (although he has a ponytail). i am actually 29, but in terms of size i could easily be read as 19. i think i'm going to need to get some more formal work clothes! (at school i ususally wear jeans and shirts or plain t-shirts).
yeah, i think you're totally right that men can get away with more than women wrt dress etc. i remember we had a (male) maths teacher in high school who used to wear shorts and sandals with socks (the ultimate in dagginess!). sure, the students made fun of him a bit, but i can't imagine a female teacher getting away with anything even remotely similar.
Reply
I've found as a woman that formal dress is really important, at least until you establish a reputation as a teacher at your institution. I also tend to start out very strict and relax control throughout the semester. I've found that if you give some students an inch, they'll take a mile, especially if you're a chick. I've adopted some rules that help with that--I never discuss a student's work or grades outside my office. It can undermine your authority when the rest of the class is watching you deal with a whiner, or God forbid, an actual mistake you made. LOL I also don't back down. Whatever policies you lay out, follow them, or they'll eat you alive. No waffling.
What subject are you in?
Reply
My own studies are in interdisicplinary areas - Gender Studies and Social Health (which is like an expanded version of the sociology of health and illness using insights from other disciplines including anthropology). The subjects i'm hoping to teach are also interdisciplinary, but are organised around themes rather than being specific to any established interdisciplinary area of study like Gender Studies, Social Health, or History & Philosophy of Science (just throwing that in there since it's what my partner studies *g*).
The subject that i'd most like to tutor for is called 'Drugs that Shape Society' and is taught by a pharmacologist, a lawyer, and a medical historian. The three main drugs that are covered in the course are alcohol, penecillin and thalidomide, with various case studies and reflective exercises, as well as the basics of the physiologivcal effects of alcohol on the nervous system, addiction, etc etc.
There's also an interdisciplinary subject on Climate Change that sounds fantastic (including discussions by panels of experts) but i suspect my music-teaching commitments will preclude me from tutoring in the that one this time around.
Reply
/jealousy
:)
We didn't have many interdisciplinary courses at either my undergrad or grad schools. Those sound so cool
Reply
Unfortunately a lot of the students seem to resent being 'forced' to take these new interdisciplinary subjects (as part of a 'breadth requirement' - this is new for Australian universities, our university is trialling a new model more similar to the US model with 3-year BA/BSc/other basic Bachelor degree +2 year Masters + 3 year PhD).
I would have jumped at the chance to study these subjects back when I was an undergrad, and so would have most of my friends! But I (and a lot of my friends) studied a BA/BSc double degree, so perhaps we're different to the average student...
I've just discovered that the university is going to introduce another new subject called Sex, Race & Social Justice, which also sounds fantastic! So many great subjects to choose from.
Reply
Reply
I think a big part of the issue with the Drugs subject is the shift from making Medicine a course that could be entered directly from high school to making it compulsory to do an undergraduate degree first. So, a lot of students who are hoping to study Medicine at the graduate level ended up taking this subject because it seemed 'the most relevant', but then they weren't really interested in thinking critically about the issues. One of my friends asked if it helps to think that a lot of the students probably just aren't trying very hard/don't care, but on reflection that doesn't make it better At all because I don't want the world to be populated with doctors who don't care or think about these issues critically!!
But hopefully some of the info about the course will have trickled down to the next lot of students and more Arts students will choose the subject, so there'll be a higher ratio of interested students: 'i'm just here 'cause it was the least bad option' students.
Reply
Anytime there is a curriculum or policy/procedure change, it takes awhile for people to become accustomed to it or for it to have the affect intended. Hang in there! :)
Reply
DITTO.
Reply
I pretty much prefer below the neck hairlessness for both genders (pubic hair) included, but I realize that's a very extreme preference. (Oh, man the slippy slide of no hair is awesome! LOL)
Reply
hooray for pants! the last time i wore a skirt was to a mid-winter wedding (two years ago) and i got away with wearing black stockings and not shaving.
oh, i lie! i wore a skirt to my friends' engagement party in February (v hot here) the start of last year. but these people are good enough friends that they're used to my hairy legs, and it wasn't a formal party nor a formal skirt. *g*
Reply
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