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
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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.
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.
Never mind the shorts - what's with the insane grandma/empire waistline? I know I'm not generally up with fashion, but last I checked, shorts aren't supposed to meet your bra.
I'm joyfully pro-shorts, summer-bunny that I am, and I love itty bitty shorts, and my indecency meter doesn't really spike until I see a teenager's asscrack. ~shudder~
But in a professional environment? Uh, no. You can wear shorts with a jacket on a yacht; that's about it.
(I also said no to the movies, but only because cinemas are always freezing cold.)
I thought you were talking about those knee short things that designers were foisting off on us last year and the year before. One of the teachers at my highschool wears the knee shorts - slim leg things that are longer than shorts but shorter than pedal pushers - and I can't help thinking she's violating dress code. Because, shorts? At work? dude, so wrong.
But then I clicked the link, and If a chick came in wearing that outfit for an interview, I'd take one look at her, realize she's not taking this job hunt seriously, then say, "thank you for coming, but I think we'll be going in a different direction. Check the receptionist for parking validation."
I've seen those capri-esque things you're talking about. It's like they're an inch or two just below the knee.
I agree with you about the interview. I just. No. I don't mean to be sartorially unjust, but I can't handle the shorts in a professional environment.
Now, when I'm not teaching, if I have to pop over to my office to pick something up or I'm working in my office when it's not my office hours, whatever. If I were the shorts wearing kind of person, *shrug*. No biggie. But not to teach or office hours or meetings or *hands in the air* interviews.
I agree that wee tiny 2" inseam shorts are not appropriate in the workplace (...well, unless it's a House that's Not a Home) however, not-daisyduke shorts have the potential to be more modest than skirts because when you sit down, you're not flashing.
There's nothing worse than somebody who doesn't know how to sit in a dress/skirt. I can't tell you how many times I have to avert my eyes from a row of students showing their moneymakers. Or somebody up on the dais that oughta know better with gaping legs.
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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!
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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?
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I'm joyfully pro-shorts, summer-bunny that I am, and I love itty bitty shorts, and my indecency meter doesn't really spike until I see a teenager's asscrack. ~shudder~
But in a professional environment? Uh, no. You can wear shorts with a jacket on a yacht; that's about it.
(I also said no to the movies, but only because cinemas are always freezing cold.)
8^-
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But it's so, like, Montagues and Capulets. Would you deny their epic romance?
LOL
I'm with you on the cheek of these young'uns today. I am not a fan of asscrack that I have not solicited.
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But then I clicked the link, and If a chick came in wearing that outfit for an interview, I'd take one look at her, realize she's not taking this job hunt seriously, then say, "thank you for coming, but I think we'll be going in a different direction. Check the receptionist for parking validation."
because DAMN. NO.
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I agree with you about the interview. I just. No. I don't mean to be sartorially unjust, but I can't handle the shorts in a professional environment.
Now, when I'm not teaching, if I have to pop over to my office to pick something up or I'm working in my office when it's not my office hours, whatever. If I were the shorts wearing kind of person, *shrug*. No biggie. But not to teach or office hours or meetings or *hands in the air* interviews.
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I was (equally?) horrified by the prospect of hiking in shorts. I've spent my whole life hearing about the horrors of Lyme disease.
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I agree wholeheartedly with both sentiments.
I remember getting a tick once burrowed into my shoulder, and its extraction was traumatizing in the extreme.
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There's nothing worse than somebody who doesn't know how to sit in a dress/skirt. I can't tell you how many times I have to avert my eyes from a row of students showing their moneymakers. Or somebody up on the dais that oughta know better with gaping legs.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
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