Sensible Dressing
It seems almost useless to say that a strong element in the teacher’s qualifications is his ability to discriminate carefully about his attire. A certain grade teacher, who, as far as her principal could judge, possessed every attribute that would constitute a successful teacher, was wholly uncultivated in her tastes regarding dress. So peculiar and often ridiculous was her attire that she became the laughing stock of the community and finally her pupils, though they respected her, made remarks about her appearance. She found her ability to control her pupils weakened. Aside from a sensible choice of dress, it is not to be overlooked that a teacher sets an example for neatness and cleanliness when he attends to the careful selection of his attire and then sees that his person and clothing are always neat, clean and well kept. A teacher cannot afford to dress so as to draw special attention to his clothes. He should follow the dictates of fashion as long as that is in keeping with good common sense. To women teachers, this is an important point. It is to be feared should a woman teacher follow every whim of fashion, she would have little time left for her actual duties. Plain, sensible clothing that allows freedom and ease becomes a teacher—man or woman.