Warning: Some educators will find this post offensive. How we dress should not matter at all. But how the world IS and how the world SHOULD BE are somehow moving even farther out of sync lately, as education shifts to more corporate models. So, on with the pumps!
In education now, as in industry in the past, I will pass on one piece of advice: Look at how your admins dress. Then try to look like them. If you can stand those 4-inch heels or those even ties, they are likely to improve your evaluation numbers at the end of the year.
Outrageous? Yes. But nonetheless true.
As evaluation forms get longer and longer — the Charlotte Danielson rubric used in Illinois is page after page of a sea of blanks that demand numbers — more and more speculation and invention will enter those evaluations. Admins have to complete those forms. They don’t want to admit they have not observed various expected behaviors, even though no one could observe all the behaviors expected in all the categories. So sometimes they will “extrapolate” based on other observations. Extrapolate is a nice work for “make it up.”
The more those admins have to guess at the answers to the forms in front of them, the more their personal opinion of you is likely to matter. So put on the high heels or the tie/polo shirt/whatever-that-guy-wears. Get the technology out front and center. Clean your desk.
Appearances should not matter as much as they do sometimes. But since appearances are easily manipulated, I am suggesting you take a few extra minutes to set the scene and visit the wardrobe department. If your evaluation improves for the effort, you’ll be glad you did. It’s YOUR evaluation, after all, and while the idea that another two inches of height or a polo patch could affect your numbers may seem offensive — nevertheless, those numbers are often impressions more than truths. A little prudent shoe shopping will never hurt you.
P.S. As an added bonus, you might learn about foot massages. I highly recommend them.