Fit Check: Is It School Appropriate?

Episode 4 takes on one of the most talked-about topics in schools right now: what we wear and what it really communicates. From viral “fit check” videos to ongoing debates about dress codes, this conversation has moved far beyond the classroom and into the spotlight of social media.

In this episode, we break it down from every angle. We start with students and the influence of trends, self-expression, and online culture on what shows up in the classroom each day. From hoodies and slides to graphic tees and outfit choices inspired by TikTok, we explore the balance between individuality and maintaining a focused, safe learning environment.

Next, we shift to parents and what it means to show up in school spaces. Whether it is drop-off, meetings, or school events, we talk about expectations, representation, and the growing tension between those who feel dress codes are too strict and those who believe more structure is needed. We also ask the important question: are schools clearly communicating expectations, or are families left to figure it out on their own?

Then, we get real about teachers. What does professional dress look like in today’s school culture? As educators juggle long days, comfort, and credibility, we unpack the pressure to maintain professionalism while also navigating changing norms and social media opinions.

This episode brings it all together with one key idea: everyone contributes to the culture of a school, and clothing is part of that conversation whether we acknowledge it or not. With more visibility and more voices online than ever before, the question is no longer just about dress code. It is about identity, respect, and the message we send before we ever say a word.

What does your fit check say about you in your school community? And is that message coming from you or influenced by the world online?

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:04

I'm Miss Jane. And I'm Miss Darwin. And welcome to the Bell Ringer. Class is officially infected. Hey y'all. Welcome back to another episode of The Bell Ringer. Thank you for coming back and tuning in again. So today we're having a little fit check and we're going to talk about is it school appropriate? So we are fit checking the entire school. We're going to do a fit check on the students, the parents, and the teachers. And we, if we can be honest, this conversation has been all over social media. It always is. What used to be handled inside school walls is now being debated online. It comes from fit checks, the dress code violations, and opinions from everybody and what people are wearing, especially the teachers.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

Okay. And I concur with that as Miss James was saying this new day and age of not just the teachers, but also what the students are wearing and what the parents are wearing because we are fit checking the whole school. I do want to start out by kind of putting out there, nobody is Miss Honey from Matilda. The teachers nowadays have changed. So that's kind of why we want to talk about this subject. So let's start with the students first. So what students are wearing? I remember there was a time where students had to wear uniforms to school. I grew up in a district that had to wear uniforms. Everybody wore uniforms because they told us back in the day that there was gang violence, and students would wear their colors and different things, and there were a lot of fights. So then the systems instituted this whole wear uniforms. And I remember wearing my white Capolo shirt, maybe boo pants, and then when I got to high school, it turned into I could wear khakis. And then when I became a senior, I could wear a blue shirt, and then everybody could wear blue collar shirts, and then white-collar shirts, yellow, and then there was the whole dress code violations because if you weren't in dress code with your uniform, and I it's so much with it. You had a broad array of wearing the uniforms, and then girls would dress up the uniforms and their accessories, and that wasn't allowed. And then fast forward, accessories weren't allowed. So wearing your pink look, now I gotta go down every lane. Accessories like two big of hoop earrings could not be worn. Okay, because somebody got in a fight one day, and what happened with the earring, it pulled out. So I kind of want to go back to or recall your attention. Let's do some scaffolding. Remember, we had the conversation about the code of conduct for parents. So parents in the code of conduct is the dress code. So there were even violations about not wearing a belt. That was part of your uniform when you didn't wear a belt. Fast forward. Okay, so we were 2012. I graduated high school, 2016. I graduated college. When I started teaching in 2016, by 2017, 2018, oh no, no, no, 2018, 2019 school year, uniforms were lifted because they were it was so much of an issue with the write-ups and suspensions that students had because they were in uniform violation. And so the system said, Oh, you know what? Let's let them wear whatever they want to wear. Of course, you still have to follow dress code, girls with their middle. So let's talk about what some of these girls are wearing. So, Miss James, do you know students do not wear jackets anymore? She's looking at me like, what they don't, they wear cropped jackets, cropped jackets. The jackets that my fifth graders wear look like first grade jackets because they're cropped. I this true story, this happened last week. I've been trying to give a jacket away almost like a whole week. Thought it was like a student that was small, realized it. They said, Miss Durden, that's a cropped jacket. That's a girl jacket because it's cropped. I didn't even realize that. I'm thinking this one the students that's short. So a lot of fashion, and I would say now the fashion is Y2K inspired. So the crop and like year 2000, sometimes the early 90s, they're wearing crop tops. The girls are wearing jersey dresses, they're wearing the jean skirts that are like short that you're not supposed to wear. A lot of stuff. I feel like when the uniforms were lifted, girls wore their cute jeans and they're cute, but now you got sheen. Girls are wearing, girls are wearing things that I I would wear, like a set, like a tennis skirt type set.

SPEAKER_02 5:44

Um matching sets.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Matching sets. It's the I feel like it's just the whole culture thing. Boys are more so in their hoodie. Now, one thing all these students are wearing are hoodies in the summer weather and the spring weather. Why did y'all why y'all wearing y'all hoodies now when it's 80 degrees outside, but y'all weren't wearing a jacket when it was 40 degrees outside? So a lot of stuff is social media influence. So that goes to the dress code expectations. A lot of things in your dress code, and I want to just kind of since we're talking about students, and if my students are listening, you may go through one year being able to wear something, and then the next year it's amended because nobody thought about you wearing that, nobody thought about skirts coming back in. But I mean, that rule pretty much is the same, it's always like two inches below the below the knee. That was how skirts were when I were in school. When I was in school, you could wear them, you know, two inches below the knee. They would check you by putting the two fingers there. Other things they would do, nobody thought about it, but having holes in your pants, that's a big no-no. And then, you know, some holes in the pants, they're at the knee. So me as a teacher, we're not even on teachers yet, but I know how I feel about that. But then having ripped jeans, holes up your leg, up your pants leg, that's a big no-no. So make sure. So the reason why there are expectations in the dress code is because we need minimum distractions, zero distractions while we're at school. So when you wear a, for example, when you wear a girl chooses or even a guy wears a crop shirt, when they sit down with their jeans on, or whatever their bottoms are, their bottoms don't raise once they sit down, but their shirt cannot fall and cover their exposed back area. I remember teaching third grade, and this wasn't a dress code violation, but did in this case the child's shirt was short in era, and his underwear was showing, his butt crack was showing. So imagine when you have somebody who has a crop top on who cannot pull their shirt down. So we have these parameters there to negate. I feel like I'm using a lot of big words right now, to negate any distractions that are going to be in the classroom, hoodies. This is something that has changed, and I realized a couple of weeks ago that my students didn't understand that because I feel like I'm always nagging, take your hood off, take your hood out, take your hood off, take your hood off. And part of me say, Hey, it's part of the dress code. But then I had to have a real moment with them. I said, Boys and girls, Trayvon Martin. I know we're taking like a little turn right now, but Trava and Martin, we were just Trava and Martin would be 31 years old today, going on 32 years old today, if he wasn't, you know, wrongfully healed. And I hope you don't mind me saying this, Miss Jane. But this, we were we were seniors in school, and it all started over a hood. But even though the situation happened, we have to pivot. I feel like we do have to pivot now because I said you may not understand, boys and girls, but when you have your hood on and nobody can see your beautiful face, they could they don't know this is Johnny or this is Amy or this is Allison or this is Jeremy that has this hood on, they just see a threat. There are some people that look at you and they're going to see a threat. So if we work on it now, when you have a hood, the the stereotypes that goes with wearing a hood is oh, you're not you don't care about nothing. You don't, even though you honestly I have students that will put their hood on in the lunchroom because they're cold, because the lunchroom is freezing. And if you're like me, your ears are freezing, so they put it on for that reason. So we have to remember those dress code and expectations and what's being met and the um graphic tees that we have. There are things on your shirt that may be offensive. I have, and this is coming from a teacher that has graphic tees, and people read them, even you though you think oh, it's a shirt, it's cute. People read them. My boss has read my shirt before. They said, All right, girl boss, what you doing? Because I have a shirt that says, I'm a girl boss building my own empire. Yeah, it's positive, but he read the shirt. But he also can read the shirt that says, But I would never wear it to school. He could easily read the shirt that says my mouth is not the problem, it's the face, but I can't wear that to school, so we have to make sure that what the writings are. I know she's laughing because she knows the principle, yeah. So let's make sure that we are having these conversations with our our babies and our students about what we're wearing, why we're wearing it, or what not to wear, or why we are not wearing certain things because it is very um distracting. And at the end of the day, we have to relate or we have to turn back to why we are here at school, and we're here at school to learn, and we already have so many different distractions that can happen. So the dress code is there as a precaution for us, and I don't think I missed anything, but Miss James, you got anything to say that you may have thought about?

SPEAKER_02 11:34

Um, yes, I can definitely relate to when you were talking about Trayvon Martin and the hoodies. Uh, I don't have girls that wear hoodies, but a lot of my boys they wear hoodies. A lot, a lot of them actually tune into the podcast. So it's great for you for them to hear another teacher saying that same thing because that's something I'm constantly saying all day. I think it's really important. I think it's really important to help students actually understand the dress code and know what, you know, know what's expected and what they should wear, what's appropriate and what's inappropriate. I think, you know, the crop tops and certain shirts, like parents should be teaching this at home, but I've had to teach some students, you know, to wear an undershirt or when things aren't appropriate. Girl, I've had I've had some students who came to me and told me that they had um waist beads. Yes, wait, they told me that they had that they had waist beads, and in my and me, I'm thinking that's not appropriate, like that's not appropriate, and they should know certain things, you know, just the meaning behind certain things and why they shouldn't wear it. And I guarantee you sometimes when a when a student is corrected, maybe there is something on their um graphic T that's inappropriate, you may tell them, and their first question is gonna be, what's wrong with it? So it is all about educating, you know, educating them and making sure that they're not a distraction in the learning environment. The whole uniform thing was new to me once I became a teacher because in Bibb County we didn't wear we didn't wear uniforms, but dress code at one particular time was a very big deal. I got dress coded one time, and I'm gonna save this topic for when we get to teachers. But I was dress coded at school one time for my skirt as a teacher or as a student?

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Student when I was a student. Okay, I was about to say because I thought about that said principle.

SPEAKER_02 13:43

Oh no, uh no, I was dressed, I was dress coded as a student, but it kind of leads into when we talk about teacher attire too. But my skirt at that time, it was not, I believe it was two inches, like the two-inch rule, it passed that, but according to the the assistant principal, it was too tight, and so uh, and my dad had to bring me a change of clothes, but that's another debate whether or not, you know, what's who's determining the dress code and like infraction, like what's wrong, what's wrong, um, and how is it being determined, um, especially for girls, because and that can be tough for girls when you think about um so the when you think about the like the skirt length and the two inches, what if Sally's legs are extremely, you know, extremely long, things look different on different body types, things look different on different body types, and so I think um really just having those conversations with with girls, you know, girls and males too, and it's very it's very important, very, very, but that leads me into the next thing because a lot of times when we are teaching, when we're having these conversations with the students and you know, identifying what's appropriate, what's not appropriate, the parents, the parents, so parents, we just want you to know that in school spaces your attire matters as well, so this is a fit check for you. It matters, you're a part of the school community as well. The same, I don't know. I feel like the internet comes for teachers more on dress code than it comes for parents. But parents, you are but parents, you're a vital part of the school community too. So now drop out whether you're dropping the child off, you're coming in for a meeting, you're coming out, you're coming for an event, you're going on a field trip, you should be dressed appropriately too. You should truly be dressed appropriate too. You know, the bonnet, the bonnet discussion is a situation for not only school, the airport, when and where we should wear a bonnet. And Jamisa, I don't know your the where you where do you wear a bonnet?

SPEAKER_00 16:16

In the bed and around the house, not even to go check the mail. I'll I'm I just I'm gonna take it off. I'll put a scarf on and make it look real cute to go check the mailbox.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

Yes, yes, so I will do out in the bed, around the house, but outside of the house, I'm not wearing, I'm not wearing a bonnet. I'm not wearing a bonnet. Um, I'm not wearing for me, I don't know about you, but for me, I have chill at home clothes. I have chill outside clothes for when I'm you know, running errands or doing something like um there's a difference, and I feel like sometimes people are wearing their chill-at-home clothes outside.

SPEAKER_00 17:05

Yeah, the I have no thought, I didn't think about this outfit.

SPEAKER_02 17:09

Yes, the ones that the ones that are okay for the house. We gotta stop wearing those outside. Yeah, and when you think, well, it doesn't matter, or this is me, it's my business what I wear, it does matter. It does it does matter, and when you come into those spaces, it's not only you and your child, you're you're around other children too. You're around other children too, and as the adults, whether we're the parent, the teacher, we're the example, we're the example. So I really want um you all to think what type of example are you setting for your child and other children when you go into the school. And on another note, you don't want to pull up to the school looking any kind of way, and then another child is gonna be like, Man, what your mama got on? Why your daddy look like that? Right, and that and that, and that's how it happens, and I think I feel like sometimes people get offended when you um I've seen where you've seen where school systems and certain schools have posted rules for their parents. There's a reason. There's a reason, just like when you were referencing the kids earlier and the dress code, you may be able to wear something one year and then the next year there's a rule that you can't wear it anymore. No one thought of it. Nobody probably thought that people would be coming to the school looking any kind of way, and so I think I think it's appropriate for rules to be put in place. I just I just do, I think it's necessary.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

I think one thing that as she was talking, you said something how teachers get the blame or we get uh ostracized or punished or talked about. You know, I had to use a bunch of words before I got to my main point, but they talk about us because we're what we're what, Miss James, we're their child's what teacher, teacher, right? But ever since you birthed that child or you took guardianship of that child, you are their parent. So while I'm little Johnny's teacher, you're little Johnny's mother or father, so you have a title too, and just like you were saying, you don't want your child to get made fun of because of how you're dressing to that parent that's listening and probably like I don't care what they're saying. I'm I'm not trying to be no example. Well, you may not have to be an example, but you are your child's parent, and you are going to be their parent forever. And so think about am I embarrassing my baby? Why am I trying to have a booty for 10-year-olds for 16 years old? Like, why am I trying to show off every quick cranny dip and swerve on my body when I go to school? Me and why am I showing my underwear when I go to school? Dress nicely because you're going to be judged, we're gonna flip it by the parent. I told one of my friends, you probably get judged when you go to school. And I didn't say because of what they're wearing, but it could be because they're wearing how they carry themselves. I had a parent that came to a parent conference and had heels on, she had jeans, she had heels on. You take pride in yourself, but I you take pride in yourself when you come out and you have a matching set on. I do agree with what you said about like what I'm wearing right now, I wouldn't wear that to Walmart. I wouldn't even wear this outside to go get mail. I would, you know, I have cute lounge outfits that I can wear around because when I'm outside and I'm doing my little day-to-day thing, this just extends past your school. But if I get seen in Walmart or the other place that some of y'all are mad at right now, then you're going to say, Oh my goodness, Miss Durden, look at Miss Durden. I've been spotted different places, and people recognize me all the time. But guess what? When you step out, that's that's um, that's AJ. Mama, I could do that. I could do that. That's AJ mama. Because AJ mama be doing that. That's what AJ mama does. Well, that's that's Trey Daddy. That's such and such daddy. That's such and such mama. They know you too. Because my guys used to do it all the time when he used to see like my sister's car. That's um, that's Blake Mama car. So you are now in the spotlight, too, because everybody knows you as that. I know one parent right now, and I'm about to hand it over. I know one parent right now. She's also a teacher, but my whole class knew who she was because she was the the twins' mama. But she knows that now because the kids know who she is, the parents know who she is. So when she steps out, you have to you need to look a certain way, and again, it's to not be a distraction as well. Because we're not saying the children can't express themselves, they can appropriately appropriately, but parents, you need to make sure that you're expressing yourself appropriately, and you know, be your called into the ministry, and that's ministry is parenthood. Say amen.

SPEAKER_02 23:12

That was good, that was good. So we have the fit check for the students, we had the fit checks for the parents. Now, last but certainly not least, uh we have the fit check for the teacher. The fit checks for the teacher. So you've heard the expectations, you've heard the expectations as it relates to the students and the parents, but these hit a little different when it comes to us.

SPEAKER_00 23:39

So teachers, so we are expected to dress professional. So let me start with that. Professionalism has changed. So I mentioned earlier we're not Miss Honey from Matilda. We're not our famous uh instructor at Miles College when she began teaching in Tuxedo Junction. So we're not saying you have to wear a dress down to your big toe, not your ankle, but your big toe. But we're also saying you're not the men in black. Elementary teachers, elementary school teachers, you're not expected to come in with all black suits, have your black suit, your native suit, your brown suit. I made that mistake wearing my nice little dress pants and my shirt when I first started teaching. Now, some teachers did that, but now I realized I do I taught science, so I have science experiments. Sometimes, like I love a carpet. I want to get on the floor and get on the carpet. I can't wear my nice clothes and be comfortable. And so I remember when we were in school, um, Miss James, how we were taught to wear our suits and wear our blazers, but we had that amazing, I want to shout her out, Dr. Cher, who really taught us how we could be professional. And we took that advice very seriously because she was a principal, she was an administrator. So she kind of introduced us to okay, you can wear colorful, like a corduroy or colorful type, not jeans, but pants, and it doesn't have to just be black, and you could add color to it to where, yes, it does not look professional, but you're like more semi-professional. So, teachers, you you know, we have our handbook, and you have a handbook for a reason. There are expectations. I remember, I don't know if I can say this, but I remember seeing a teacher's underwear because their shirt wasn't long enough when I was in middle school, and I was the one that had to tell that teacher because the class was making fun of her, i.e., a distraction was making fun of her because we could see said underwear, and said underwear was barely their type of underwear since I know we have students listening, so you fill in the blanks. We have to have professionalism, females teach. I was guilty of it. I know we have that past the knee rule, and sometimes that don't work. This is the this is the ultimate fit check. Because what do we do? We have to walk around and write, raise your arm. If you raise your arm, and that dress or skirt goes to a place that only you and a certain doctor should only be see it, it's it's it's not right. We have to be careful because I have dresses that are long, but because you know I'm blessed in the back, and then I you I raise up my hand, that back easily goes up and I feel the breeze. So we have to make sure that we're following the dress code that's you know laid out for us in our handbook, but we also have to remember, yes, we want to be comfortable because we're we get in the degree, you know, some people say we're in the trenches, but you want to make sure that you hey, I'm gonna be teaching all day, so I want to be comfortable, but I still want to be appropriate, and teachers set the tone. I you know, the best thing that was invented is a jean jacket because it makes you it put it just put you together because I may not wear makeup every day. I'm thinking about one year when I was teaching, I used to literally wear like a long white shirt and leggings. It was a tunic, excuse me. I wore a long white tunic, but I would put that jean jacket on it, and then I would have my little boots for the winter. That was like my every Thursday uniform because sometimes I just had that type of year that I was like, but then I'm it's funny we're talking about this because I had a somebody I work with in at school care. She was like, I'm just looking forward to what you're wearing the next time because you never repeat outfits. But I thought about that. My students are looking at my outfits, so we need to make sure we're sitting the tone. If you look like you don't care, like it's a reason why you're not you're not wearing sweats as a teacher. Don't wear sweats, and I'm not gonna get into the viral moments right now because I think you got some on this, Miss J.

SPEAKER_02 28:16

But I mean, it but I mean it all ties in together because that's what I was about to bring up was a viral moment. So when you what do you think about teacher bae?

SPEAKER_00 28:28

You remember her? We I remember teacher bae when she came out because she had you know, BBLs would be back then, but she had that type of body. Um she was for one, she was cute and she just had that type of body, and I I could see both sides of it. I could see both sides, yeah. In first grade, I think she was like a younger teacher, like elementary school. It's a lot of stuff that elementary school teachers can get away with, and some stuff you can't hide. Yes, I have a shape, but I'm not gonna wear a shirt that is in that you know, you you you can see that my genes curve in it, because I know she taught a younger grade, but there are also other teachers and PE coaches that love to come around and be in the classroom, and there are other men that are at the school that you don't want to be a distraction to. Um, I just felt like you know, I know the type of body I have, so yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:30

But I feel like we also have to be careful how we use the word distraction, at least for adults, because honestly, they're gonna look like if they're gonna look one, if they want to look, they're gonna look. I think. But with teachers, especially today, you can be professional and look good too. Yeah, you can be professional and look good too. Um I see as far as in the classroom, I see I would say more so business casual, like business casual, cute, fun if you're elementary, but you can find you can find a balance. You can't hide about if you got a body, you got a body. You can't hide that, but you can dress, you can dress appropriately. Right. What I would wear to my birthday dinner on what I would wear to my birthday dinner on a Saturday, I wouldn't wear to school Monday morning. And I think um that that's really how it goes. Also, let me see, sweatpants. We ain't wearing I'll wear a matching, I'll wear a jogging suit set on a fry on a Friday.

SPEAKER_00 30:40

Oh yeah, I will talk about like sweatpants, sweatpants. Like I got an Adidas sweatpants that I just wouldn't wear to work. Well, if I if I dress them up, I think that's what the issue comes in with teachers. If you notice the problem, because jeans, jeans gonna tell it all. I just say don't tie no shirt up and don't wear no no no shirt that's tight. Um, because when you wear jeans, anytime you wear pants, you you're at the risk, that's just in general, of showing your underwear, even if they if they lowerizes it's showing your crack. But it's the dresses and the you know, if they lower like you in jeopardy of showing, you know, what you've been blessed with when you wear jeans and your shirt is short, just like with the kids. That's how I feel. Okay, yeah. I think the issues come with the skirts and the dresses.

SPEAKER_02 31:28

Agreed, agree. It's definitely with the the skirts and the dresses, and what type of skirt and what type of dress.

SPEAKER_00 31:35

Right. I wore a flowy skirt with a t-shirt on Thursday, and I got so many compliments, and it's just this loose skirt. Now, yes, great. This is what we mean. We can't you can't hide your body. You can look at me and tell I go out in the back, but it wasn't you that's because you just know a body, but I love wearing a skirt that's a fitted skirt. I think like I do wear fitted skirts and fitted dresses to to school, but fitted on me is different fitted for somebody else. Fitted on me is I still got I can still pull and it it gathers in certain areas because I purposely go up a size. Now, if I feel like everything poking too much, I just put on a sweater, a long whoever invented that long sweater, we thank you. And that was in the winter time, or and if I wear, if I could wear a fitted skirt and tuck in my shirt and wear it like that, where it's just not too tight, it's not tight. And what is tight, if you gotta sit a certain way, yeah, you know, it's but I think that's where the issues come in because I I I can't hide what I have even if my skirt is is not even if it's fitted, and when I mean fitted, I mean I wear like a 1x, um I got a 2x in the skirt, so it's just it's still gonna form, but it ain't gonna be formed tightly, if that makes sense. So, but I think that's where I did I know that's what teacher pay messed up at. It was the dress, right?

SPEAKER_02 33:10

And I think what makes the the conversation more popular now is like how TikTok is popular, so teachers are posting their outfits of the day, you know, and sharing what sharing what they're wearing. And anytime you open anything up to the public, there's going to be opinions, comments, some in agreement and some in disagreement. I think with teachers, especially with all the things we're required to do, is find finding a balance between being comfortable and being professional and being appropriate. And you finally, and I think between we're in elementary, middle school, high school might be a little different. Because I did see it was, I think it was a high school teacher, and she was smaller in frame, but you know, she would she would have on like longer, um, type-fitted skirts, but it would be the heat, like it would be the heels. Oh, the heels. And more so, not yeah, more so like inappropriate heels. I think we have to be it's mindfulness. That's it.

SPEAKER_00 34:15

No matter if you're the student, the parent, or the teacher, it's all about mindfulness, so just being mindful of what you're wearing, and it's I feel like this goes hand in hand, but there's a a time and a place for it. There's definitely a time and a place. You said something earlier, like what I wear to brunch or lunch or dinner on a Friday night. I think it was like dinner or something on a Friday night. Like I wouldn't be wearing that on Monday. However, I wanted to point this out what you wear at church on Sunday, especially Easter, that nice flowy pastel dress. Hey, that's a good place to start when you don't know like what to wear. Because there was a time where Miss Durden used to wear a Sunday outfit and turned around and wore it on Monday, and a teacher taught me that. So you know, church is always welcome, and I'm talking about like casual church, not wear suits and hats type of church. But church, but I remember my mom in the professional world, she had her church suits and work suits, but sometimes they were interchangeable, be interchangeable. But you need to be mindful, it goes back to what you said being mindful that there's a time and a place. And the reason why I say that, there are days where I got on a cute outfit, and I know it's cute because I just want to feel great about myself, and I have worn my especially during the winter. I love the winter because I love boot season. I wear my tall boots. I don't teach those tall boots, I wear it, come in, I look cute. Then I I got my little cheetah slides over there in the classroom. I got them from Walmart, and I got my little slides that I wear. And because sometimes also it's functional. Like I need this outfit only goes with these shoes, and the shoes are like these boots, but I'm not wearing these boots all day in the same. This is fun. I remember one time I got a little nervous. I had worn knee high boots, but my dress came down to my knee, but I was still so I was like, Oh, this is who these knee high boots, just because the the reputation that knee high boots have, but there's nothing technically against it. But it's just funny how I just had this whole like moment of like I'm wearing knee high boots. It's a little embarrassing, right?

SPEAKER_02 36:36

And you are right about you are right about students like watching your outfits, they pay attention, they do, they definitely, they definitely pay attention to your outfit. My kids my kids hype me up when they tell me my outfits are T.

SPEAKER_00 36:50

Right. Oh, that and lashes, like they really, and I'm gonna just throw this like just always like today. I didn't wear earrings to work, and I felt so bad. I felt so just you know, boyish and not just a girly girl today because my hair already, already like a little top knot because it's got to get washed and braided soon. But my dress was nice and it was very flowy, and I had that jean jacket on. So we just need to remember that everyone contributes to school culture. So, students, let's follow that code of conduct so we are not you know distracting our neighbors and not distracting our the learning. Why go to ISS because you're not wearing a belt? Okay, and even though social media is a great tool for us, social media amplifies everything, those influencers are not wearing those outfits on a day-to-day basis, they are wearing them to sell to you so that way you buy. Look, you're gonna get an opportunity and a chance to wear your Sheen outfits, to wear your sibling 10 outfits, to wear all the outfits. So, but also we need to remember with teachers, we're being photographed, and I think about this: you never know where you're gonna be photographed, and you don't want to end up being a meme, like teacher Bay was funny, but at the end of the day, and I hope she still is a teacher, or that didn't ruin her her education, um, her education journal or whatever she was doing, as well as teachers be mindful of what you are posting because we do leave the room open to being judged now with social media that is um shame. But make sure that you know you express yourself, but express yourself in what your school has said for their environment, and that's what I have, you know. And until Fridays, you know, you wear those jeans on Friday and that nice track suit on Friday per your you know employee handbook.

SPEAKER_02 38:56

Girl, I wore jeans today.

SPEAKER_00 38:57

See, I we didn't talk about that, but we should have talked about that because some districts have like motivation Mondays so that teachers can wear jeans on different days on like a Monday and a Friday.

SPEAKER_02 39:10

Yeah, I guess we'll save it because I've seen I've also seen school districts where teachers have to pay oh no a dollar or two dollars or some kind. Please don't like why does it have to be why does it have to be an exchange for me to wear jeans? But no, I wore jeans today with a cute blouse. It was cute.

SPEAKER_00 39:28

You know, students used to have to pay a dollar to dress out of uniform. That was the best fun race.

SPEAKER_02 39:32

Yes, I remember that too. I remember that too. But as we prepare to close through our fit check, we just want you guys to know that what we wear in a school building speaks before we do, no matter what role you're in, what you're wearing matters. So I want you guys to just think about what does your fit check look like in your school community? No matter your role, what does it look like? And is your fit defined by the school or is it defined by social media? And that concludes this episode of the Bell Ringer.

SPEAKER_01 40:12

And in closing, I'm Miss James and I'm Miss Durden. Thank you for listening to The Bell Ringer. Class is officially infected.

SPEAKER_00 40:21

Don't be late.