Missing the point

ATTACK anyone but the problem. This is an inept reaction typical among narrow-minded individuals. For writing about educators dressing up too sexy these days I merited reproof from those who think I know nothing about fashion. Yet again, you are missing the point. This is not about fashion. It is about policy so don’t grill me with individuality.

“Ano bang pakialam niya!,” said one who got scathed by my assertions on the issue of proper dress decorum among teachers. To this I say it was a necessary intrusion. A historical figure once said that our life begins to end the moment we stop caring for the things that matter. I totally agree with him in this respect.

I also detect ignorance in the remark, “This is a free country.” Probably this person has no idea freedom is not absolute because every freedom has its own corresponding obligation. Let us be mindful of the fact that it’s all about education. Students should be taught good manners and proper dressing is paramount.

Know that high schools exist to develop students’ powers of thought, taste, and judgment. Introducing indecent dressing in school is capable of bringing confusion among students. As educators we should have a better understanding of the implications of what we wear when, where, for which occasion etc. High school students are young minds whose concentration ought to be in education. Adolescents’ hormones are raging, but your job is to keep them on task, not distract them. Anything revealing or suggestive will just get those adolescent minds churning. Unless you want us to start throwing the school principles to the gallows, then spare our children this!

I am fully aware that in the fashion world, a mini-skirt is a hot item which is considered as an in-thing fashion. Modern women are adorning mini-skirts as part of their wardrobe wears. Nevertheless, as far as I know the dress code for teachers has not been revised and requiring that skirts stretch lower than mid-thigh is pretty universal school code around the country. Let us not be constrained by fashion dictates. A school is a learning facility and not a night club. Concerns over dressing therefore should be taken seriously.

On the one end I wonder why these teachers insist dressing in miniskirts. What is it that they want to expose? I presume that perhaps on a subconscious level, it could be their ploy to grab attention. But wouldn’t you prefer to get noticed for being you rather than looking like a tart in a short skirt? I am sorry if I have pissed others off but I think it’s weird for grown-ups to dress like teenagers precisely because they are adults and should be passed that stage.

An educator who deliberately goes around the campus to display her thighs in her miniskirt needs reorientation. Paikli naman po talaga ng paikli ang suot nyo ma’am. You might as well not bother putting anything on.

Remarks like, “ah basta ang alam ko maganda ako” do not reflect confidence but arrogance. There's a fine line between this two. This is especially true given that both entail a strong belief in one's own abilities. When it comes to the responses they provoke, however, that's where the similarities end. Confidence is inspiring; arrogance is a turn-off.