Style. What teachers wear.

//Via Here//

I have my last and final teaching practicum coming up in May; I can't tell you how excited I am. I haven't really talked about it much on here, but I love teaching. Teenagers are hilarious in my view and have rarely had any moments in the classroom that I really disliked. It's tough, sure, but for the most part I love it. Something about having my own little world in which I don't put up with nastiness or criticism is really appealing, and I adore the feeling of getting through to a kid with troubles.

On my last prac out in the outback, I had a group of girls in my year 7 class that caused me problems right from the get go, but about half way through my time there something shifted and they started working so well. I sent encouraging letters home telling their parents how well they were doing (I got the feeling that they weren't the kind of kids that this happened to a lot) and the look of confidence and joy on one of their faces when I mentioned the letter just about made me cry. This girl was an Indigenous Australian and I'm not sure how much you know about our history, but they have had a pretty raw deal here, so to see her so happy and to hear her say her parents were so pleased was awesome. I think the little moments like these make the tremendous amount of work required of teachers worth while.

Anyway, on to the real point of this post. Whilst on prac the last thing I want to be stressing about is my work clothes, so I like to be super organised before I start with a bunch of different looks I can rework over the time I am teaching. This last prac is 7 weeks (Woah) and it is likely that I will be starting to teach pretty much right after. Plus I have my education department interview booked for June 4th so want a spiffy look for that too. So I am starting my research now.

I am making a list of the core pieces I will need and have started looking online as the shopping where I live is so very very dull. I like to look professional but still a bit quirky which can be a tricky balance to reach. Most teachers, the older ones anyway, wear the worst clothing, but you can't imagine me in boring black pants and v-neck jersey blend ribbed t-shirts can you? I had a quick browse through the ASOS sale stock and found a few things that might fit my list, but I will be looking elsewhere too!

• A well fitted pair of black pants, preferable slim fit. Maybe these or these. 
• A black blazer (the one I have is too big and too long- I want a cropped one)
• A grey and a black long line cardigan
• Shift/swing dresses in block colours (muted neutrals and pastels) I think I might get this dress in both colours; it is perfect. 
• Dark wash jeans 
• Plain leather ballet flats
• A couple of nice light jumpers as the weather will start to cool down. This one is cute but maybe not that work friendly. 
• A white button up shirt. This one is good (and on sale!)

I will hopefully have a few cute and fun pieces to throw into the mix with the basics. I am aiming to get one piece each fortnight so that I can build my collection slowly and on my budget! This week I am going to sort through the clothes I already have and decide what will and won't work for this prac as my last one was in the desert where it was pretty darn hot.

I won't know where my prac is for another 4 or 5 weeks (!!) so I am patiently waiting to find out where I might have to travel to; hopefully it isn't too far! 

xx Samantha Alice

P.s I am super sorry for the largely pic free post, but I really didn't have it in me for any photos today. I will be doing a series on my teacher friendly looks and my teaching experiences over the next 6 weeks, so keep an eye out. If you have any thoughts about building a work wardrobe I'd love to hear them!