Teachers Have Lives Too!

03/25/2012 Erika S. outfits, parties

The ThirtyOnes

B turned 31 last thursday. So friday night, we all went out to celebrate, meaning really good steak at Harris’. I bought him a Cheap Monday Chambray shirt for his birthday. He hated it at first, begrudgingly tried it on to humor me, and ended up loving it, wearing it out that night. He rarely lets me dress him, so, success!! Happy Birthday, loves.

very quick, badly set up photo in B’s kitchen before we headed out for the night:

I love this Vasia dress. It looks like a dark and stormy windy night. I found it a while ago deep in the mess that is the Urban Outfitters sale section when they were having an extra 30% off sales promotion. Not bad for $27 right?

03/23/201204/05/2012 Erika S. outfits

nude at school

sunnies: borrowed from aimee – shirt: gap – cardigan and belt: j.crew – wallet: UO – booties: dolce vita

Today was a minimum day at school, the day before spring break. SPRING BREAK!! At my school, we celebrate the beginning of spring with a festival where all the clubs set up tables and sell food to fund raise. I made like a good teacher and bought myself a snack from every table. No complaints from my belly yet! I should have planned accordingly though…my outfit was not very springy at all, just very neutral. Thanks to Aimee for letting me borrow her shades! And to my student A, who informed me today that it bugs her when her mom shops at F21, and so therefore, I should stop shopping at teen places also. Is she right? While I muse over that friendly comment from A, here are some other photos from Spring Fest, along with a cute one of my co-worker Nicole (english teacher) and her daughter Kira. Student faces are blurred out, so they look a little weird.

03/21/201203/21/2012 Erika S. outfits

Blue Flowers

The back is still getting better, kids have been calling me grandma for the past 3 days. I’ve been wearing the don’t-even-have-to-think-in-the-morning black pants/sweater combo for the past couple of days, so I decided to break out the prints today. I bought this dress a couple summers ago when I was in Perth for a few weeks. I still love it and in fact I picked up the old school saddle shoes a while ago to wear with this dress specifically.

These photos were snapped during lunch time. I was on the lookout for kids. By the way, my health class noticed how my nails matched my dress today. A happy coincidence.

glasses: warby parker – cardigan, shirt (layered for the cold SF weather) and bag: j.crew – dress:hello by karen walker – belt/sash: taken from another shirt, F21 – tights: h&m – shoes: bass – watch: marc by marc jacobs

03/18/201203/18/2012 Erika S. outfits

sunny sundays

It’s a sunny sunday, with hella cold wind whipping around. B and I met a couple friends for brunch at Bar Tartine earlier. We wanted to chill out at Dolores Park for a bit after, but the San Francisco weather today is prohibitively cold. So instead, like any good little SF techie/teacher, we are both now sitting inside, staring at our laptops. I blame my bad back. Last friday, my back decided it was time to sieze up on me, like it does at least once a year. It hurts. a lot. And, as well as wincing in pain with every step, I was stuck at a 45 degree angle for the past two days. Today I’m more at a 80 degree angle from horizontal. I stuck on a happy face so that B could snap some photos in front of my neighbor’s garage.

I wore this dress last time to a girl’s night out here. Not much of a mix up this time, but the cold weather called for leggings, boots and my beat up but loved 6 year old pea coat. What’s hidden underneath it all is one of those grandpa style back braces that employees of Home Depot wear. It’s seriously un-sexy.

sunnies: f21 – coat: hella old Gap – dress: madewell – leggings: target – boots: frye – tote: Marc by Marc Jacobs (gift from my sis), last seen here – necklace and bracelet: old family heirlooms
P.S. check out how Rachel from That’s Chic wears my same dress here. I love this dress!

03/14/201203/14/2012 Erika S. fun stuffs

put your hand on your heart and tell me…

We dissected sheep hearts today in my Physiology class. “this was the highlight of my year, Ms. Scheck”, a student said. That one tugged at my heart strings for sure. Which by the way, if you’ve never dissected a heart before, heart strings are a real thing. They hold your valves in place so to speak. Here they are below:

Today was a good day.

03/14/201203/13/2012 Erika S. fun stuffs

the teacher uniform

Teachers generally are not known for dressing well. It’s all about comfort and functionality when you are on your feet all day. Not to mention sweating like crazy when the sun is shining in the classroom but shivering like a mad woman when it’s overcast, getting white board maker crap all over your face/hands/hair/clothes, and getting boogered on. Yes, I’ve had to deal with boogers, even at the high school level.

I am not one of those teachers who follow the teacher wardrobe mantra of:

wear loose shapeless clothing
no make-up (well ok, only neutrals)
shoes for comfort over style, all the time
neutral colors so that students focus on you and not your outfit
cover all skin, shoulders and legs included
try look older than you are, to look like you mean business and to prevent from being mistaken as a student
avoid shopping at the same stores as the students

Instead of subscribing to this boring teacher’s uniform, I’ve have:

shown up to class wearing matching sweaters with a student
worn bright lipstick on cloudy boring testing days
regularly wear kitchy funny t-shirts that help illustrate the day’s lesson such as this one. Also a big fan of this, this and this.

Do all students take me seriously at all times? Of course not. Doesn’t matter what you put on in the morning, you will always have those students who don’t take you seriously. For the most part though, students know that when I mean business, they better mean business too. I tell them, “this is my serious face” and they hop right in line (just kidding). If anything, I really believe that my fashion sense (or lack of sense) helps make me more relatable and authentic for my students. Students from urban areas do not automatically view teachers as authority figures and afford respect. Teachers have to earn their trust and their respect. I learned that my second day of teaching. My personality helps me build relationships with my students. It’s Bio/Physiology/Health during class time, and nail art, fashion shopping, etc during lunch and after school.

On that same note…..one student has found this blog so far. He’s peeked at it once, mentioned it in class and has since completely forgotten about it. No google searches for Ms Schenck recently =)

Here are a few outstanding blogs I read (or have read) regularly who are also authored by teachers. Are there any more out there?

Past the Mission – of course, my lovely fellow teacher!

Complex Cardigans (sadly, recently ended but with a great archive of posts)

Tick Tock Vintage

Academichic (also defunct but with a great archive)

03/13/201203/14/2012 Erika S. fun stuffs

the regulars

The 5 things I put on my face every morning, for the past 5 years:

1) moisturizer/sunscreen: Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer SPF 15 – The best basic. No smell, non-greasy, protective and hydrating. Not to mention fairly affordable at $31 for a bottle that lasts about 2.5 years. Are there expiration dates for stuff like this? shrug

2) concealer: Benefit’s Play Sticks – I only put it on whatever spots I happen to have that morning, and around the edges of my nose where I’m always red. 30 seconds and I’m done. The best non-drying, full coverage concealer ever, though it is marketed as a foundation. One $34 stick will last me almost exactly a year.

3) and 4) powder foundation: Bare Minerals Matte Foundation/Bare Minerals Mineral Veil – No need to talk about it right? Hasn’t everyone and their mama tried this out at least once? I hate having to put two things on for the same purpose, but the Mineral Veil does make a difference. One $28 tub of the foundations will last me about 6 months and one $20 tub of mineral veil will last me a year.

5) blush: Finally, my favorite product of all time, Tarte Cheek Stain in the color Blushing Bride (stupid name). I look like a colorless zombie without at least some cheek color on. This stuff is the best. All natural, smells great, sheer, no shimmer (I hate shimmery stuff) and versatile. Makes a great lip color too. $30 and I’ve had the same tube for 2 years so far. More than half the stick is still left. Granted, I do switch out this item for others here and there, but I always go right back to it eventually.

All in all, my 5 step morning routine takes 3 min, tops (not including teeth brushing and face washing – otherwise it would be 6 min). Not bad right?

oh, and something fun I saw in the Mission a while ago out with Aimee and Anne: holla!!

03/12/2012 Erika S. fun stuffs

a few things

I got a Fitbit last thursday! A Fitbit is basically a glorified pedometer that tracks steps and flights of stairs all day with the aim to have at least 10,000 steps a day. B got one a few months ago and loved it, so I started getting curious about my steps as well. Now I’m getting competitive. 13,046 steps yesterday while snowboarding. 13,645 today (and there are still more to come). I’m kicking butt. The average American gets in about 5,000 steps a day, so I’m ahead of the game. yay. 13,645 steps for me = my average day teaching + taking bambi on a 2.5 mile walk.

After the long walk, and planning my lessons for tomorrow, it was nail art time. I followed this tutorial, I loved the pattern and my new bronze nail polish by Milani.

I love this new polish. Also used last friday when Aimee and I unwound from the week watching movies and “getting our nails did” (like the kids say).

And lastly, I went browsing at the mall the other day and picked up this dress at Forever 31 (that’s what I’m calling it now a days since “I’m 10 years too old to be shopping there”– a witty student from health class). Cute, no?

03/09/2012 Erika S. outfits

tiny flowers

It’s friday. The kids have finally stopped singing that Rebecca Black song on fridays. I know floral jeans have been all over the blogosphere lately, my favorites here, there, here and there. I’ve had these Forever 21 jeans sitting in my closet since last september and have only worn them once. No better time than now to pull them out for the second time. My students knew right away where I found these jeans. One teenager even told me that she has the same pants. Great. I dress like a teenager. A big teenager that can confiscate your hats and cell phones. I really tall teenager who forces you to write TEA paragraphs about why income is the greatest indicator obesity in the US and then imitates your groaning. Happy friday, kids!

glasses: bonlook – necklace, blazer and jeans: F21 – tank: target – v-neck: threads for thought via nordstrom rack – belt: gap – booties: steve madden – key lanyard: TMAHS

03/08/2012 Erika S. outfits

outfit stealing

I was browsing my usual blogs yesterday and came across this post from Calivintage (who got it from this post by, Milk Teeths). I immediately pinned this look to my pinterest board for “looks I love”. I already have high waisted blue pants! So I stole the outfit idea and recreated it with what I already had in my closet.

By the way, these H&M Divided pants are the most comfortable pants ever. It’s like wearing pajamas to work! It was lunchtime, and I treated myself to a coffee ice cream bar.