Erika S. outfits

Black and Maybe Blue, but White?

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glasses: warby parker – top: madewell – jeans: uniqlo – boots: franco sarto via nordstrom rack – jewelry: family heirloom, some craft booth in brooklyn, fossil watch, fitbit

I wear black jeans to work on most days.  Jeans for me generally means skinny jeans.  I know this is tabboo for some teachers, but I personally don’t really see a problem with it.  As long as they’re dark, they could just be plain old black pants.  The only difference between my jeans and some other teacher’s pants are the material.  At least, that’s how I rationalize it.  Sometimes, I’ll even wear blue jeans.  Not often, but occasionally.  But what about white jeans?  I asked B the other night if I should wear white jeans to school.  I thought they’d look really cute with this blue silk top I bought at Madewell recently (on super sale – extra 40% off – and with my teacher discount).  I knew I wouldn’t wear them anyways, because white jeans, to me, veer into the “probably shouldn’t” territory.  But I thought I’d ask his opinion anyway.  He said very bluntly, “white jeans are not appropriate for teachers”.

Is that true?  Who says?  Why?  What do you guys think?  Are white jeans taboo for teachers and why?  Are jeans in general “not appropriate”?  Be sure to answer this prompt with a claim, evidence and analysis.  Just kidding!

Erika S. outfits

A Giant

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scarf: topshop – cardigan and jeans: uniqlo – shirt: giants – belt: banana republic – boots: madewell

A few FAQ from students:

“Miss, are you going to have kids?” — No.

“Miss, what are you?” — I am a human being with feelings.

“Miss, did that hurt?” — (about my nape piercing) Of course.

“Miss, why are you so damn tall?” — Because I come from a city of giants.  Duh!

Erika S. outfits

The Mids

We are just about midway through the school year here in Denver – winter break is just around the corner.  The weeks in between TG break and winter break just seems to draaaaaag forever!  It’s crunch time for everyone at school.  Kids are just now worried about their grades and getting in heaps of late work.  I’m scrambling to serve each and every one of them while planning for their final exam review sessions, grading like a mad woman and trying to make as many “sorry, but your kid just may fail this semester, but here’s what I can do for them” phone calls as possible.  The countdown to a full 2 weeks off has started.  I’m working on convincing B to take a road trip back home to SF this break, but so far he’s not biting.  We don’t have anything else planned, so it’s either stay-cation or road trip.  I vote for an SF trip!

This is a new dress I picked up at Anthropologie over the Black Friday weekend.  It was on sale with extra % off so by the time I swiped my card, it was practically dirt cheap at $35 or something.  I got a lot of comments today, such as “Ms. Schenck, why you wearing an old lady dress?”  and “you look … different”.  At the same time, I also got more than a few, “I really love your dress!” and “where did you find that dress?”  So hits and missed over all.  I just know that I really like it and makes me feel even taller than I already am at 6ft.  I found a picture of what it looks like on the anthropologie model here, and it makes me think the dress is a tad too big on me.  Too bag = extra comfortable, right?

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dress: anthropologie – cardigan: super old free people – belt: f21 – boots: madewell

Erika S. outfits

Frosty

It’s been frosty cold!  Having a car again in this weather for my commute is just so darn luxurious.  Now if only the heater would work in it…

Again, nothing really new on the clothing front, just new-to-the-blog.  The shirt I picked up at Madewell at the start of the summer (on super sale, as always), and the sweater is J.Crew from 2010.  The shirt is a bit short for my super long torso, so I can really only pair it with high-waisted jeans.  Otherwise, I’d be wearing a crop top and nobody wants to see that at school.

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shirt: madewell – cardigan: j.crew – jeans: bdg/urban outfitters – shoes: corso como via nordstrom rack – lipstick: nars afghan red

Erika S. outfits

Coffee and Cream

I found this note in my classroom today.

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It must have been left by a friend/colleague, or my students have googled me.   Either way, it was a nice reminder to pay a bit more attention to things I love outside of my classroom.  Coincidentally, I had packed my camera just for this purpose this morning!

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I call this my coffee and cream outfit.  Pockets in the dress!  I drink about 10 cups of coffee a day (black, no cream) – I’m sure many of you teachers can relate.  i heard one time that “only a fool would get in between a teacher and their coffee”.  Made me think back to that first morning out of a week camping with my 9th graders in New York.  I got so frustrated when I couldn’t find the secret coffee location for teachers that I cried.  Seriously. coffee and cream3coffee and cream

As an aside, things have been picking up a bit at work.  Like my “partner-in-crime” bio teacher says, “you are like water flowing past the obstacles.”

glasses: warby parker – dress and boots: madewell – sweater: j.crew – tights: anthropologie – everything from seasons past

Erika S. outfits

Hardcore

Today was hardcore – as in I actually got to talk about metal music with a couple of my kids while they worked on missing assignments for physics.  I have a special spot in my heart for hardcore, screamo and all around metal music.  I was obsessed with bands like Marylin Manson and Ministry in the late 90’s, then moved on to stuff like Deftones and Will Haven in the early 2000’s.  That kind of music, while not for everyone, really spoke to me as an angsty 20 year old.  I love every chance I get to talk about this stuff and will wax on for days about various hardcore bands and my favorite songs.  I have a few boys in my physics class who share my love for all things metal-ish in music.  Needless to say, they are a few of my favorite peoples now a days.  Not only that, these boys will actually check in after school with me to ask how my day is going when they know I’ve had a rough one.  These are the silver linings we teachers will always remember.

My outfit today wasn’t too hardcore – the J.Crew shirt lends a lot of sweetness, as does the unicorn necklace.  But I feel hardcore all the same.  Black jeans and red lipstick will do that for any outfit. hardcore hardcore2 hardcore3

shirt and belt: j.crew – jeans: uniqlo – boots: madewell – necklaces: unicorn crafts – lipstick: revlon lip butters in “red velvet”

Erika S. outfits, teaching

The Face

I’m struggling, people.  Struggling with classroom management AND with teaching physics content.  I thought teaching for 5 years in 2 different inner city schools would have taught me something about how to manage my classroom, but nope.  I’m dealing with a problem that is completely new to me – seniors who claim I can’t teach and therefore loudly blame me for their low grades during class. There is some truth to this – I’ve never taught physics before and I’m figuring it out as I go.  I get most of my materials and curriculum from well established sites such as The Physics Classroom but I’ve had a hard time finding labs that work with the supplies I have at my school.  This means I may invent labs and assignments that don’t work out (crazy acceleration calculations like -33.89 m/s/s for a free falling object!).   The flip side?  These seniors are not coming in for HW help, they’re not doing the assignments or test corrections or any of the many supports I offer inside and outside of class.  They’re goofing off in class and fighting me on simple rules like cell phones, uniform and staying quiet during the entry routine.

I’m exhausted, mentally and physically.  Do I still really like teaching?  Honestly, I don’t really know anymore.

People say that if you are down, you should fake a smile because even faking a smile helps reduce stress.  So here is my fake smile of the day.  the face

This on the other hand, is what my face really looks like lately.  I know that I typically have a “resting bitchy face” (it’s true – bartenders will actually pass over me because I look unfriendly and mean).  But lately my RBF has been a bit more turned down.

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Nothing new on the outfit front – all old reliables.

glasses: warby parker – shirt and high-riser jeans: madewell – belt: gap – shoes: worishofer – necklaces: etsy and f21

Erika S. outfits

One Two

First day of school with students was this past Monday and Tuesday.  Both days – 9th graders only on Monday and all the rest on Tuesday. So I had in effect 2 first days of school.  This is what I wore on day one and day two of the first day(s) of school.  For me teaching is like childbirth (or so I hear).  It’s agony sometimes, but then your mind seems to block all that stuff away after a break from the agony.  The summer must have given my brain time to block a lot of the agony away, because I. Am. Exhausted.  It’s been 11-13 hour days all this week and lots of mental strain trying to get organized and learn 110 names and faces.  Much of it has to do with the fact that I’m starting a new school and teaching one (physics) and a half new courses.  The half is because 2 of my 4 sections are Honors Biology, and I’ve only ever taught at non-tracking schools in the past.  I’m generally not a fan of tracking students, but I’ll admit it’s going to challenge me more as I now have to up the bio game.

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day one –  dress: thrift store find – belt: h&m – shoes: madewell – glasses: warby parker – day two – tshirt and belt: jcrew – skirt: anthropologie – sweater: uniqlo – shoes: sweedish hasbeens

Erika S. outfits

The chop

I chopped my hair for my birthday this past month – more than 6 inches off.  It felt great, though I still just tie it up in a bun most days.  This day though, I wore it down.  It felt weird.  Also, it was back to school night, so that meant I was at school actively teaching/planning/talking to parents from 7am to 8pm.  In addition, my outfit turned out really matchy-matchy.  fun.

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shirt: anthropologie – belt: urban outfitters (old) – jeans: uniqlo – boots: madewell (old)

Erika S. outfits

Performance

It’s funny how much translates from one district to another.  So far, NYCDOE’s “rigor” is just about the same as DPS’s “rigor”.  Today I spent the bulk of my day working on year long “Student Learning Objectives” and creating a “performance based task” for the end of the first unit (no more expeditions).  It’s been a long day.  I am lucky this year though – I am working closely with a super thoughtful teacher who is also teaching bio.  The catch is, my schedule is still not set yet and the first day of school with students is this Monday.  At first I was told I would be teaching Physics (2 sections), Bio, and a credit recovery course.  Now I may be teaching one Physics, Honors Bio, Bio and the credit recovery.  My eyes went buggy a first, but I’m determined not to stress over having 4 different preps (courses to teach) till everything is set with the master schedule.

Today on the clothing front I went a bit nicer than the usual t-shirt and jeans of summer.  I’ve also been sporting these amazingly sassy sunglasses all summer.  My friends Sara and Pedro gave them to me before I left Brooklyn and they are seriously the best ever.  They’re Valentino and probably the nicest thing I own.Performance1

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sunnies: valentino – shirt: madewell – skirt: super old dkny – shoes: saltwater sandals – tracker: fitbit