This is Rachael. She teaches Chemistry and Anatomy/Physiology. This year is Rachael’s first year teaching, though she was a teaching resident (year long student teaching) at my school last year. By now, she’s got the “teacher look” down pretty well and she has taken charge!
This was Rachael’s first day of school outfit, and it was pretty perfect for her. There is no mistaking Rachael for a student this year!
I wore just about this same outfit just about a year ago. It’s a pretty reliable go to outfit – pencil skirts solve all sorts of morning wardrobe emergencies. On Tuesday morning, I wasted about 10 minutes in the morning staring at my closet with a blank head. I was stuck in one of those “I have nothing to wear!” panics. I did not have those 10 minutes to waste. If I’m not in the building at least 30 minutes before first period starts, the whole day will feel off.
About these sandals: I’ve had them for about 5 years now. I have a black pair and a tan pair, so they go with everything imaginable. I wear the crap out of them every summer and they’ve been with me every time I travel. It’s almost time to retire them, but they’re still holding up. Maybe next sumer I’ll switch it up a bit and try out something else. If you don’t already own a pair of Saltwater Sandals, I highly recommend you check them out. The best summer sandal ever.
top: madewell – skirt: jcrew – shoes: saltwater sandals
Often times I pass my coworkers in the halls and think to myself, “that is one sweet outfit!”. Much of my traffic also comes from fellow teachers who are just starting out in the field, or are just curious to see how other like minded teachers are clothing themselves. In the past, I’ve featured a couple of my Brooklyn friends on this blog such as Millie and Rachel. This year, I’m starting off fast – with first day outfits.
This is Anna. She teaches French. Anna is all kinds of awesome. She said she doesn’t normally wear this shirt because her hair gets caught in it. But first days are special, and it looks great on her! Anna is not one to shop normally, and she couldn’t really remember where every item came from. Shopping really isn’t the point though, is it?
top: topshop – shoes: blowfish – bracelets: aldo
Oh hai guys! It’s been months since I’ve been around updating this blog. The last spring and summer have been good to me. Things went fairly smoothly in the spring and I ended the school year on a high note. Change was on the way! I decided to give it another year at my school with hopes (and determination) that this second year teaching in Denver would be 100 times better.
It’s fall again, and today was the first of two first days of school. My school has 9th graders only for Monday, then the rest of the grades start on Tuesday. This year, I’m teaching Honors Bio and regular Bio. Also, I’m co-leading a team for the first time ever. Exciting stuff for sure. Also, we had a bit of an administration shake up and with that comes an opportunity to re-set the school/staff culture. Everything is on the up and up this year, I can feel the positive vibes!
On a sentimental note, I’ve been thinking about the first batch of kids I ever had back in SF. Some of them are now juniors in university and I sometimes like to stalk them on FB. I read about where they are traveling/studying/interested in and I breath a huge sigh of relief that I didn’t mess them up too much my first year of teaching. I was so clueless and disorganized. I’m starting my 7th year of teaching this year, and I’ve learned something new and better each year!
On to the first of two first day of school outfits! I picked up this cardigan/shirt/dress thing at F21 last spring. It’s perfect to keep the chill off and add some interest. I brought it with me to DC this past summer and my sister thought it was weird, but came around to it. She ended up buying the same thing for herself near the end of my trip 😉
glasses: warby parker – cardigan: F21 similar – tank – uniqlo – skirt: jcrew – shoes: sweedish hasbeens
There is something to be said about high quality professional development. When you participate in a good one, you can walk away with immediate ideas and an implementation strategy to try out the very next day. You know the PD was worth your time when you learn something new that blows your mind a bit and makes you excited to try it out. This was how I felt after a PD led by one of my colleagues recently on “close reading”. I had been struggling with teaching my students how to read independently AND gain useful information from their reading. None of my students in Brooklyn were reading at grade level and I never really knew how to teach them reading comprehension strategies. Of course I took a literacy class in my credential program, but that was more theory and not at all practical applications of teaching literacy. At most, I annotated for/with them and hoped that things stuck after some questioning and discussion. Here in Denver, some of my honors kids are reading at or above grade level, but I still have a majority who will read fluently, but without full understanding. It’s refreshing to have a short PD that teaches you something concrete, useful and simple to implement the very next lesson. In addition, it’s super helpful to have somewhat of a safety net in the form of a fellow teacher right at your school to help clarify routines, and give you tips. If you want more information on close reading, check this out (though it’s much more useful to see it in action).
glasses: warby parker – cardigan: madewell – tank: banana republic – pants: urban outfitters – boots: steve madden
This outfit is from the day I incorporated close reading into my lesson on Potential and Kinetic Energy. I know these pants aren’t the most flattering for my body type with it’s slouchy look. But hot damn, they’re comfortable. They were also just $15 from the sale section at Urban Outfitters. They’re still on the website (but for $30 – I got them at an extra 50% off), the Silence and Noise Winston Trousers. They’re thick and warm for this freezing weather in Denver, and have I mentioned how comfy they are yet??
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!
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!
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?
dress: anthropologie – cardigan: super old free people – belt: f21 – boots: madewell
My mom grew up in a time and a place where there weren’t a lot of fast-fashion type stores to shop at. She was born and raised in Vietnam, though my family is ethnically Chinese. Back then, their version of shopping was shopping for fabric, and they all learned how to sew for themselves. Even now I think my mom gets a thrill out of finding great fabrics for a good price. So when my sister and my mom travelled to Myanmar this past fall, she brought home a stack of really cool embroidered fabrics. She let me pick out the ones I liked the most, and sewed me a couple of skirts. My mom has always been resourceful and ingenious — I think in her past life she must have been an engineer. She took my favorite J.Crew #2 Pencil skirt, turned it inside out to show the seams, and used it to trace out a pattern. After a number to try ons, lots of taking in and letting out seams, I left Washington DC with 2 perfectly fitting skirts in gorgeous fabrics. I wore one of them yesterday to school and it is now my most conformable skirt, ever. My mom is amazing.
By the way, my Honors Bio kids have been killing it lately learning about cellular transport. I’ve never had such an easy time teaching this subject. They’re making connections left and right, applying osmosis to their own lives and asking fantastic questions. Lessons that took 3 days to get through in the past took me ONE day with this bunch. Amazeballs. Revamped curriculum and honors level kids FTW!
necklaces: etsy (gift from b) similar and f21 – tank: alternative apparel – cardigan: j.crew – skirt: sewed by my mom – boots: steve madden – fitness tracker: fitbit
I have new clothes to talk about! Finally – I’ve been somewhat uninspired by the shops lately, so I haven’t been shopping much (for clothing anyway, I’ve been too spendy with the skincare and makeup). This weekend though, the sales sucked me in. I picked up these grey jeans (with a high waist that helps balance out my long torso/short legs combo) at Urban Outfitters to $15!! I love a great deal. The boots I got at H&M at the start of fall, and they’re really awesome. Whether or not they will last past one winter, we’ll see. The sweater is an oldie from my time in Brooklyn (last seen here and here).
glasess: warby parker – infinity scarf: american apparel – sweater and jeans: urban outfitters – belt: jcrew – boots: h&m
As far as the whole having-a-life thing is going, we got a week off for Thanksgiving. I flew out to DC to spend time with my family and I got to hang with my little niece in between naps and fits. My mom and sister are speaking to her only in Mandarin, so I also got to brush up on my Chinese! Practically no one in Denver speaks Chinese, so it’s gotten rusty from disuse. My niece is just starting to talk, so she taught me that her favorite toy (which is a mother fox from IKEA) is called hu-li mama. My mom speaks 4 different Chinese dialects, so at dinner times, my niece will say “good eats” in 3 of them – Cantonese, Mandarin and Fujian. hou sic, hao chi, haw jia.
Of course, we also had to take a pre TG dinner family portrait (minus my brother in law).
Teachers Have Lives Too! 