By schoolsucks - 10/03/2015 14:45 - United States - Aurora

Today, the principal of the school I teach at told me she's not interested in re-hiring me because sometimes I wear a hoodie. FML
I agree, your life sucks 36 541
You deserved it 6 297

TeachAllTheMath tells us more.

TeachAllTheMath 19

OP here, two years later I am still working at the same school (in my beloved hoodies). The principal that told me this was not renewed for the following year, so luckily our head of school valued competent teachers over well dressed ones. I work at a charter school who encourages teachers to dress comfortably so we can go outside to play soccer, or get on the floor to do small groups, and I was in “dress code” according to the crew handbook, the principal was just a snob.

Top comments

It's a shame that people like this are in charge of hiring those teaching others.

It depends on the context. If the OP works in a private school, then maybe they are preferred wearing uniforms. Sometimes some schools want more professional outfits. :/ I'm sorry for the job loss.

Comments

It's a shame that people like this are in charge of hiring those teaching others.

Exactly! We can't let people get through with things like this. This is Democracy Manifest!

However, that's only the part OP decided to write about. If OP is just good at teaching they can have a new job tomorrow.

1dvs_bstd 41

I disagree. You can't work in a bank, wear a hoodie and not expect to be seriously reprimanded or in the worst case, lose your job. Even in European football (soccer), players have to dress corporately when they board their buses or planes or they get fined. Hell, workers in McDonalds have to wear uniforms. Just a little professionalism wouldn't hurt.. they're not asking you to suit up everyday ffs.

#32 you can wear sweaters at mcds, they just have to be a mcdonalds brand. and they said they sometimes wear hoodie, not everyday. the op is probablly a guy, because i know woman who can pull off a professional look with a sweater/hoodie, its not unheard of.

Hoodies don't meet business casual dress code. Couldn't hurt for OP to find a work appropriate sweater. It may be a minor influence on the kids to show how to present yourself in a professional situation.

Frillwee95 12

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I think my point was , it sucks that America has it so the person that went to the best school, or some kiss ass that knew the right people now. No merit system that determines the best person for the job gets the job. **** equality because of color , clothes , or class, it should be the best person for that particular job. While I agree that you should maintain a professional look at work , that should be a simple conversation , not a reason to not hire someone back. I have a feeling though that rehire meant that you left before and now are trying to go back, which in my experience rarely works out well in suchlike field of work .

60 - Professional does have a clothing componant. Hoodies don't make the grade in any office environment.

My question is this: was it a school hoodie? If it was a representation of the school, OP was put together otherwise and a good teacher, there shouldn't be a problem. Now, if it's a prep school where dress code is strictly enforced, that's a different story. I think there's something else going on. If OP's attire was that big of a deal, there's more tactful ways of handling it!

Cozy_Blanket 16

Not sure it would do any good. The principal could just give another reason for letting op go and there's not really much op could do about it. Unless you go all James Bond and get a recording of your boss saying that!

Tell the principal you're not interested in getting rehired by her because she has absurd reasoning and shouldn't even be in charge of hiring.

^^ yep. I would've used the OP's grammar as the excuse. I mean "reason".

iTzSelverZz 14

Thays not a reasonable excuse, you should report her if she declined rehiring you for that.

It's the principal of the matter . Yea I am aware of the spelling .

Unfortunately, if OP lives in a right-to-work state, the employer can fire the employee for any reason other than gender or race.

iTzSelverZz 14

I agree. At the school i go to teachers wear hoodies as everyday attire. Some wear sweatpants. Its not a big deal. But i understand it might be a little different for other schools with higher standards for the appearance of teachers.

19, you're thinking of an at-will state. A right to work state simply means that workers can't be forced to join unions as a condition of employment.

3 - Why? That's pretty low end attire unless you teach PE. As a parent I certainly wouldn't tolerate it.

IAmzephyr 22

well I understand that he wants teachers to be professional, but that's rediculous. Good luck with your next job then OP

NinjaBoyDavido 13

Some people are just ridiculous

It depends on the context. If the OP works in a private school, then maybe they are preferred wearing uniforms. Sometimes some schools want more professional outfits. :/ I'm sorry for the job loss.

I went to a private school with a work study program where the male teachers all wore dress slacks, a button up, and a tie. The female teachers seemed to have a little more leniancy but it was always business attire. Not sure if that is OPs case, but either way, sometimes wearing a hoodie doesn't seem like a reason to fire someone. Maybe a warning first?

tossaway2321 5

The chances of him working at a private school are pretty low

If the school expected business attire, the school would have a staff dress code.

Maybe they do have a dress code that OP broke by wearing a hoodie, and that's why they were fired in the first place. OP could have been given multiple warnings, we don't know.

I doubt they were fired. It probably was a lay off, and then they just chose not to take her off the list as a rehire. I'm in a union and if the job ends or there's a lack of work, then I get a lay off. Then I subsequently get put on a list for companies to get workers from, who would then decide to call me for rehire or not dependant on if they liked me in previous jobs.

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Could that be construed as discrimination? I'm not sure, but I do believe so. I'm tired of Educators just not caring about what is important. skill means more then a sweatshirt.

no thats not discrimination, atleast not legally. i mean im sure you could argue it, but i dont think anyone would get anywhere. its normal for a workplace to have a dresscode if not a uniform...

11 - No, it's not based on an immutable characteristic or faith.

It's a shame how backward some people can be.