All Dressed Up with Somewhere to Go
Who wears a suit and tie to school in fourth grade? This may sound like the beginning of a riddle, but the answer reveals how children discover that the ways they decide to present themselves can dramatically change the way the world responds to them. When a fourth-grade boy sported a suit and tie last week for picture day, his teacher Claire Amley-Martinez was impressed. In our casual culture, students with nice shirts and freshly combed hair are delightful photo day sights, but donning a suit is unusual.
Claire asked her student if he had gotten the suit specially for the occasion, and he answered proudly that he had. Claire was touched at his effort and asked when he might wear it again. Before he could reply, a girl offered an idea: “You can wear it when you have lunch with the principal.” The boy agreed. In this productive interchange, these fourth graders show they’re already aware that opting for fancy clothes can be the ticket to a more grown-up world and a way to turn an ordinary day into an occasion.
This same discovery process has been unfolding all year in first grade, where students have enjoyed “Fancy Fridays.” At the beginning of the year, co-teachers Karima Hastings and Kim Polasek thought their students would benefit from an uplifting day when everyone would come looking their very best.
Karima says, “We wanted it to be the opposite of casual Fridays in the work world, where people dress down. On Fancy Fridays, there’s a feeling of beauty and specialness in our class. They look around and see students in suits and gowns. But there’s no standard of excellence or competition. Everyone chooses their own version of being dressed up. They see that they can transform themselves and take on a more mature sense of self.”
In preschool, children try out different identities every day through imaginative play. However, one of their favorite activities is the special day of the week when they wear pajamas to school. Students and teachers come as their coziest selves, wearing soft fabrics that lend the feeling of being at home. On pajama days, children transform into their younger selves in need of relaxation and security. In contrast, on Fancy Fridays students practice becoming their most mature selves, ready to step into the world.
Both these events allow children to try out the reality that what they decide to wear on a particular day can allow them to assume a new version of themselves, a process we will celebrate in exciting and amazingly creative ways in a few weeks on Halloween. Stay tuned!
