Teachers in pjs on world book day

[AutisticLegoLover]

I'm not a fan as it is but we have just been greeted at the school door by the headteacher in his pjs and dressing gown. He usually wears a suit and looks professional. I know the children were to go in their pjs or a onesie but I did t expect staff, especially the HT, to be in nightwear. It feels over-familiar perhaps, for what if a better word. I'm not sure I'll look at him the same way again. I have a very low threshold for revulsion thanks to many, many sensory issues as part of being autistic and I don't always understand norms so I'm happy to be told I'm being unreasonable. I'd feel the same way if it was the past female HT too about the professionalism. Admittedly him being male makes a difference to my personal feelings due to trauma but from a professional point of view it doesn't sit right.

I think it is great that the head joined in. Most kids would enjoy that. Mine would have.

I’m a teacher and world book day is a waste of my life.
arguments as pupils in football kits and unkind to each other. Some people forgot and are in school uniform and crying.

it’s not even a proper celebration but another marketing ploy to get parents to spend money.
we weren’t sent enough vouchers for the kids to get their free WBD voucher.

jeans and t shirt for me as I’m a Muggle from Harry Potter 😆

Oh wow. You really need to lighten up a bit.

At our school it’s just another opportunity for all the competitive mummies to try to out do each other and get their kids photo in the local paper - the school select all the best ones to be photographed and featured. 🙄

Cue parents trying to bullshit everyone that little Julian’s favourite book is “great expectations” (he’s 6 FFS!) and sending kids in all sorts of elaborate creations.

Many parent don’t have either the time or the money to sort out all these costumes and it just adds to the pressure.

I’d love for them to just say everyone come in PJs - so much more inclusive.

@Fandangofran oh you sound bitter 🤣My daughter loved Dickens when she was 6. Oliver Twist was her favourite. Went dressed as Dodger for WBD in Year 2 (costume was her cousins old denim jacket, old pair of trackies cut short and a flat cap).
Oh... when I say "loved Dickens" I mean the Usborne Abridged versions, the Oliver musical film and the Disney film Oliver and Company.

YABVU but how you feel is due to your autism and previous trauma It was perfectly appropriate for the HT to dress in same manner as the children on this day

They probably had less flesh on show that during Sports Day when they are in shorts or do the sensitive pearl-clutchers object to teachers displaying their legs too?

If he had a towel then I reckon he's Arthur Dent.

I don’t think you are being unreasonable as such. I can understand how you feel, it doesn’t look very professional when you’re used to seeing him a suit.

However, for an occasion, like WBD, I can understand why he did, and feel it’s nice for the children for the staff to join in.
my child doesn’t go to school now, is home educated due to the system not suiting her autism, however when she was there was a particular teacher who was always suited, and smart professional looking and had an air of ‘you will respect me’ about him. However, once a year the school had a book sale evening and he would attend in a bright yellow onesie! It was hard to see him as the same person either in the onesie or next day in his smart clothes, but he pulled it off!

Maybe she and her family wear theirs more than once? 🤣 maybe hers are dirty and unhygienic 🤣Ours go in the wash basket in the morning when we get up. We wear fresh on every day and fresh on pj’s every night. Some people have such strange ways. They really are showing their a**e with that post. 🤣

I'll never forget the day our teachers dressed up in school uniforms and came parading round the classrooms (I'm in my 70's now) as one of the happiest of my days at school. They were witty and clever with it (one appeared to be smoking and had holes in her stockings). It was great fun, but I never lost respect for those teachers that earned it by being fair and professional when they were teaching.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 love it

I think it’s awesome and fun. Makes HT look approachable and friendly. Good on them!

Some people on here are extremely mean and rude. The fact I assume we're all mums/parents and very much all human there is no need to be so unkind to other people asking for an opinion and sharing how they feel about something. You can share your views in a less negative way.
OP I personally think it's great that the HT was dressed in PJ's I think it means a lot to the children that all staff are involved it says a lot about your HT that he was willing to join in on it, this is the kind of HT you want. However, how you feel is how you feel and I'm sure you have your own reasons but maybe you could look at the advantages of this and the way your child would see it because education is all about the children and a lot of it is the enjoyment and happiness they feel from it, this could be something they even come to talk about in years to come in a positive way rather than oh my HT at my school was so dull he never joined in on any of the pj or dress down days for example... just the other side of the coin!:)

For clarity, many schools choose to make the dressing up aspect of World Book Day as easy and inclusive for parents as possible by focusing on the fact that many children (and all should imho) read as part of their bedtime routine. It reduces the pressure/cost of coming up with a book character fancy dress. However it still is a "costume" as opposed to their normal attire and the staff are joining in with the children, again to make it as inclusive and accessible as possible. My daughter is a Primary School teacher and as such has in previous years bought appropriate pj's/dressing gown etc specifically for wearing on WBD.
I'm glad you recognise that this is your issue because I cannot see how joining in and participating in a school activity makes a (head)teacher unprofessional. To me it shows they are full engaging with the children, even perhaps beyond their own comfort (not all teachers like dressing up but they do it for the children).

Our school does the PJ thing for WBD. All the teachers that I seen had joined in. I didn't see the HT but I would like to think she got into the spirit too!

Lol oh I wish they meant the kids versions sadly no - were talking full on top hatted Victorian gentlemen with a two inch thick unabridged leather bound classic weighing him down.

Ditto career day - little Jemima always wants to be a palaeontologist, a marine biologist or a chartered surveyor 🙄never a doctor or a teacher or anything mainstream lol.

As for bitter lol no - just another mum with autism (and also parent of an autistic child) who needs all of her mental energy to function and keep my shit my together on a normal day and finds the whole costume thing and competitive culture really exhausting. I do it because my two NT kids love it but I just can’t get my head around it all.

I'm a teacher, and my school also did PJs yesterday. Our school is in a very deprived area, and the kids have nothing. We wanted them to have a fun day, without parents having to pay out anything extra.

Your "revulsion" is definitely a YOU problem.

Clothes being worn more than once are not unhygienic!

@Fandangofran I want to apologise because calling you "bitter" wasn't very nice.
I am sorry 💐
At my daughters school I don't ever remember it as being competitive though. Some children went in handmade costumes that were practically professional, some in a few old clothes thrown together. Some in shop bought. Some in non-book characters cause that's the outfit they have at home.
The only comments between parents were either compliments on their crafty skills or how cute a kid looks or general chats about the character/book.
But no one made it competitive.
The same with cake sales. The urban myth about buying shop bought cakes and squashing them to make them look homemade.... that never ever happened.
Unfortunately maybe it does happen at some schools. Bit sad if it does.

Are you always a buzzkill?

I’d say given the state of teaching and the lack of teachers at the moment if this is your only complaint then count yourself lucky.

First world problem much 🙄

It's fine, world book day, most kids love it and it's great for teachers to get involved.

It's fine.

Doesn't Wendy from Peter Pan wear nightwear?

The pjs are an option for kids that don't want to dress up or their parents are sick of dressing them up for whatever reason, it also includes them.

Thank you.

Unfortunately the area I live is quite affluent (I married in and I’m definitely an outsider)

Many people are ok but there is definitely a small group who like to think of themselves as superior and constantly want the world to know that their offspring are destined for greatness 🙄

I find it alternately annoying or hilariously tragic depending on how I’m feeling on a given day.

I know some people who are struggling though and put a lot of pressure on themselves to keep up and try to fit in - they’d find it so much easier to just send the kids in pjs.

Total non-issue but you're entitled to feel however you want about it.