Being expected to wear blazers today

[AskMeMore]

DDs school have said they still have to wear blazers to school today. It is very hot here. I have just told her to take it off if she wants to. No way am I indulging the school in this level of ridiculousness.

Are you wearing a jacket indoors when it's over 25'C?

God I'm Australian and think this weather is perfect but 'a teacher can decide if it's too hot for a jacket' is just mad. The only thing more mad is 'if it's over 30' they won't have to wear them while eating.'

Why are there any policies on what temperature it needs to be before anyone can take a blazer off? When my kids were at school it would never have occurred to them to roast in a blazer on a hot day, they'd just take it off.

How is that "fair"?

Do you wear a shirt, tie and jacket when it's 25 degrees outside and probably hotter in?

I don’t think that’s fair at all.

i have just looked at it’s currently 25 degrees where I am. I’m just comfy in vest and linen pants - I certainly wouldn’t want to add any sort of jacket and that’s just sitting in the house doing very little but being expected to work.

Are you completely mad?? And have you ever set foot in an office environment within the last 20 years? In most work environments suits are gone, ties are gone and comfortable clothing is absolutely acceptable. It is only schools who give a shit about this nonsense. But to be honest, it indicates that schools know so very little about working environments.

I'm a senior manager in the CS and there is no way that I would expect anyone in my team to wear a blazer, suit or tie. Nobody does. And if you're a teacher telling your students that they should do so to access job opportunities, then you need to have a word with yourself. And do some research, so you don't look like an ill informed idiot.

And this goes further than just telling people that they have to buy and wear formal clothing. It costs. It's expensive and it might be out of reach for some colleagues where resources are difficult.

Having done a huge amount of recruitment interviews for the CS, my colleagues and I have never judged a candidate in relation to their clothes. Never.

So stick your 'blazers on at all times' approach. Because it's shit.

One of the few things which causes my fairly shy and conformist daughter to become incensed is the insistence on yards of dark polyester in this heat. Fortunately her school have declared blazers off until end of term.
But I find it bloody stupid that kids who are supposed to be preparing to make adult decisions apparently can't be trusted to decide if they need a jacket or not.

I am walking home from my senior, pretty well paid job wearing a floaty skirt, trainers and T shirt. My direct report turned up in shorts today and once I'd got over a slight moment of surprise, amazingly he delivered his job just as excellently as usual.

Came in here to say this.

No good will come of forcing people to sit in uncomfortable clothing in a stuffy classroom.

I genuinely can't understand how we have got to the year 2023 and this shit still flies!

@KnackeredandWiser I agree with you.

My work has a "dress for your day " dress code. We are all professional people, and adults, we dress in a particular way for client meetings, although not in suits/blazers but as casual as we want on general office days.

This is an example the modern workplace and has been for years. There are , of course, more formal settings but they are not representative of "the workplace ".

Schools should really be aware of this, so they can support children into work when the time comes.

But then you also get people like my cab driver yesterday, who said that they are all instructed to wear smart trousers, a shirt and formal shoes, as a lot of restaurant and hospitality staff are, too.

So it is representative of the workplace at different levels.

I think this is really key.
Schools are in general so behind in terms of what a modern workplace looks like now that it's embarrassing.
Our local council recently ran a survey with a variety of employers about what they were looking for in school leavers. There was a general consensus that the level of digital education was woefully inadequate.

But schools idea is to ignore that and just make sure everyone has their correct uniform on no matter what! Bloody bonkers!

But then you also get people like my cab driver yesterday, who said that they are all instructed to wear smart trousers, a shirt and formal shoes, as a lot of restaurant and hospitality staff are, too.

But not forced to wear a wool blazer in 30 degree heat I presume.

Both dcs' grammar schools and most other local schools have said no blazers or ties this week. Sensible.

My school is the same, whilst some staff are wearing next to nothing vest dresses- females, and males short sleeve shirts or shorts in some cases! I feel so sorry for the students- particularly the exam years :-/

How does wearing too warm clothing today prepare people for being too hot in ten years time, exactly? Do you think people evolve aircon or something?

Perhaps whilst we're at it, we should send the kids down the mines age 11 so we can prepare them for the world of work in 7 years.

Thankfully DS's school is relatively sensible but he was exhibiting symptoms of mild heat stroke this week as 30 bodies in a hot classroom is never going to be pleasant, brazer or not.

Not just my DS's school then! I told my son to leave his blazer at home today, and if there were any issues I'd sort it out. I refuse to let my son be punished for being too hot. Fortunately someone had seen sense.
I absolutely hate blazers. Luckily they were optional when I was at high school. I didn't even let my mum buy me one.

So glad for the sensible approach at my sons’ school- no jumpers as standard in the summer term, then this week they were told no blazers on Monday swiftly followed by an amendment to PE kit for the rest of the week. They can wear their uniform with no tie if they prefer. This will be reviewed next week as the weather cools down a bit.

No. But kids are going to have to get used to it (or some will). I'm hot and uncomfortable all day. I also know what my manager would say if I refused to wear my uniform.
Hardly any schools around here wear blazers anyway but perhaps you could look in to that if it's such an issue.

They might need to wear formal trousers, that can mean a pair of cotton chinos, shirt note no requirement for a tie or for long sleeves, and no requirement for blazers!

Also most cabs these days will have aircon so they will be able to control the temperature much better than in most schools.
So no its not really comparable.

Honestly why are you accepting that in the workplace?

I'm dreading fights over blazers.
I have one who feels cold all the time, so winter in a blazer will be a nightmare. And one who can't stand restrictive clothing.

Another vote for It's ridiculous. Local high school here all wearing blazers and I think they'd been doing exams. One girl wearing shirt, tie, sweater, blazer. I was in a t-shirt due to the heat and I rarely go out in just one layer.

Well, if you say so, but I really didn't notice you in the cab with me.

It's awful. Inhumane. Children deserve better. And autonomy. I can't stand uniform. So uncomfortable for them. I'd do away with it if I could.

The 30c talked about on this page, are they actual classroom temperatures?

Yes. Mine's been around 29 the last couple of days, a bit lower today. Well above 30 in the heatwave last year.

Have to say, even without blazers the kids are just sitting and sweating and it's badly affecting concentration - theirs and mine. So much learning written off in the summer because school buildings aren't fit for purpose.

What’s happened to todays teenagers? When I was at school, we would have just removed the extra layers (or not worn them at all). It’s very hard to discipline two thirds of every class in the school for a nonsense rule.