Job Discussion Forums

[daily chai]

When I worked at a cram school for adults in Taiwan I wore spiffier clothes than on Saturdays. Never jeans, never sleeveless shirts, but on Friday night a miniskirt. The school says you can't wear sandals (including strappy heels) but everyone ignored that. Some of the kids teachers at that school wore their college wardrobe: second hand bowling shirts, hip hop mega pants, and so on. No worries.

Now at a uni in Taiwan, I wear dressier clothes. I always wear a jacket to the classroom, but frequently have to take it off now that it's getting warm. I never wear a skirt above the knees; but I wear nice single color cotton tees all the time. They don't look sporty, they have a bound neckline instead of ribbing. Ya know? I pair those with slightly flared pants and throw a jacket over. I break protocol and wear sandals without socks (duh) every day.

May I suggest that your age difference has some bearing? At the cram school and at my uni I am only a few years older than my students. The older teachers command more respect for their age, so they can get away with things I would never try. Also, follow the old adage of dressing for where you want to be. If you are just here for a year-long spell, then wear what you can get away with. If you want to promote, dress like your superiors so it's easier for people to envision you in that position; and you already have the wardrobe.

[mr pink]

For my first year I taught at a conversation school in one of the hottest cities in China during the summer. I had to take buses through rush hour traffic and ended up a sweating mess by the time I got to school. I could barely stand wearing pants...so I wore kahki shorts, sandles, and a t-shirt. My students were more worried about my health than my appearance and forgave my casual attire.

[fat_chris]

Always wear clean underwear wherever you may be.

And NO jeans shorts please.

[Celeste]

I have a teaching job in Japan, but I am based out of a government office. I have 3 suits and several long dresses. People at the office always say that I am the most casual, colourful person there. (Only one of my suits is BLACK- everyone else at the office dresses as though they were going to a funeral). When I am at the elementary schools, however, it is a different story. The only time I see anyone in a suit is when there is a special function. Most teachers (and even some administrators) wear sweat pants or jeans and sweatshirts or t-shirts. I hate the days when I have to bounce between the schools and the office because I look really out of place no matter what I wear.

[Aramas]

Here at JCU in tropical north Queensland the usual academic attire is shorts, sandals and a collared shirt, although T-shirts are fairly common. My maths lecturer at Uni of Tasmania was a Russian guy that dressed as above but with the addition of wooly socks - lol

On the other hand we're a very informal country. I haven't used anyone's last name since my last day of high school. Even when I was working for a German multi-nat (who are reputedly very formal) the visiting CEO introduced himself by his first name, and was quite an alright fellow when we were all getting plastered at the pub afterwards.

If someone required me to address them as 'Mister/Mz/Professor/whatever, I would politely laugh in their face and avoid referring to them by name at all - ever. It's a bit of a national characteristic really, and anyone that complied with such overt pomposity would be labelled a sycophant.

Are khakis, a Sam Browne and a pith helmet still considered formal day-wear in asia?

[cimarch]

I wear whatever I feel like, usually casual, sometimes very casual. I worked part-time in a school where all the full-timers (men and women) had to wear suits all day. I was usually more smartly dressed than they were as most of them only had one suit and worked 6 days a week, mix chalk and a black suit with irregular cleaning and serious scruffiness ensues.

Also, on a practical note, I find my students respond better to me when I dress casually, bear in mind that the standard school uniform here (China) is the school tracksuit. They tend to be a bit over-awed and clam up when a laowei in a business suit walks in and tries to talk to them. But that may just be my style, I try to keep everything relaxed and friendly. If they feel they can relate they are more likely to contribute. Suits are a lecturer's friend but in a conversation class things need to be more personal.

[Sekhmet]

Good question!!! I was really surprised in Egypt (yes, I know that isn't in Asia!!) when the other teachers often showed up in jeans and t-shirts... I always figured that the dress code was a bit more strict over there... In China, I pretty much wore what I wanted (within reason... ) and so did the Chinese staff...

Other than that, I have no idea.....

[Rock Lee]

anyone know what the dress code for teachers is in Hong Kong???

[Eijse]

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[scot47]

Fat chris is quite right about clean underwear.
It is also a good idea to avoid having body odour as those old ads for Lifebuoy soap used to point out.