, 1922-06-03
MORE THOUGHT TO HER ATTIRE
SHOULD BE GIVEN BY TEACHER
of Personal Observation-Disclosures With Pleasing Pres
ence Will Reap a Greater Measure of Success

A very timely subject has rccentry
been disposed in tho Christian Science
Monitor one that viii appeal to all stu
dents and those who have been stu
dents. though perhaps It viii not be
received 30 favorabfy by those against
whom Il is directed The subject is
that of frumpishness by ome
teacherz
The call came TO Bfznk college to
send one of its women faculty mem
bers to q hrge New England city to
address n gathering to be composed Of
Blank aiumnae and outside guests,
says the Monitor. t.. writer urged
that the speaker DO woldressed.
cultured woman OF charm and indt-
v1duality. with q clear. agreeable voice.
who could interest an audience Is
that too much to expect from pracuc-
ally sny ON teaching IN one Of the
best-knovn colleges for women2
The alumnae secretary and the col
ego president a~nxiously conferred to-
gcther Miss A would not do. al.
though she lectures arther well. as
her clothes arc absurdly antique. es-
peciaiiy her hAts-apparentfy relics OF
other ~days-which totter p~erilously
upon he- mannish head Professor B.
Is emfnently presentable in appear
ancs. and has something worth while
to say. but her low voice. which she
makes no effort to raise. canno be
heard more than six Get away. OBJ
viously. Professor B. is out OF the
question In many ways Miss C. Is
just the person. but her manner an
tagonizes people. Down through the
list of nearly 200 women the secretary
and tho president searched. finding
alas. hardly one who answered the
desired description What an appal-
ling facti II IL Q true OF merely
one college. II would not be SO lament-
able, but when one considers 1t ap-
plies to several colleges, It challenges
attention
Someone may protest hat a college
teacher is not supposed to be a pub
lie speaker. bu is h not virtually
that7 She stands before a La every
day. the members of which demand of
her substantially all that a critical
public audience asks They would like
to have her well dressed for they in
stinctively and inevitably accord great
err respect to an ~attractively atdred
teacher.
Her salary Is probably too small for
her to dress expensively or even
stylishly. but is IT necessary when
skirts arc short for hers to sweep
Tho floor7 when they are narrow for
hers to be full and billowy7 surely
a simple and violating blue or brown
gown is not much more costly than a
horribly unbecoming purple or green
one May not shoes be comfortable
and still not be that type of fiat
hecIed. "ground-grippers" that seem to
be so much In vogue among women
teachers? Such shoes have been very
suitably dubbed "hvc-room flats"
Appearances Truly Deceptive.
Too many teachers forget the exist
.ence Of the invaluable hair.net and h
~simplc-to-use magic curriers'. If a stu
dent brings a guest to class, she often
whispers ''Nfiss Smith Is funny-look-
ing. but she really is a peach" 1t is
deplorable that excuses should have to
be mad for them. particularly when
they are SO often really peaches"
It Is perhaps assumed that culture
and knowledge go hand in hand. To
few teachers is denied the latter, but
the possession of the former is more
rare. An audience knows every pub
lie speaker will not nave culture, but
college students ray not be considered
too exacting If they expect it Of their
instructors.
Charm and individuality. so battling
TO define, yet so Easy to recognize, add
immcasurably to a teachers influence
and authority. Ask graduates of many
----t -4.-At-- okl,rk th1f- ~o1I.D~
professors, and almost invariably they
will name the men and women with
those elusive attributes. harm and
personality. II, In appointing women
to college positions, more account were
taken of these important qualities,
there would be a surprising growth
of enthusiasm and inspiration in our
college classes.
Cultivation Of voice Important.
Since all teaching necessftates talk
ing to groups Of students. It should
not be considered unreasonable to ex-
pect teachers to devote some time to
the improvement Of their voices. Yet
they do not often do this. The aver
age teachers voice is disagreeable.
Unfortunately this is especially true of
members of English departments.
Thin, feeble voices; high. squeakly
voices; deadly monotonous. soporific
voices; raucous voices. voices Of every
range-these r some of the voices
frequently encountered-while the
pleasant, attractive voice is h ex-
ception. And this from scholarly.
learned professors
The ability to interest ought to be a
prime requisite In h teaching pro-
fession. yet students sometimes elect
a course given by a woman Of national
reputation and prestige only to find
themselves confronted tri-weekfy by a
person who not only bores them but
who herself appears hopelessly bored
The motto over her class room door
might well be: abandon all enthu-
siasm, We who enter here"