Americans Have No Fashion Sense

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FOUR business classes, and I am completely unqualified to teach it! I have no idea what I'm doing, and my students can tell. I've asked for assistance, but those higher up keep putting it off to a later date.

As always, this class of Year 10's (9th graders) is wild. They won't sit where I tell them to sit. A couple of girls sit in the back and laugh and laugh. They blatantly make fun of me--my clothes, my accent, my mannerisms, commenting on the way I walk, etc. It doesn't offend me, just pisses me off that they're disrupting my lesson. They're going on and on about my shoes. I'll admit, they aren't the cutest things in the world--brown loafers with a high, chunky heel--but they're comfortable to wear when I'm standing all day, which is what teachers have to do.

The more I yell at them to stop talking and work, the more they look at each other and laugh and mimic me. I try ignoring them, hoping they'll get over themselves and just get on with their work. But they don't.

Eventually, I get most of the class on track, and one of the girls shouts out, "Miss? Where did you get your shoes?"

The other girl covers her mouth and giggles like it's the most hilarious question in the world. The rest of the class thinks it's funny, too. I just give them that Teacher Look, The Glare. They laugh more. The girl continues, "Did you get them in America? Did someone give them to you or did you actually buy them?"

Everyone in the class is laughing now, and some people even stand up and lean over their desks to look at my shoes. They're all staring at me--either my shoes or my face--and laughing. I'm trying to act normal, but they're making me self-conscious. I know I don't have a clue when it comes to fashion because I've just never really cared. It's what's inside a person that counts. And yet, from time to time, I feel nervous about my wardrobe. Like what if I look totally awful? What if I'm embarrassing myself without even realizing it? Many times, I've wanted to look really nice for some occasion, but I have no idea how to do it. I don't know anything about fashion.

A boy shouts, "Miss, she wants to know where you got your shoes, because she wants to buy some just like them!"

The girl drops her mouth open, pretending to be shocked and offended, but she obviously thinks it's funny. People laugh and point at her, "Yeah, she's gonna buy some, too!"

Basically, nothing gets accomplished the entire lesson. No work is done. I do good just to keep them seated.

On the way out, a quiet girl asks where I'm from, and I say, "America."

"Oh you're American?" she says. "So that's why!"

"That's why what?" I ask, thinking she'll say something about my accent.

"Well, you know how American's have no fashion sense," she begins.

"OOOOOOOOH" everyone moans, laughing and pointing at me.

I laugh, too. "Hey, plenty of Americans have fashion sense. I'm just not one of 'em."

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