Casual Fridays run rampant: Students must implement TGIDUF in response

By Margaret Poe 2004

Just as school restrooms are divided into “faculty” and “lowly student” divisions, just as there are “faculty” parking lots and “some streets to park your car on” for students, another division exists west of Division Street. It is the dress code.

No, I am not going to waste your time by crying about the unfairness of the one-inch minimum width of the cruelness of teh no-midriff rule. Instead, I want to call attention to a phenomena which reliably occurs each and every Friday.

The tradition known as Casual Friday has almost a cult following within the United State. No matter where you are, if you observe the wardrobe choices of employed adults on a Friday, it is highly likey you will see something quite interesting. This dressing-down approach surely eases the transition into the extreme-casual look suitable for the weekend; maybe Casual Friday was created to prevent injuries endured while making the risky leap from a suit and tie to sweats and a sweatshirt.

Clearly, teachers in a school do not all war identical clothes or a uniform. Therefore, the level to which they dress down depends on on where they start. If he or she chooses to wear a tie during the week, going tie-free may be all that Casual Friday means. If, however, he or she is more casual during the week, anything can happen on a historically crazy day like Friday.

Through my years of experience in the schooling industry, I have experienced some exciting Casual Friday happenings. Such stunning transformations occur as a usually tie-clad teacher liberates himself into wearing a (gasp) sweatshirt. Similarly, a female teacher sheds her usual skirts or dress pants for jeans. As a student, my reaction is usually similar to what happens when I see a teacher behaving as a civilian, perhaps buying groceries or taking the kids to soccer. It can be shocking.

It seems that Casual Friday has its roots in a belief that change makes life more exciting. But in a school setting, the change can be more than a little disorienting. It would make sense that as teachers dress down, students should dress up. So I propose that students adopt a Dress-up Friday to combat the teachers’ own tradition.

Confusion my ensue as your teachers think they have encountered a Freaky Friday-like switch. Hey, maybe they will even move to the desk at the back of the room and throw spit-balls during class. Student-like teacher: what a concept.

It is clear that adopting a Dress-up Friday would be a good thing for high school scholars, and I think a suitable acronym is in order. TGIDUF (Thank God, It’s Dress Up Friday) serves this purpose. So spread the word and break out your dress clothes this Friday.