Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Students and Pajamas

One thing that I love about my campus here in Southern Illinois is that I never see students who come to class wearing pajamas. During the years I spent hanging around Purdue, it seemed to me that a full third of students wore pajamas on campus. I thought this was something of a tradition in the Midwest. The idea of coming to class and seeing (and even worse, smelling) 10 or 15 students who came to school straight from bed, without changing or even taking a shower, terrified me.

Thankfully, there is nothing like this going on in Southern Illinois. Most students are dressed very nicely and all of them look very clean. Maybe this happens because we are close to a big city. Just one more reason to be thankful for my students.

10 comments:

Serena said...

Hmmm, I really like pajamas and would happily wear soft, non-revealing ones anywhere. They cause me less sensation issues than a lot of other clothing.

Of course I would shower first and brush my teeth, but as far as the pajamas go, clothing is clothing, and I should wear what makes me comfortable.

Clarissa said...

I love my swiomsuit and it looks absolutely smashing on me. Should I teach my classes in a swimsuit? I know I'll feel fantastic but something makes me think students will not be ale to concentrrate on the Baroque texts. :-)

Vinod Khare said...

Ha ha, you should never teach at my college back in India! The dorms were right across the street from the classrooms. Classes started at 8 and we had a bell at 7:55. Some students literally woke up with the 7:55 bell!

Clarissa said...

I know what you mean. At Yale, one of the semesters I taught this course that started at 1:30 pm. It was both taken and taught by the laziest layabouts on campus. :-) Both the students and the teachers had a hard time waking on time for this class. :-)

Vinod Khare said...

ha ha! That reminds me of this art prof we had. He never used to wake up before 11 and absolutely refused to teach any morning classes. I once took a course with him from 9 to 11 in the night!

V said...

Back where I used to be (in the Midwest) one pajama-loving girl once wrote a letter to the university newspaper accusing girls who dress up (by Midwestern standards, in fitting jeans and t-shirts) of slutty behavior... :) :)

Clarissa said...

Vinod: once we had a student who asked our Chair why we didn't offer any lit courses before noon. She said, "What you don't understand is that these are professors of literature. You can't expect them to wake up before 11 am." :-)

Clarissa said...

V.: Didn't you tell me how much you missed that place? :-) :-)

I have to confess, though, that I have come to see that there is a certain kind of charm to living in the deep Midwest. ;-)

V said...

Well, this letter caused a lot of laughter on campus...

Pagan Topologist said...

Several friends have told me over the years that they were glad they went to single-sex colleges, since they did not have to get dressed, shave, shower, put on makeup, etc. before going to class. I think this is beyond weird, and I told them so.