Learning Strategies

David Allen rants about Casual Fridays. Many of his readers’ comments concern seeing clients in business settings on Mondays through Thursdays. But what about school settings? At Weston High School we’ve had Casual Fridays for many years (though there have been so many new teachers recently that this piece of the oral tradition hasn’t been passed down very effectively). Who are our clients? If our clients are our students, then every day is Casual Friday. Why should Fridays be special? Do I really like wearing ties, as one sophomore asked me?

Definitely not, I told her. (So why do I wear them on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays?)

A few Fridays ago, another sophomore said that she had just noticed that a lot of teachers wore jeans on Fridays. “Is Friday Jeans Day?” she asked me.

I wasn’t wearing jeans — in fact, I never do — so it was slightly odd for her to ask me that question. I explained this piece of Weston High School culture to her and pointed out that I never wear ties on Fridays. “Of course,” I added, “there are a lot of teachers who never wear ties.”

“Yeah,” she replied. “Like Ms. Griswold.”

Labels: Weston