Student Line Up
Proper dress is a requirement for our school and a daily line up where we critique their appearance can have both bad and good consequences. IF all insructors monitor the dress code evenly and without fail it is a wonderful way to acknowledge and greet your students to make them feel welcome. HOwever once a few instructors find this to be a tedious and demeaning excercise the instructor after these instructors has a hard time getting a buy into this format and there can be an immediate problem with this line up. In this form it becomes counterprocuctive. Without a total faculty buy in the line up becomes a negative instead of a positive
Hi John,
You are correct, there has to been total buy in by all the faculty. In my university we don't always get it but what I do do is maintain my standards of dress and behavior. I cannot control what the others do but I want my students to know when they are in my class this is what the standard is going to be and I will uphold that standard at all times.
This has worked well for me as students will later thank me for holding them to the standards of the industry.
Gary
The problem I have with a line-up is that it can make students feel self-conscious which can lead to them closing down for the rest of the class.
Why are the students self-concious if all have to do the same thing. Perhaps the line up over time would help them lose their self-conciousness
John,
Because of the uniform requirement in my profession, the uniform requirement at my institution is pretty important.
I do a uniform check with my roll call by having students stand up and come to the front of the class when I call their names. I maintain a professional look at the highest possible standard to model how important it is and to show them that I am according them the respect they are according me when they dress according to requirement. I explain to them that the reason for the uniform check is to help proper dress become routine and easy for them - this is a career competency after all.
I agree Franz, and it is up to the professional educators to make sure this generation of food network devotees understand the difference between celebrity and professionalism, the difference between career and entertainment. There is an expectation that all the great chefs dress without hair cover, and often times with out proper chef clothing. This expectation is hard to change, but with proper reinforcement the line up as we call it becomes a kind of formal greeting between teacher and student and where they can easily model each other is with the uniform. It becomes like you said a bond between generations a bond between artisans of our trade.
Hi John,
Thank you for these great comments about professionalism and trying to instill into this generation of upcoming chefs. TV has done created a unrealistic picture of many careers which has made the job of educators much harder when it is up to us to show them how the "real" career is going to be.
Gary
Originally I found myself hesitant to enforce our school's uniform policy, since I feared it would cast me as the authoritarian and would distract from the learning of my classroom. However, after speaking with some of my best students, I realized that doing brigade, as a mark of professionalism, is actually something good students want. They want to be held to high standards; they want their degree to truly set them apart. Lax standards or no enforcement of a standing policy sabotage not only the institution, but the students' personal sense of this college being a life-changing place for them.
I think that worries about students being self-conscious during inspection are the mark of a caring teacher, but I think social comparison can do good as well as harm. While some students may feel uncomfortable, others will actually change their behavior not to stand out or to gain the respect of their peers. I think much depends on how the instructor frames the inspection, and I'm careful to say that I do mine not because of some abstract rule, but to foster personal discipline, respect for everyone, and the high standards of both academic and professional life.
Hi Bryan,
You make a number of very good points about professionalism. I am a big fan of dress and conduct that reflects the highest standards of the profession. By having a brigade you are helping them to understand the kind of career they are preparing to enter. There is rigor and skill attached to their career and they can be proud of the skills and knowledge they have developed during their educational journey.
Lax standards drive me crazy because they are the same as no standards and I don't want a chef preparing my food with such an attitude or a medical professional providing me with medical support that isn't of the highest quality.
Gary
Ive worked at schools where this is a standard as well. From an educators persepective, when I am working with new faculty I find it is important to speak to this not as a buy in, but as embracing the culture of the educational program you are teaching in. When you ask someone to buy in, not all instructors look at this as a positive, they might feel it is inauthentic to what they really feel/support. "Its part of our culture here for the students to hold themselves to a high standard and for us to help reinforce that."
Hi Sarah,
Good point. Faculty should follow the culture of the college in which they work. By having a line up the college is setting a standard to which the students should adhere. Excellence should be something that we all aspire for ourselves and our students.
Gary
Hi John,
I totally agree with you as well, on the above subject, but in my career school the "line up" is a daily check on a student's ability to have a clean, presentatble,and job related and required professional appearance that is mandatory in their cchosen career path. This "Brigade System" not only allows me the time to check on the students attire and daily presence, but as a teacher I can also make notice of there attention to required dress standards, in this field of education, and question any problems or cirsumstances that a student may be going throuh in their lives. In the food industry cleanliness is a priority and if a student comes in with a uniform that is wrinkled and stained from the previous days activities, I would take the student aside privately and ask what I could do for them to bring them up to the schools daily standards (provide a washer and iron to the student). The line up also allows the students to compare their appeerance to others in the class, who are trying to comply with both the rules of the school and industry standards. John, it seems to me that the faculty of your school needs to meet and discuss the meaning of, and standards required of a "line-up", and why one is necessary to maintaining a good learning environment for both the students and school alike. Having all students in the same clean and presentable attire, eliminates any competition to comply to dress fads or monitary differences among students, and creates and equal atmosphere for student learning and compliance to job related standards and rules. Have a great day!
Bobby
Hello,
Bobby I agree that brigade or line up is a way to positive way to touch base with your students every morning: greet them by name, make a positive comment for each student. Everyone claps for each other when finished.
Brigade also allows us to identify students that may need special assistance that day - seeing how each student is prepared to learn that day. Offering the iron to those who need it Student is Late? Comes without hat and apron? No pen or pencil? All of these would be indicators that the student's attention may not be in class that day. Class break time may then be used by the instructor to seek that student out and offer assistance or a listening ear.
I have also had a different student every day do the brigade inspection. It empowers those who are quiet; reinforces that the inspection is not for me but for the industry; and demonstrates that we are all held to the same expectation.
I think the daily line up is a great way to let the students know that class has begun and allows me the opportunity to greet each student individually. By doing a critique of their uniform, we (the instructors) are able to instill in them a sense of pride about their uniform and general appearance. So much about food preparation is about proper sanitation. It all starts with a clean uniform and neatly tied-back hair. If those standards are not met while in school, and are not acknowledged, the student may not be a prime representation of the Le Cordon Bleu name and therefore reflect poorly on LCB.
Hi Laura,
I agree with you and everyone that uses this method of opening a class. By setting high standards that reflect the industry you are providing the students with a model from which they can operate throughout their careers.
Gary
I agree with the professional code of dress. I relate to students past experiences I have had as a manager and how important it was not only to me, but the employer the look of the employee, be it proper dress, grooming, and general attitude of self confidence. At times I will point out to students passersby on the street and make comments about the person based on dress alone. It opens their eyes to the professional appearance the industry expects.
HI Luke,
Yes, yes, yes. Students have to "get it" when it comes to professional dress for the job. The golden rule applies. The person with the gold makes the rules. If they don't follow those rules they are not going to work there very long.
Gary
I doubt there is a school that has everyone in line with enforcing dress code, and that definitly causes issues. I actually tell my students that they need to have a high standard here and that by fufilling the requirements that they agreed to is an act of professionalism that raises them above those who don't fufill their obligations.
Hi Bruce,
I am a big fan of branding. I talk to my students a lot about how they set themselves apart from the herd when it comes to entering their field. By enforcing the dress code in my class I know I can help them to show themselves as professionals. I don't listen to them when they say "Mr.X lets us get away with not dressing up to code." My response is simply that I am the instructor and I set the rules for my course and while in my course this is the dress code we will follow. Also, I bring in past graduates to talk to students about how important personal branding is to career success. Keep up the standards and good work with your students.
Gary
the standards should always be upheld begining with the uniform code, day one the standards and expectations set, and reinforced daily.
