The article does also bring up another fashion related idea which is “What Not to Wear”, the tv show. It came to my attention that this fashion show idea is very similar as to how students learn differently. Each candidate’s new fashion style on the show is tailored to their personality and so should students’ learning. As teachers, it is important to involve a variety of teaching strategies to best support students with different learning styles.
I surprised myself as to how intrigued I was with David Wong and Danah Hendricksen’s “If Ideas WERE Fashion” read. The article talks about how advertisements like iPod’s Silhouette advertisement catc hes the audience’s attention, how everyone wants to have the next big thing, how celebrities help attract consumers to a certain product, but most importantly, how successful ads are able to “evoke feelings of connection and possibility” (p 190). I felt as there was a theme being told and its connection to teachers is that educators need to be able to sell their lessons. If we want to attract our students, we need to act as good sales representatives. We need to know what interests our audience and market the curriculum towards them. On top of this, it creates inclusivity in the classroom as students feel represented in their learning.
Furthermore, after reading this article, I reflected upon myself and came to a conclusion that I need to be like a fashion designer. Fashion has constantly been changing throughout the years (here’s a little fun video you can watch to see how fashion has changed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4z90wlwYs8 ), The fashion analogy that came to my mind is that educators need to be aware of the latest fashion trends. Fashion designers are always constantly trying to create the new “fad” as the consumers are trying to keep up to date, buying and trying the latest clothes. Educators need to know what the latest trends are in teaching to better meet the needs of their students. Teachers are trying different ways to incorporate technology into the classroom, which is the “fad” right now in the education world, but we need to sell the product properly. We need to be able to teach with the 21st century technology, including the 21st century pedagogy.
In conclusion, ideas and teaching is like fashion and can be treated with a similar mindset. In addition, how about sports? Here’s a little fun video by Key & Peele that delivers a message of what would the world be like if teachers were treated like athletes. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkHqPFbxmOU
Reference:
Henriksen, D., & Wong, D. (2008). “Chapter Eleven: If Ideas were Fashion”. Mirror Images: Popular Culture and Education, 338, p 179-198