Fashion and Education

When thinking about connections between fashion and education, I noticed the way that one goes about learning how to be fashionable and to be educated. In the show What Not To Wear, people are asked to look at themselves in their own clothes and then shown some other options that would make them look better. They are then sent out to find clothes like these on their own and then after not having great success, they are guided a little bit more carefully. This is very similar to good education, although it too often does not work like this. Students need to try things for themselves first before being told how to do something. Then, once they have become invested through trying, they can be coached a bit easier and they are more receptive to a teacher's thoughts. Finally, if they are still struggling, then they can be shown how to accomplish the task at hand. Often times in education, teachers simply tell students how to do something without allowing them to try it first. This creates a disconnect that does not allow the learning process to proceed in the natural method that we saw in the show. Students of both education and fashion need to have a chance to see how their efforts have turned out and then given feedback on what they can improve on and what they have done correctly.

Music bridges to the classroom

Music uses a catchy hook to capture listeners attention and this is very similar to what a classroom teacher must do to capture the imaginations of students. There are many things that students can be thinking about when in class, but the goal is to get them to think about what content you are trying to teach. I teach math, so I would say my job is a little harder than most, but math also lends itself to having students discover the tricks that make it work. They are always there, but they are hard to discover and take effort. In music, when people listen carefully they can hear the reasons why a piece is catchy, but this takes effort as well. Music also compares to teaching in the idea that people and students can enjoy different genres and subjects, but often if they are exposed to new ideas and songs they can be swayed. Many of my students are wary of math, but if I can use a catchy hook I can win them over. Kind of like what Timberlake did to snag a Grammy or two.