" The sad reality is that it's not always the kids who dress in a casual or sloppy manner, all too often it's the teachers. On a positive note, the trend toward dressing down by teachers, seems to be reversing itself. On the local level, it's not the elementary school teachers that dress like their at home doing household chores, it's mostly at the middle and high schools. Tee shirts, sneakers, jeans, cut offs, cargo pants and flip flops are the norm for some teachers. Fortunately not all teachers dress poorly, but many do. I'm not suggesting that teachers return to the days of suit and ties for the men, and dresses and business suits for the women, but at least put some sense of professionalism in their dress. Docker style pants and a nice polo shirt seems appropriate for both genders. At my place of employment, you would be sent home, and rightfully so, if you showed up dressed like I see many teachers do, particularly in the Mattoon schools. Lastly, I realize that due to the nature of what they teach, such as gym or shop class, some teachers need to dress differently. Am I alone in this thought? "

" What a shame that the local newspaper has to fuel the Mattoon/Charleston high school rivalry, whether deliberate or not. Did the editors check to see if other schools--high schools or middle schools--already have a similar dress code in place before praising the Mattoon decision? Charleston Middle School basketball players wear a dress shirt and pants on game day. The Charleston freshmen players also wear a tie with their dress clothes. The varsity team, while not always in dress clothes, builds team unity and adds to school spirit by dressing alike on game days. For example, on Tuesday they all wore their warmups. And this team unity is not limited to boys' basketball; the girls' basketball teams dress alike or in dress clothes on game days. The football teams wore jerseys on game days. At the middle school, some travel teams not affiliated with school district wore their jerseys to school to display their team unity and spirit. My point is really less to heap praise on the Charleston athletes (Trojan Up!) and more to point out the unfairness of the editorial board's assumption that only Mattoon High School basketball players show their pride through their dress. "

" Early Bird: I agree - it is time that people understand that business casual still implies "business" or professional attire. Flip flops should not be worn in the professional business environment, and I strongly believe that teachers should make more money, but they also need to represent themselves professionally in their skills and how they dress. "

" Wow.. Illinois Transplant.. Where did the Charleston/Mattoon thing come in to this discussion??? I didn't see anything that referred to Charleston athletes. Don't we all live in the same county??? I have recently attended basketball games in Mattoon and in Charleston. The boys and girls on teams from both towns all looked nice. I think the point is athletes represent their school and their community. When they dress nicely it reflects nicely on the school and the community. Obviously the new Mattoon coach is a class act. As a Trojan fan and local to Charleston I can proudly say our coaches are also a class act. By the way, when we play Mattoon I hope we win. When they play someone else, I hope Mattoon wins. "

" I agree totally, it's just hard to take someone seriously when they aren't dressed nicely. I don't believe in Einstein's explanation of the photoelectric effect because he was such a slob. "

" Einstein worked in a lab setting and wasn't a role model for kids. I guess you think it's fine for a teacher to stand up in front of a classroom in cut off jeans, tee shirt and flip flops, huh? Poor analogy, on your part. "

" Einstein was never what one might call a "lab rat". His laboratory was largely confined within his skull. For the most part, he created theories based on logical relationships between fundamental natural laws that were widely known but never before connected. He would often propose experiments for others to test the theories, but rarely did the grunt work himself. He did however work as a substitute teacher before he got a job with the patent office. He later taught classes in theoretical physics at the Swiss Polytechnic, and the University of Prague. He was a self admittedly bad teacher. Perhaps this was due to his bad sense of fashion. "

" See I told you. I'll bet it was the flip flops that did him in. "

" Just for s and g's, I searched for "Einstein" on this here internet thing: www.aip.org/history/einstein popped up! There are many photos of the man on the pages of this website. Almost all of them show him wearing a suit and tie or a sweater and tie. Granted, he didn't dress like a GQ coverboy, but he didn't look like one either. "

" I couldn't agree more! As a business professional and sport fan, this is right on target. I believe that Coach Inman has the right idea on this one. Anyone who was in the gym this past Friday nite when Mattoon beat Danville witnessed the undeniable feeling of unity among the players and their coach. Every spectator felt the bond between the two, and mutual respect between coach and player! I believe that Inman and this team will go down as winners even if they do not win another game. These boys and their coach have already far surpassed the expectations of MHS basketball this season. Congratulations to the MHS Men's Basketball Team and Coach Inman. You men are the definition of winners! Thanks to you for pointing this out in you OPINIONS! "

" Keep up the research gringa. You'll find that Einstein was widely regarded as shabby and unkept by his contemporaries. He rarely combed his hair, and although he did wear suits they were often old and threadbare. Any comprehensive treatise on Einstein will probably include anecdotes about his shabby appearance relative to the norm....get it; relative. After he was offered the office of president of the newly established country of Israel, the man who accepted his refusal stated in private that he was relieved because Einstein wasn't wearing socks when they met. The fact that this was even mentioned implies to me that this must have been quite a fashion faux pas for the time. Einstein was towing what was then acceptable lines of fashion even in the liberal world of acadamia. If you'd like to learn more, check out; "Einstein, His Life and Universe" by Walter Isaacson, or any of the other well referenced biographies about Einstein. "

" OK, you win. I'm not even going to look it up. Since I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt right now, Einstein gets a pass. Thanks for the information. "

" "His rule that players wear ties and slacks before and after games is a winner. It sets a standard of dress that not only makes a good impression, but also builds self-esteem." Why don't you all go have a talk with the reporter who wrote the story in your newspaper about how tattoos are just wonderful and don't hurt your job prospects? Maybe the coach should order all the players to get big tattoos to go along with their ties and slacks? "

" Hmmmm...what does Einstein's slovenly personal habits have to do with any of this? I thought we were talking about dress policies for student athletes. And I too wonder how Charleston sports got into the conversation. "

" As a recent high school graduate within the past 4 years, I can't say that I ever payed attention to what my teachers are wearing. One comment on her is basically saying that if a teacher is not dressed in "business" wear then they are not effective teachers. Who cares? As long as they know the information and know how to teach it and are not coming to school in their pajamas then who cares? Students today want teachers they can relate to, not teachers who have to be so concerned on what they wear that they can't focus on the education they're providing. I'd feel much more comfortable in a class where a teacher is dressed comfortable and not a all where a teacher is having to wear whatever the nazi school district has assigned them to wear. On the topic of HS kids dressing nice on game days, this has been happening for years. When I was in HS the girl's team dressed up game day and even in middle school on Fridays the MJFL kids wore their jerseys to school. Why are we speaking of this as a new thing? Is there really nothing better to cover about this team or about this coach? "

" I'd like to show on tv with you all. called 'What Not To Wear'. It has a lot of neat pointers on dressing appropriately for casual or formal places of work & school. :-) "

" Alright, some of my words were missing, let me try again........ I'd like to share a show that's on tv with you all. It's called 'What Not To Wear'. It has a lot of neat pointers for everyone on dressing appropriately for casual or formal places of work & school. :-) "

" Your editorial is HALF-right ONLY. "Appropriate " dress should indeed be required from first grade on. But uniform or formal/ADULT dress should NOT even be EXEPECTED---much less required--from school KIDS. Should babies wear ties? Do they need collared shirts?" Is a Mickey Mouse tee inappropriate for a primary kid or a NEAT properly-fitted pair of jeans and a striped tee shirt inappropriate for a HS student?? I THINK NOT!!! There is a "frontlash" in this country to expel (YES---see Waterbury ,CT) kids who won't wear uniforms/formal clothes to public schools that FAR exceeds the "sloppiness" backlash you refer to. Again, BB TEAM players are special; I think the coach can do as he wants within reason. But your logic FAILS when it impliedly suggests that ALL school kids must wear not just APPROPRIATE kid clothes (which I agree on) but formal or adult-type clothes to a PUBLIC school. In short---led kids be kids!!! "

" I remember the days when all kids dressed very nicely to go to school, to a dance, anywhere. Adults, too, always dressed very nicely even when going to the store. Unfortunately, today the trend we see is that people in general dress as slobs. Pajama bottoms and slippers in Walmart for example (I just can't figure that one out!). There is no pride in self anymore. But, that's just my opinion! "

" Why should anyone be the judge of what people wear in a non-work setting? (i.e. going to Wal-Mart) If their Pajamas and Flip-flops cover the body, I see no problem. The standards are different for work and business settings. I am a Secondary Education student and we are required to wear "appropriate" attire when viewing, teaching, or visiting a classroom. (Slacks, blouse, nice sweater, skirts at knees or below, ect) I dress very differently when going to "work" and going to Walgreens. After all, people should be thankful for being fortunate enough to own any piece of clothing. "