There are many different ways that teachers dress at school. Some dress for comfort, and some for fashion. You might’ve even noticed one more than others. Ranging from dress shirts and ties to long, flowy skirts that sweep along the hallway floors, their wardrobe gives us something to look forward to in our long school day. We wanted to dive deeper into the varieties of teacher styles and shine a spotlight on the teachers with the most notable style in our very own building!
The first teacher we’d like to shine a light on is Mr. Beckham! If you ever take a walk on the balcony in D hallway, located between C and A where you overlook the library, that’s where you can find Mr. Beckham in D243. He teaches three subjects, Econ. and Personal Finance, Digital Marketing, and Fashion Marketing. You might have him for your junior year! Notable for bringing a sort of ‘different’ style to CHS, we’ve decided to showcase his style of fashion first.
Mr Beckham, who tells us he prefers to dress just however he feels is the most comfortable for him, said “Basically whatever I want.” referring to the way he dresses. We also asked him if the subject he teaches impacts the way he dresses and his answer was a chuckling “No,” and added on “Personal finance is more… business ‘suit-y’.” — If you know Mr. Beckham, you know he is not one for suits. He shared an interesting fact with us about what helped him find his style over time. He would say his biggest thing is world travel. “Just seeing how people– especially [the way] men dress in other countries. It’s completely different. And turns out there are barely any rules.” You go, Mr. Beckham! Despite the impact of international men’s fashion, he said he has no specific inspiration for his style. He much prefers how the clothes feel, the patterns, shapes, and colors he enjoys over a distinct aesthetic. Lastly, we asked Mr. Beckham about the student reactions to his unconventional style of dress. He says it’s “the entire spectrum.” From students not making eye contact with him to others being really excited about it. He says “I think there’s somewhere in the middle where people just don’t care.” – Thank you Mr. Beckham for adding some fashionable flair to CHS.
The next teacher who we decided to interview is Mr. Deegan. He teaches AP World History and US History in the C100 hall! Many sophomores and juniors like to take on the challenge of the difficult AP course. Mr. Deegan is known for his cheery personality and his daily dad jokes! Though it might be a hard class, Mr. Deegan’s presence makes it feel a lot easier. We noticed his style because he seemed to prefer to stay more formal.
Mr. Deegan describes that he typically enjoys dressing up and often likes wearing a tie and a tie clip. “I find when I dress up, I have a little bit more of a swagger and when I feel good, I tend to teach better so that’s become my philosophy,” Mr. Deegan explained. He was very clear that this was a personal opinion and he is sure that anyone who doesn’t do the same is a great teacher, this is just his theory about himself. Mr. Deegan hopes that his style communicates to his students that he takes his job seriously and that “what we do here matters”. Mr. Deegan described that he tends to dress more sporty outside of school because yes, it is more comfortable. He has two younger kids and is often “running around with them”. Thank you Mr. Deegan for keeping it classic and timeless.
The last teacher we talked to was Mrs. Horne. Known for being an energetic and patient teacher, her students have described her as loveable, kind, and always ready for a good time. She teaches English and Public Speaking. She’s been at CHS for 17 years. Ms. Horne describes her preferred way of dressing is to “never look boring”. She explained that the classes she teaches absolutely inspire the way she dresses because she finds that “students always appreciate never boring” and she is constantly inspired by what her students wear as well, “I feel like it’s a culture of let’s not look boring!”. With being a self-proclaimed thrift master, usually half of what she wears is thrifted. From thrifting in Richmond to switching online to eBay and Poshmark, she enjoys surveying the land of fashion. She likes ‘weird’ clothing, never the one for fitting it.
