Once a week, a classroom at Lincoln Elementary School looks a little different than all the others. Every Tuesday, students in Mr. Mathiason’s class dress for success.
The idea stemmed from Mathiason teaching at Discovery Community School five years prior.
“I had a boy that just admired my suit jackets,” explains Mathiason. “So, I went and bought him a suit jacket. Just the smile on his face alone – that kid was just proud. I always dress up. I noticed a change in the environment in the classroom.”
This year, Mathiason decided to dress his whole class. He started with the boys and purchased dress shirts for all them in his class. He brought old ties from home and a colleague, who also owns a boutique, also brought in ties for the boys to wear.
“Surprisingly, most … wanted to wear them. … They felt it was something they don’t usually get to do and it was new,” explains Mathiason. “More and more of the boys wanted to do it. Now, they walk in [to the classroom] and say, ‘Where’s my shirt?'”
Mathiason believes it is a mindset. His motto is “When we look good, we perform better.”
He says he has noticed a significant difference. Students exhibit more pride in their work.
Jermaine McClure and Don’yae McKenzie, students in Mathiason’s fourth-grade class, were both happy to put on the dress clothes. McClure already knew how to tie a tie, but McKenzie is still learning. The boys are always excited to go to the closet where the dress clothes are washed and hung every week to pick out their shirt and tie for the day.
“It looks like everybody is going to a dance or something,” says McClure.
“Everybody walks better,” McKenzie adds. “When we look good, we do good.”
Mathiason reflects on the little changes. “Tuesday happened to be picture day. They came back in their dress shirts and ties and they were all just standing a little bit taller and straighter with smiles on their faces.”
The girls in Mathiason’s class are part of the dress-up mindset as well, and Mathiason has collected blazers and dresses for the girls to wear.
“Today was the first day we had blazers for the girls to wear,” smiles Mathiason. “We had one girl walking down the hallway like she was a runway model because she was so proud.”
Brianna Merritt, one of Mathiason’s fouth-graders, grinned from ear-to-ear when she put on her blazer for the first time. She wore dress pants, shoes and shirt to school in anticipation of donning her blazer for the first time.
“Well, I like dressing up because I feel nice. Other people think nice of me, too,” says Merritt. “I feel more confident. … I feel like I can do better.”
Mathiason has a mirror in his room, and every morning in class he goes around and holds it up in front of each child and tells them to say something positive about themselves.
“If you wake up every morning and say, ‘You’re an awesome person,’ eventually you’re going to believe you’re an awesome person,” says Mathiason.
The whole idea of “when we look good, we do better” is catching on. Co-teachers in Mathiason’s classroom dress-up on Tuesdays and Principal Hern has joined in, willing to share her own blazers.
One student across the hall from Mathiason’s class asked to wear a tie, too. Mathiason was glad to oblige. Now that student wears his own dress shirt every Tuesday, stopping in to get a tie.
“[There are] smiles on their faces when they walk in . . . where there wasn’t before,” says Mathiason.
These Lincoln fourth-graders are showcasing a new level of confidence, pride and positive attitude just by dressing up every Tuesday in class. They are ready for success in the classroom and in life!
Mathiason will accept donations of additional dress shirts, ties, blazers and dresses for his students.
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