Less make-up, shorter hair, quieter high heels: China school district releases 'good teacher' standards
Walking quietly in high heels and wearing light makeup are just some of the dozens of teacher dress code standards recently put forth by district education authorities in East China's Hangzhou.
The recently released list requires teachers in Shangcheng district to follow 78 standards covering basic communication skills, teaching and dress code.
Requirements for appearance and behavior make up nearly 25 percent of the list, with some unduly attention given to female teachers.
Women are instructed to maintain shoulder-length hair or shorter and refrain from heavy make-up and brightly-colored nail polish.
When wearing high-heeled shoes, female teachers are required to "walk quietly," thepaper.cn reported.
Yu Guodi, principal of Chongwen Experimental School in Hangzhou, calls the list "necessary."
"If female teachers keep their hair long, it may be a distraction for students being tutored one-on-one," said Yu, adding the school had authored the standards based on teacher suggestions.
"We also require that male teachers keep their hair short and be clean-shaven," said Yu.
It should be noted that not a single teacher or student was interviewed for the article, nor did the specifications address male teachers who prefer to wear high heels.
