Male Pre-K Teacher Upset That His Boss Told Him To Wear 'Appropriate' Undergarments To School After His Assistant Complained | YourTango
By: Megan Quinn
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A man never could have imagined that his colleagues would be complaining about his underwear while working at a preschool.
Now he is wondering if he is wrong for refusing to buy new pairs of underwear after his boss' request.
He was asked to wear more 'muted' tones of underwear after a colleague complained about catching a glimpse at work.
Sharing his story to the subreddit thread, r/AmITheA-hole, the man revealed his most recent work dilemma.
The 22-year-old man began his post by sharing that he works as a preschool teacher in a classroom for 3-year-olds. He teaches his class alongside two assistant teachers, whom he says are older women.
"I do a lot of running around and activities with the children, so the center has literally told me to wear athletic clothing to work," he wrote. "I am fine with that. I typically wear a t-shirt and either athletic shorts or joggers."
The man added that he is well over six feet tall and since he works with toddlers, his job requires him to bend over a lot.
Whenever he kneels over, he shares that the top of his underwear is visible for a few moments, which the assistant teachers take notice of.
"She'll say stuff like 'I see London I see France' and even comment on the colors. She'll make comments on it not being professional," the man wrote.
His boss has coke into his classroom to watch him teach numerous times and claims that his boss has never commented about his underwear.
However, one of the assistant teachers took it upon herself to complain to the man's boss about the matter.
"She suggested I wear more 'muted' underwear to work if it's going to be visible," he wrote.
"Not only was it incredibly embarrassing to have to hear my boss talk about my underwear, but doing so would require me to literally go out and buy all new underwear."
The teacher reveals that the majority of his underwear are vibrant colors, and he is unsure if the pair of white briefs he owns even fit him anymore.
While his boss acknowledged that such things can occur while having to bend over, his underwear was "attention-grabbing."
"This is incredibly embarrassing and I want to know if I'm the AH [a-hole] if I simply ignore it, as all my other feedback has been good and I can't imagine them firing me over this," the man wrote.
Most Redditors supported the man and noted that the assistant teacher was being disrespectful by pointing out his underwear.
"I've seen so many butt cracks and underwear in most of the jobs I've had, including daycare. I've never fixed my mouth to make a comment about it unless their clothes were actually ripped and they didn't realize," one user commented. "This is crazy that someone would point it out all the time."
"Complain to your boss and HR that your assistant teachers are sexually harassing you by pointing out your underwear, especially quoting: 'I see London I see France' and even comment on the colors," another user suggested. "This is sexual harassment and they can't demand you change your underwear in any way. End of discussion."
"I kept thinking of how this would play out if the genders were reversed. Harassment is harassment and she shouldn't get away with it," another user pointed out.
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Underwear seems to be a theme this week...
A lot of mine are different colours. New ones I buy will probably be colourful as well.
About a third of mine are white
a third black, the rest every color of the rainbow, few if any patterns.
In my experience 3 year olds are not judgeymental.
Older women?
Maybe the day care should hire younger women?
Many younger women seem to think their bras and underwear are meant to be seen
as accessories.
They are well hosed traps!
What was he teaching, plumbing?
What is meant by this mention of countries? Are these mentions about the countries on the visible section of the Pre-school teachers' underwear?
I do wonder why this is cause for alarm to adults; showing underwear to kids-if alarming to adults, who are right to be observant of what little ones 'ingest' through their eye 'gates,' wouldn't it be shocking for kids (who otherwise should not be considering what a teacher is wearing if he didn't let it 'peep out')?
It is 'wisdom' that teachers should be understated in the classroom as they are attention-getters by virtue of position/rank/status, it need not be 'conversational' about what a teacher is wearing or displaying over their private areas (daily).
It's a very old rhyming taunt
I see London,
I see France,
I see CB's underpants.
It's right up there with
"Dick and Jane [or any other boy and girl] SItting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, First comes love, then comes marriage, Then comes (something) with a baby carriage." Sometimes used as a taunt, sometimes as a jump-rope rhyme AUTHOR: unknown
Thank you. I really never heard it used before.
The kids probably never even noticed.
This is a teachable moment for adults, eh? Should a teacher of any age be permitting for occasion/s, singular or plural, for students to be discussing what is outside or inside their under wear? Mistakes happen, but intentional should be of concern. BTW, in the inverse, in school, kids are covered properly and suitably.
Newstalkers , where long discussions of underwear are just a moment away.
We all, well most of us, wear them all the time...Haha
Better than the useless nonsense of trading insults over tribal BS.
Yeah, this is good (a surprising relief). We should all find some mutual understanding and unity in this subject matter.
Ha, wear colorful underwear it will set you free and upset a couple of ladies that have nothing better to do but to check out underwear.
Here my dear...let me pick that up for you...
Arvo... discussions on here about tracky dacks (sweat pants sounds gross) and now under chunders..
Bring on the budgie smugglers (Speedos) I say...
I hate seeing people's underwear in the workplace. Right up there with women in leggings and short tops so we can all see how many folds they have.... The days of professional work attire have bit the dust.
That sentiment is right on the money. You have captured the best 'tenor' of the discussion in my opinion: It's UNPROFESSIONAL .
Five Stars comment !
What we are doing here is discussing unprofessional behavior by a pre-school instructor. It is unsettling and it warrants questioning why he thinks it is acceptable. Also, what are the 'dress code' standards in that school district for teachers?
We had an official dress code when I started which included wearing pantyhose and closed toe shoes. That code relaxed considerably over time to the point where we occasionally had 'jeans Friday." This one woman, an older woman, would wear the most outlandish age-inappropriate stomach-baring shirts that were bedazzled under a jeans vest. (I'm laughing now at the memory!) I loved her chutzpah and her unabashed self-love. She retired, and I missed that part of her. Just that part. I wasn't crazy about other parts.
You know and I dare say it, letting one's underwear show around pre-schoolers will create a memory that will register in their long-term memories (age 3 or above). It would be tantamount to having a male teacher who permits his trouser 'print' * to display on a regular basis in the classroom, would it not? A child would remember it, even if it does not understand what it means.
* Priint equals penis outline.
Yeah, it's one thing to have the occasional bra strap slip or pants waistband/underwear waistband discrepancy. But it shouldn't be routine at work, for either gender. There are plenty of bra and underwear options out there that allow one to keep one's undies, well, undies.
I remember when teachers weren't allowed to wear jeans, with a few exceptions. It was shirt, tie, and trousers for male teachers, dress, skirt, or slacks for female teachers. There were exceptions for shop and gym teachers.
These days my underwear is OD army surplus all the way down to the ankles.
Sounds like this guy needs longer shirts. Crack kills!
GO CHIEFS!
I dont think the Eagles care.
It should be good regardless of who wins tonight
The offended individual probably can't explain the dichotomy of using your hands to cover your mortified self when caught in your underwear but proudly wear a very teeny bikini a few hours later. It seems she believes underwear is 'naughty.'
Come on Cobaltlblue! He hardly looks like that: ba-Ba-BAZINGA!
Now can you imagine her (in the image) or any female teacher's panty 'top' doing "Peek-a-Boo" undie sessions when she bends, stoops, or turns to face the chalkboard/bulletin board. . . wouldn't it be 'sexually charged' from the git-go?
Are we suggesting/saying that male underwear is not 'sexually charged' by definition?
Know this: I 'heart' you. Don't beat me 'down' too bad!
I think that the woman approached him in an old biddy manner, but I understand. If it were me talking to Captain Underwear, I'd acknowledge that given the strenuous nature of his job (bending, crouching, lifting, etc.) that it would seem to be inconvenient to be concerned about an occasional glimpse of a waistband. Given that, it still would help keep the parents happy, it would keep the administrators happy, his colleagues happy and prevent him from disparaging comments come review time if he kept private things private no matter how incidental it may feel. That's professionalism.
AGREED. Modesty is the name of the game (with pre-schoolers)!
Naughty is nice in certain situations.
Yes. Yes, it certainly is.