A Chicago teacher holds a weekly event called “Tie Tuesday” to teach his students how to dress professionally and “show them a different side of the world.”
“I’ve been at Dixon for five years,” Daniel Jackson, a second-grade teacher at Dixon Elementary School in Chicago, said in a video released by Chicago Public Schools (CPS), “and each one of my students has had the opportunity to learn how to tie ties but also show their own professionalism”
Every week, he holds an event called “Tie Tuesday” to give his students the chance to dress to impress and complement one another.
“Tie Tuesday is my favorite day of the week. Everyone comes to the second floor, and they’re like ‘let’s see what you’re wearing today,’” he explained.
He told Fox 32 that he learned how to tie a tie from his grandfather, and the tradition of having a scheduled day to dress up originated in his college fraternity.
“In college, I was reminded of how my grandfather taught me how to tie a tie. And I knew I wanted to teach other young men and women how to tie a tie just as I’ve done in our classroom,” Jackson said.
In the CPS video, students talked about why they enjoy the weekly custom.
“When I wear my tie, I feel I am a businessman,” one student said.
“Tie Tuesday helped me in class by motivating me to keep my grades up,” another explained.
Another student told Fox 32, “I like it because I just think we look fancy.”
The outlet noted that parents have begun to donate ties to support the program, and many students continue to wear them even after leaving the second grade.
Jackson, a “proud CPS alumni,” recalled that he was a student in the Chicago Public School system from elementary school all the way to high school before attending Illinois State University. He is now pursuing a master’s degree at Chicago State University with a view toward becoming a principal.
He explained that he wants to show his students “a different side of the world that I know.”
“We’re not trying to make our children perfect, but we’re trying to improve their lives,” he said.
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