Imaginative Bridges: Fashion and Teaching

The first thing that I picked up on while watching an episode of "What Not To Wear,"was that that in order for any of the things that Stacy and Clinton had in mind to become successful, the person in question must have confidence enough in themselves to change not only the outside, but the inside as well. I think this is a common theme within education. I notice that many of my students are not willing to take risks in relation to the projects we are completing in class. They are not willing to take risks because they are fearful of failure. They don't have the confidence in themselves to succeed. According to Wong and Henrikson (2008) "Indeed, the elements of style – originality, flair, and confidence – seem to describe equally well the goals of both fashion and education."

Not only are students fearful of failure, but how do we get students to become intrinsically motivated to learn? Teaching really is similar to selling a product. How do we get our students to purchase that product? The same rings true for the WNTW show. Stacy and Clinton are, in a way, selling an idea to the subject of the show. How do they get this person to become internally motivated to change? I think that a partial answer to this is confidence. Confidence gives all people the strength to try new things, take risks, and try again if need be; the important part is that they try.