Science teacher Larry Hare recently began Tie Tuesday, a new competition at Blue Valley, where the staff member wearing the best tie on each Tuesday wins a prize.
“Tie Tuesday is a chance to wear a tie and have it judged by another faculty member and potentially win the Tie Tuesday contest,” he said.
The winner of the week receives a soda bought for them by Hare. Math teacher K. Dean Snell won on Tuesday, Sept. 18, wearing a soccer-ball patterned tie.
“I think it’s a fun idea, and it’s a fun way to have a competition with the other teachers,” Snell said. “Win, lose or draw.”
Past judges include cheerleading coach Michelle Wirt, communication arts teacher Kelsey Bakalar, math teacher Robin Lerner, science teacher Azie Taghizadeh and business teacher Mallory Joseph.
“I actually volunteered [to judge] because I thought it was a really positive thing for our staff to do,” Bakalar said. “I like clothes and style — it’s kind of an art form to me in and of itself.”
She chose winner art teacher Mark Mosier’s tie, which depicted the painting “The Scream” by Edward Munch.
“It was actually kind of a funny story,” Bakalar said. “[Math teacher] Mr. [Kyle] Braden, who is a huge K-State fan, wore KU colors, so it was hard for me not to give him the title. I’m a huge KU fan.”
Hare said the competition benefits the staff for many reasons.
“I just think it makes teachers look more professional, and it’s fun,” Hare said. “And it’s competitive. I like competition. I think it has helped our faculty’s camaraderie.”
Snell said the competition is bringing teacher dress to a more professional standard.
“This is my 32nd year teaching, and in my first probably 20 years of teaching, I wore a tie everyday,” he said. “As time went on, the trend became more acceptable for teachers to dress more in business casual clothes. It was a blast from the past to go back to wearing a tie.”
Bakalar said students should participate, too.
“I try to encourage some of the boys,” she said. “I despise Tank Top Tuesday. I don’t want to see that much skin.”