Manolo says, here is the Manolo’s latest column for the Express of the Washington Post.

Dear Manolo,

I’m starting a new position this fall as the director of a private Montessori elementary school. All day long, I’m on my feet dealing with parents and students, so I’d like to maintain a certain air of authority. Also, despite the standing image of Montessori education, we’re not a bunch of hippies, so I’d prefer something sophisticated. Please help.

Michelle

Manolo says, the Manolo, who is the fundamentally irresponsible person, could imagine few jobs more taxing than being the director of the elementary school. Of the course, it is not the children whom the Manolo would find most taxing, for indeed, children have the capacity to be both charming and naughty in equal measures.

No, it is the parents who are the problems, with their incessant demands that you prepare their kindergartners for early admission into Harvard while supporting their untenable, sugar-based system of childhood behavioral modification.

“We find that Olivia responds well to Snickers bars. Perhaps you could have Ms. Sarah integrate them into Olivia’s daily work.”

And heaven forefend you must at some point offer mild rebuke to the little snowflakes of such families.

Look! Here is the My Charm from Salvatore Ferragamo, the modest, mid-heel pump that commands respect. The Manolo likes this grey color called “grigio cenare”, although it is also available in blue, and black, and the intriguing brownish-grey colored termed “vulcano”.