Member-only story
Be Nice to Your Teachers
We’re people, just like you!
It seems like everyone has a lot to say about teachers. We do the job just to get summers off, we handle discipline and behavior issues the wrong way or we don’t understand mental health issues. On the flip side, there are the people that say that teachers change lives or give students wings or whatever else Target prints on tote bags and mugs this year.
As I enter my 10th year of teaching high school, I don’t know if any of those things are true. I do know that I try to show up and do a good job for the kids in my classes so that they like school, love learning and are happy to be in my classroom. That said, it is hard to live your professional life on a stage of sorts, with a constantly rotating audience, many of whom are not interested in and would prefer to not be at your show.
It’s the beginning of August, and I know that means that families across the country are waiting to find out who will be teaching their kids, what their schedule will be and dreading that day when the alarm goes off early and summer vacation is officially over.
This school year, I encourage you all to consider the fact that teachers, whether they are nice, mean, tidy, sloppy, young, old, confusing, kind or just weird, are people too. To help you understand what I mean by this, I am going to describe to you four short…
