LAUGH
Teachers come from all walks of life. Every teacher has their own style and strengths. Throughout your career, you’ll likely come across a wide variety. Here are a few you’re sure to recognize. Which teacher are you? Let us know in the comments!
1. The Perfect Classroom Teacher
Otherwise known as the “Pinterest-Ready” teacher, there’s at least one in every school. Classroom decor has taken a new meaning with this kind of teacher. They go to all lengths to make their classroom awesome. They cut their summer breaks weeks short to get started early on the back-to-school preparations, they drop a fair amount of money on materials, and they transform plain, old, ugly walls & drop-down ceilings into learning wonderlands. They do it every season, every holiday, every chance they can, to make it more colorful, more comfortable, and make every student want to stop by.
2. The High-Energy Teacher
If you don’t have one in your school, you’ve surely seen them go viral on social media with their morning warm-up videos, dancing on desks, rapping grammar lessons, and chanting their hearts out. It’s a mystery where they find all the energy and physical endurance to do it every day, but like Energizer bunnies, they keep going and going and going.
3. The Stressed-Out Teacher
Every teacher gets to this state of mind at some point in the school year. It’s only human. There’s only so much one can handle between all the paperwork, meetings, and interruptions that drive us to the very limits of sanity. We all panic sometimes, we all break down every now and then. The stressed-out teacher can often be found taking deep breaths in the middle of class and headache medicine directly after. Don’t be surprised if you see them starting the countdown to summer break, already in the Fall.
4. The Heartfelt Teacher
This is the teacher who would do anything for their students. They lose sleep at night thinking about ways to help the struggling ones. You’ll see students’ drawings hung up all over their walls, their desktops and drawers are full of random gifts every student ever gave them, and you might catch them tearing up over an “aha” moment or a simple sentimental gesture. You’ll see a lot of old students stopping by to say hello to this teacher, and they’ll never forget the names of all their “kids”.
5. The Hard-Ass Teacher
This teacher is hard on their students, but for good reasons. They come to school to teach above all, not to make friends with students. Their respect must be earned and they expect students to take responsibility for all of their actions. These teachers are not cold-hearted, they care more about their students’ progress than most. To them, setting the bar high, making students work hard, and teaching them to be disciplined will prepare them for life more than they’ll ever know.
6. The Know-It-All Teacher
This teacher has memorized all the latest research on best teaching approaches. They’re often the one volunteering to run the Professional Development meetings and sending staff-wide emails about the best teacher conferences to attend. Truth is, they’re extremely passionate about the science behind teaching and got into this profession because of their love for learning. However, they’re also probably the ones asking a question at the end of staff meetings to prolong them another 10-15 minutes!
7. The Burnt-Out Teacher
Again, every teacher feels like this at some point out. Tired teachers have permanent dark circles around their eyes, are always holding a cup of coffee, and act kind of numb to the chaos surrounding them. They fall asleep during staff meetings and have stacks of papers on their desk, which they’ve put off grading for weeks, sometimes months. The question is not: “Are you this teacher?”, it’s: “At what point in the school year will you become this teacher?”
8. The Big Brother/Sister Teacher
Every new teacher’s favorite person in the school. They’ve been around the block, they’re always available for some much-needed support, and always there to let you know it’s gonna be OK. Often referred to as “mentor” or “oh wise one”, they can always be counted on for a pick-me-up when the going gets tough. And boy, does it get tough sometimes!
9. The Health-Crazy Teacher
That teacher who trains for marathons, goes for 5 mile runs before the start of a school day, always has the healthiest lunch, gives their students and co-workers nutritional advice, and somehow with a teacher salary, only eats organic food. Even if you’re not ready to give up your break room snacks and Diet Cokes, these teachers are a great influence to be around. Get to know them better, and you might find yourself replacing soda with yoga!
10. The Always-Complaining Teacher
This one has had enough of the school system BS. Whenever you run into them, they always have a story to tell. The second they see another adult, they explode with everything that set them off so far that day. Misbehaving students, annoying parents, the unannounced observation, the pointless staff meeting, that other teacher they don’t like, the cafeteria food, the extra kid admin threw in their class, you name it. It’s pure entertainment. They’re also often cracking sarcastic comments during staff meetings, adding a little humor to the party.
11. The Over-Organized Teacher
These teachers like their stuff a certain way, and you better not touch a thing, or they’ll notice. They’re in love with lamination, color-coordination, labeling, bins, filing cabinets, bulletin boards, and their precious markers. Their drawers, desktop, and cabinets are meticulous. These over-organized teachers are usually super efficient since they know where everything is. As a result, they’re generally more composed, because they don’t lose their minds trying to find where they put things, all the time.
12. The Jocky-Coach Teacher
He or she is the coach of one of the school’s beloved sports teams. They’re often seen wearing custom athletic apparel from head to toe, or a polo, khakis & sneakers. They can be seen blowing a whistle in the hallway or in the classroom, high-fiving their players, and making sports references to Mathematical equations or History lessons.
13. The Super Teacher
This is the teacher that makes every other teacher look “ordinary“. Their classroom looks like Disney World and Martha Stewart had a baby, they’re always full of energy, well-dressed, well-spoken, loved by students, volunteering at school events, speaking at teacher conferences, and running a successful TpT business on the side. This is a rare breed of human being. It makes us wonder if they actually might have some kind of superpower, or what kind of magic coffee bean they get in their Starbucks latte.
14. The Fashionable Teacher
This teacher might not always be on time or have the best-looking classroom, but they always come to school in style. Even when their world is turned upside-down, they’re on the verge of a mental breakdown, they always look like they’ve got their shit together. How they do it, we’ll never know.
Which of these teachers are you? Let us know in the comments!
