LAUGH
Have you ever noticed that teachers are often similar to the students they teach? We even pick up a lot of their strange habits. Here are some of the ways our students have rubbed off on us.
1. Whispering to our friends during PD meetings
Does it drive us crazy when our students talk over us? Absolutely. But does that stop us from having conversations with our friends in the middle of a PD presentation? Absolutely not.
2. Procrastinating (and getting away with it!)
We tell our kids that they can’t do well if they procrastinate, but honestly…sometimes they can. And instead of being mad about that, we’re really just inspired to try out their impressive strategies. Strange habits or genius life hacks? It’s a fine line sometimes.
3. Missing deadlines for submitting work and/or attendance
Whether or not we procrastinated (and we probably did), we will always complete the work that is most important to us. However, like our students, we can make no such promises when it comes to submitting lesson plans, professional goals, or daily attendance.
4. Gossiping. A lot.
We see our students’ eyes light up as they share the newest drama, so we can’t be blamed for seeking out our own gossip-induced adrenaline rush with our teacher friends. You want to talk about the newest frenemies in your class? A ridiculous email from a parent? A secret relationship between two teachers in the building? Count us in.
5. Losing the ability to show up anywhere on time
We’ve gotten so used to tardiness that we don’t even fully understand the concept of “on time” anymore. When we show up to our dinner plans eight minutes late, we’re honestly proud of ourselves for being so prompt.
6. Forgetting to hide it when we roll our eyes
Just like our students, we find life very annoying sometimes. However, unlike our students, we’re supposed to be adults. If we’re lucky, we might be able to disguise our immaturity by saying we have something in our eye.
7. Being a little too unconcerned about our appearance
Some of our students proudly admit it when they show up without brushing their hair and teeth, so we have a new understanding of what it means to look presentable. Too many of us have walked into a grocery store, caught a glimpse of our reflection on something shiny, and realized that we were basically in pajamas.
8. Using teen slang unironically
It may have started off as a joke when we were talking to our students, but it doesn’t take very long for us to pick up their mannerisms. This often comes off as strange habits to other adults. They either have no idea what we’re saying, or they judge us for speaking like the children.
9. Embracing our identity as the class clown
As much as we might hate to admit it, the class clown is…funny. So while we try to limit their off-topic remarks during class, we can’t help but follow their lead and crack some jokes when we’re in a meeting or just a regular conversation.
10. Eating (and thinking about food) constantly
There’s something about being with kids all day that normalizes being hungry and talking about food all the time. We are completely unfazed when we see a kid eating a bag of Doritos at 8:45 in the morning, and we would be lying if we said we’d never done the same thing.
11. Being brutally honest because we’ve forgotten how to filter our thoughts
Yes, kids can be absolutely ruthless, but there’s something so freeing about talking without even attempting to use a filter. So sometimes, whether it’s intentional or not, we use our students as role models and say anything that comes to our mind.
12. Being so sarcastic that people don’t know if we’re being serious
While we may scold our kids for being sassy, we’re always ready for some good sarcasm. We can convince people that something we’re saying is true, but sometimes when we actually do tell the truth, we realize we’ve forgotten how to use a tone that makes people believe us.
13. Zoning out in daily conversations
We know that our attention spans should be longer than our students’, but we often find ourselves daydreaming when we’re supposed to be giving someone our full attention. Like our kids, we need a change of pace if we’re going to officially unglaze our eyes.
14. Waving goodbye to everyone at the end of Zoom meetings
Waving goodbye at the end of Zoom staff meetings is the most ridiculous thing ever. Imagine if we all did this in-person? Yet, we wave back at our students so often now we do it at the end of all meetings.
16. Making inappropriate jokes that would make Michael Scott proud
When our days are filled with a constant stream of “that’s what she said” jokes, we learn to predict them. So we’re proud to admit that, at this point, we can actually make the jokes faster than our kids can. And we can do it all day long.
So yes, we’ve picked up some strange habits from our students, and sometimes it’s hard to tell if we’re actually more mature than them. But we like to think that we’re just young at heart!
