Teachers Do

Friend of mine invited a co-worker to happy hour. Big mistake.

"No thank you. It's deplorable that teachers attend happy hour right down the street from their school," she said in her non-acceptance speech. "I don't even order a glass of wine with dinner unless I'm in Pasco County or something. Far enough away where I won't run into any of my students."

I know. Pasco County restaurants serve wine?

This particular teacher's list of no-no's doesn't just include an occasional adult beverage. She believes most modern educators are immoral and longs for the days when teachers were kept under virtual house arrest each evening after their tea and mandatory Bible reading.

I happen to believe she is horribly misguided.

Teachers shouldn't have to hide themselves away as if everyday experiences are shameful events. We are human beings and entitled to full and complete lives. Obviously - drug buys on campus shouldn't be tolerated. Yet teachers who live in self-imposed exile take their jobs way too seriously. And, as a result, aren't nearly as effective.

That's right. We aren't doing our jobs if we're not out there mucking it up. The more non-traditional, the more broad our world view and then everyone wins.

Fellow teachers - drink alcohol, write steamy novels, protest nuclear power plants, frequent nudist resorts, attend passion parties, perform in rock bands, and bring an arsenal of experiences from which to draw when dealing with a diverse and ever complicated student population.

Good teachers do this already. And our students are all the better for it.