“Teachers are Teachers, School is Their Home”

Are teachers only defined by their role in the classroom? Do teachers have identities outside of being a teacher?

I recently stumbled upon this quote when doing a google search (for what? I can’t remember) and it made me stop and think. Is this what people actually think about teachers? Do people only see teachers as teachers and nothing else?

Yes, we do spend a significant amount of time at school and in our classrooms, sometimes we even have to take our work home with us. But we also have lives outside of teaching. We have identities outside of the classroom.

I asked my coworkers what they thought of the quote and received mixed feelings. Some said, “yes, school is our home. This is where we create a sense of family, love one another, and help each other to learn and get better.” Other coworkers said that they were offended by the phrase, that we do not live at school and have other things going on outside of teaching. They also mentioned that the phrase made them feel like they are there just to serve families and be available to them all the time.

I was left somewhere in the middle. I spent more time sitting and thinking about how the quote made me feel. I could see my coworkers’ points of views on both sides. We strive to create a family-like atmosphere here at school, especially since we work with children between 2 years old and 5 years old. We create strong bonds with our students and families and give the kids lots of love. We also invest some (sometimes a lot) of our own money into our classrooms like we would at home.

However, I was still offended at the notion that some people only identified and labeled me as my job. I am more than just a teacher and I have more than just my job going on in my life (this is part of the reason why I started this blog, to share the life of a teacher outside of the classroom). I am a fid (fur and feathered kid) mom, a graduate student, a fiance, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and so much more. If anything, I feel like my teaching background has helped me to be better in all the other areas of my life.

Being a teacher has made me be more creative and provided me with skills to further my crafts, but blogging and running a business (that I recently closed) has allowed me to be creative in different ways that arts and crafts with my students or creating unique lessons and activities. Teaching has made me a better speaker as well as a listener, which came in handy when I was competing in pageants and would have to go to various events or speak publicly. Being a teacher also taught me to be more patient, which is so necessary in all parts of life but especially when I am training my fids.

I feel a better way to phrase the quote would be to say that teachers are humans and their home is wherever their passion is. This is the quote I want to share with the teacher candidates I mentor as I know that it is already tricky being a teacher and the burn out is real. I want them to remember that teaching is not a life sentence, it’s not just a job. It is a choice and the most passionate teachers are the happiest and make the greatest difference in their students’ lives.

My question for you, my readers, is do you feel that it is okay to label and identify someone based on their job(s)? Is your identity based on your profession?