Teach & Serve V, No. 11
When We Are “On”
October 16, 2019
Being “on” is a professional hazard for those of us who work at schools. Whether it is in the parking lots of our buildings or at Target or at a concert, as soon as we run into members of our community – be they students or parents – we are ON.
My wife and I live a fair distance from the school at which I am principal. My commute in the morning is typically okay as I come to school early to beat the traffic, but it can be a very challenging one in the afternoon. We have discussed moving to lessen the distance, but we live close to the school where she teaches and we like our house. Moving does not sound particularly tempting right now.
While shortening the commute would be nice, there is something that is sort of lovely about not living near the school at which I work. When we are home or in our neighborhood or shopping or going to a movie, I rarely have to worry about running into a student or a colleague. It is not that I do not want to see these folks. It is that I do not have to worry about being “on” when I am around home.
Being “on” is a professional hazard for those of us who work at schools. Whether it is in the parking lots of our buildings or at Target or at a concert, as soon as we run into members of our community – be they students or parents – we are ON.
There is pressure in being on because being on means we are being watched. Sometimes it means we are being judged. It always means we are in a spotlight. This is a reality of education that we do not consider often enough. Educators are held to a standard of public and private behavior. Educators are focused on. Educators are discussed.
We have to know when we are on. We have to know that the reality is we are always on.
And that’s okay.
But it is also okay to live 15 miles from the schools we work at. That is okay, too!