teachers are people too

Like all good teacher's lounges, there is a coffee maker.

I am usually the first teacher here in the mornings. The only person that ever beats me here is the Highschool Principal, Scott Grass. But Mr. Grass doesn't drink coffee. So, when I get here, one of the first things that I do is get the coffee going! (I could talk alot about coffee, but I will save that post for another day.)

I normally head straight up stairs, set my stuff down, grab my coffee mug, and head to the coffee-maker. While the coffee is brewing, I will usually unlock the rest of the doors, unless Mr. Grass has beat me to it, and then go back and wait for the sweet nectar of life to finish its perking.

Now in the teacher's lounge there is also a sink. Above the sink there is a sign that reads:

Teachers,
please wash your dishes.
"Let everything be done
decently and in order..."

That sign is right above the sink full of dirty coffee mugs.

Now, I have to be honest, this has always bothered me. Mostly because I am trying to make some coffee and there are all of these mugs in the way. But also because the sign is right there! Now, I also have to admit, there has been a couple of times that I have left my mug in the sink, but I was the first one there in the morning to clean it.

If I was a real servant, I would probably wash the mugs every morning, but... I don't think so!

The other day the Head Administrator e-mailed all of us to remind us that the sign was there. So for one day there was a clean empty sink.

The funny thing about this is how often I hear myself and the other teachers talking to students about the importance of being obedient in the little things. I guess that teachers are just people too.

One of the things that I think makes a good teacher is when the teacher is real. They are as honest as they can be about their own short-comings. If a teacher is never open about their own struggles, it can be discouraging for the student.

Teachers are people too. Don't forget it.