Often when you see a teacher in a public place you might think, “Why are they here?” or “Is that who I think it is?”
Yes, that is your teacher standing in line paying for groceries.
Impossible, right?
Some teachers get uncomfortable or even embarrassed when seeing one of their students in the same store as them.
Others really don't mind seeing their students in public places or students coming up to them saying hi.
If anything, it makes them feel better.
One of these particular teachers is Mr Smith, a U.S. History teacher.
He isn’t bothered by seeing a student outside of school.
When coaching a Girls’ Softball team, he recognized two of his softball players in a mall. The girls spotted Mr Smith along with his wife, and he did the only thing he thought to do: he looked at them and said “Hi.”
“They were shocked to see me like in an ‘Omg Mr. Smith is in the same store as us,’” he said. “It's cool seeing my students outside of school.’’
Ms. Tarnow, an English teacher, loves seeing her students in public.
“I just annoyingly wave them down,” she says.
Fortunately, Ms. Tarnow knows when to leave students alone.
If she sees one of her students with a significant other, she'd give her students space and wouldn't embarrass them.
“One time I saw one of my students at a bus stop with their significant other and I was driving by. I wanted to say hi but didn't want to embarrass them so I just kept on driving,” she said.
Overall, she adores it when her students see her in public places and come up to her to say hi and have a little talk.
However, not all teachers are as comfortable with students outside of the classroom. Ms. Kaska, the CMHS Dance teacher, in particular, feels surprised when she recognizes students.
“It depends on the relationship with the student,” she claims.
In some cases, if she knows the parents well and has been instructing that student for some years, it wouldn't be weird when she sees said student in public.
Nevertheless, she enjoys seeing one of her students in their own natural habitat, regardless of her past experiences such as students hiding behind their parents backs or being on their phones as a distraction to avoid talking to her.
