How often do you think about your job?

[MsCoffeeLover]

A friend is in town, and we have had a few nice discussions and gone to lots of fun places. Then I realized that I talk about my kids all the time and my teaching experiences or thinking of ways to incorporate everything I come into contact with into the class room. Just picking her up from the airport, I came home with maps and local events and things to see and do. We went out to eat today, and I asked the owner for an original copy of his menu because not only do I want to share the mediterranean menu, but the owner is also an artist, and I want to share his work with students.

Is this a good or bad thing? Could it be because I am single that I do this? Or is it just a normal day in a teachers life? Do y'all do this as well or do I just need to find other hobbies?

Everything around us is an educational tool.

[Chef Dave]

I always think about my job because as a chef instructor, I work with food. Since I eat at least two meals a day, every time I eat or drink, I think about my work.

When I switch on the television and see a restaurant ad, I look at their specials and think about these dishes are prepared and what their production costs are.

I can't go to a restaurant without analyzing customer service i.e. waiting time, hostess greeting, seating and menu presentation, initial drink orders, server orders, and the wait time for food delivery. I look at the table. Is it clean? Are the salt and pepper shakers full? Was the place setting properly placed?

When the food arrives, I'm often tempted to stick a digital thermometer in it. From a quality control viewpoint, soup should be at least 160 degrees. Hot food should be hot. Cold food should be below 40 degrees.

I taste the food for seasoning and examine plate presentation. While eating the meal, I observe the wait staff in operation. I also wait to see if my server does a follow up to check on the quality of my meal and to see if I need a beverage refill or dessert.

I suspect that my background intimidates my colleagues. Other new teachers get invited to the homes of other faculty members to enjoy a meal ... especially over the holidays. I don't get invited because I'm a chef and I think there's an underlying concern that I would evaluate the meal service and find it wanting. To be truthful, I would evaluate the service. I can't help it - it's my training. I would however, never be so rude as to criticize my host or hostess.

[MissTeach]

My husband and I both teach, and we both are constantly looking for ways to incorporate the 'real world' into our classrooms. We have taken our vacation to a certain place just because we want ideas for our classrooms. At Disney World, my husband went to the offfice just to get statistics about the rides, attendance, etc. so he could use them in his Math classes. We are always thinking about our classes- even all summer.

[wordseater]

Hello!
I and my husband are as well both teachers but we are different... I think I talk about my classes more often than he does... despite he being somehow worried about his students right now, that school year is about to end!
I think the fact of most of my friends are almost all teachers as well, leads us to talk about classes and students most of the time!

[jsfowler]

MsCoffeeLover, I think it is a teacher thing. I am always thinking about my students or my lesson plans or thing to incorporate into my classroom next year. I don't think about it as much during the summer, but during the school year it occupies most of my time. I am already thinking about my coal unit for next year and using interactive notebooks, power teaching, etc.

My husband is not a teacher and gets sick of hearing about school!

[irish223]

I agree. It's a teacher thing. My question is, do people in other professions think about their jobs as much as we do?

[Chef Dave]

I agree. It's a teacher thing. My question is, do people in other professions think about their jobs as much as we do?

I've been a B&B innkeeper/owner and restaurant manager.

Every time I stay in a lodging facility, I evaluate the decor, overall cleanliness, range of services, quality of service, and price.

When I was a restaurant manager, I evaluated other restaurants with regards to improving our own quality of service.

I think it's human nature to compare/contrast.

[Parker]

I'm not so certain it is specifically a teacher thing but rather involves people who are passionate about what they do. My sister is passionate about scrapbooking so literally every place she/we go, she is always thinking about how to integrate something she is seeing/doing into her next project. A friend of mine is a business man but he is always conscious of who he is meeting, what they do, how he can incorporate something they have into his next business deal.

All the teachers who post here I've noticed have a distinct passion for the work emanating from them....

[irish223]

You're probably right... our passion is our common thread.

[smithmt]

Yeah, It is a teacher thing. My wife gets upset when I only talk about teaching things... students succeeding/failing, coworkers & conversations with same, etc.



Everything around us is an educational tool.

I am NOT a TOOL:p

[wig]

Its a teacher thing. My son and dil are teachers. My poor husband has to listen to us talking about teaching every time we get together. LOL (We do talk about other things)

[science_monkey]

I'm not so certain it is specifically a teacher thing but rather involves people who are passionate about what they do.
Absolutely! People who love what they do generally think about it a lot, and hence talk about it a lot.

All the teachers who post here I've noticed have a distinct passion for the work emanating from them....
Another true statement! We love what we do and share our successes, failures, concerns, questions, and stories with others who share that same passion.

I think that forums like this generally tend to draw the type of person who is passionate not only about what they do, but also about helping others in similar situations.

[Chef Dave]

You're probably right... our passion is our common thread.

From your mouth to God's ear.

This is a lot better than suggesting that some of us don't have lives. :eek:

[MissC12]

I'm a first year teacher and I literally have to stop myself from talking about my classroom so much. I thought it was a mixture of being single and being a first year teacher. I know my friends are probably so sick of hearing about "my kids".

[SS Rocks!]

Single has nothing to do with it. I'm engaged and it's my first year and My thoughts are almost constantly on school. Driving to school, in the shower, at dinner, all weekend long...thinking about my kids, my lessons, and what I can do differently or better. I feel bad for my poor fiancee who has to deal with me. She's thinking about wedding stuff while I'm trying to come up with a project that relates to daily life in ancient Rome.

It's nice to know that I'm not the only one that's constantly thinking about school.

[kjem]

I just forwarded this thread to my husband. My obsession with all things classroom has caused more arguments than I can count... maybe this will show him I'm not the only one?

[DarrenB]

When I first started out and made some rookie mistakes, I would stew over them for hours upon hours. Now, I make fewer mistakes that cause me to second guess my decisions and actions in the class and I must say, I enjoy that freedom from the mental work space.

Now that I've taken on additional professional duties with my impending transition to online teacher training, I find myself thinking more frequently about ways to do that or how I can use situations in my classroom as teachable moments for other teachers, rather than creating new teachable moments for my students.

Like others have said, so much of our occupation defines us as individuals. It's only natural that we not keep separate our jobs from our non-job times.

That being said, I think not thinking about work all the time is perfectly fine, too! Don't feel guilty if you aren't motivated to constantly evaluate your day to day moments as opportunities for enhancing your teaching. It's ok to live a life outside and separate from teaching. It's just difficult since we love what we do!

[wtrafton]

My husband is a police chief and he thinks about his job a lot when he is not a work. He fields questions all the time like can police do this or that, what if I do this will I get in trouble. He worries about his officers alot too. We have many friends that are his coworkers so stuff to do with his work comes up frequently.

[SiobhanMarie]

I agree with Parker; because currentlly I work in community services and I am always on the look out for things that could be great resources :)

However I am always collecting resources because deep down I think they'll come in handy in the class room one day!

[greenfiremajick]

I always think about my job because as a chef instructor, I work with food. Since I eat at least two meals a day, every time I eat or drink, I think about my work.

When I switch on the television and see a restaurant ad, I look at their specials and think about these dishes are prepared and what their production costs are.

I can't go to a restaurant without analyzing customer service i.e. waiting time, hostess greeting, seating and menu presentation, initial drink orders, server orders, and the wait time for food delivery. I look at the table. Is it clean? Are the salt and pepper shakers full? Was the place setting properly placed?

When the food arrives, I'm often tempted to stick a digital thermometer in it. From a quality control viewpoint, soup should be at least 160 degrees. Hot food should be hot. Cold food should be below 40 degrees.

I taste the food for seasoning and examine plate presentation. While eating the meal, I observe the wait staff in operation. I also wait to see if my server does a follow up to check on the quality of my meal and to see if I need a beverage refill or dessert.

I suspect that my background intimidates my colleagues. Other new teachers get invited to the homes of other faculty members to enjoy a meal ... especially over the holidays. I don't get invited because I'm a chef and I think there's an underlying concern that I would evaluate the meal service and find it wanting. To be truthful, I would evaluate the service. I can't help it - it's my training. I would however, never be so rude as to criticize my host or hostess.

That's it, David...We may be coming to your house for dinner, but I dunno about you coming to ours!!! Actually, I would probably be perverted enough to serve Hamburger Helper or something, just so I wouldn't feel the pressure of cooking something spectacular enough!!! ;):p

[Mossflower]

I think it goes along with the profession. I'm lucky that my husband is almost as interested in my students as I am. He asks me how "Alex" did on the field trip, or if "Debby" is back at school yet. He is also generous, and when we travel he'll spot a neat book or game, and say "Bet you could use this in class, let's get it." He's a jewel!

[Spectre]

Probably more than I should. I have only recently, in the past few years, begun to try and take more time for me and not obcess on things at school.

[SiobhanMarie]

I think it's good to keep in mind, however, in case you do come across something fantastic that you can use! :)

[Chef Dave]

That's it, David...We may be coming to your house for dinner, but I dunno about you coming to ours!!! Actually, I would probably be perverted enough to serve Hamburger Helper or something, just so I wouldn't feel the pressure of cooking something spectacular enough!!! ;):

Keep in mind that although I am a chef, I am also a bachelor.

On occasion I will eat Chef Boyardee out of a can - a fact that has consistently appalled my assistant manager. :)

[Ima Teacher]

I do that. We'll be on vacation, and I'll take photos , pick up brochures, etc. DH is used to it now, so he doesn't really bother to say anything. Interestingly enough, DH does the same thing. He's a musician, and we can't go to a concert or watch a performance on television without him talking about equipment or the like.

I think it's just natural for people to talk about what they know. We know teaching.