Teaching can be an incredibly isolating profession. On some days, it is entirely possible for teachers to make it through an entire working day without any adult interaction. And while sometimes it sounds lovely to go into our classrooms, teach, spend our thirty minutes of lunch in our room catching up or grading papers, and then leave at the end of the school day, having fellow teacher friends can genuinely transform your teaching experience.
I consider myself extremely fortunate to have a group of amazing, strong women whom I am happy to call my teacher besties. And ever since I changed districts and schools several years ago, this incredible group has made my teaching career so much more fulfilling.
Here is a list of 5 reasons why you should have teacher besties at your school.
Teacher besties understand each other
Teacher besties will understand one another. They won’t judge you if you don’t want to stay out late on a Friday night. They also won’t even dare ask you to hang out on a school night because they know what lies ahead the next morning. Likewise, once summer comes, your teacher besties are available during the day to relax poolside, grab a cup of coffee, or go shopping at a local bookstore. Likewise, you know that even if you don’t speak all weekend, come Monday, your conversations will pick right up.
Teacher besties know the stress
Many people who aren’t in education don’t quite understand what the job entails. They don’t understand the worry we experience late at night before we drift off to sleep. Sometimes, it is impossible to not think about our students, especially if we know they’re going through a tough time. Your teacher besties understand how stressful testing season is.
Teacher besties make work more enjoyable
In the early years of my career, I used to eat lunch alone in my room. Part of that was because I needed the extra time to feel caught up with everything as a new teacher, and part if that was also because I needed to pump when my children were babies. However, now I make sure that I spend my lunch half hour with my teacher besties. We chat about our lives, our weekends, our classes, and we even collaborate and plan together. Seriously, it is the best, and I look forward to these lunches with my friends.
Teacher besties share the same interests
You all entered the educational field for a reason, and more than likely, you already have more in common than you might think. With that said, it is quite natural for your teacher besties to become, simply, your besties. After all, you work together, you spend your lunches together, you attend PD together, and you might even chaperone dances together.
Teacher besties help one another
Seeing as how teaching can be an isolating career, having teacher besties on campus can be quite helpful. If you ever need emergency sub plans, copies made, or a place to send a student who needs to make up a quiz, your teacher besties will have your back. Knowing that you have a built-in support system in place at school is reassuring, especially since you know your teacher besties are just a text away.
It’s no secret that teaching can be a tough profession, but having a teacher best friend on campus is one sure-fire way to make work a more enjoyable experience. If you are new to your campus, try to reach out to some of the teachers in your grade level or content area. If you’re established on your campus, reach out the new teachers who might not have found their niche on campus yet. After all, there’s always room for one more teacher gathered around the table.
