Wise Guys Wednesday Words of Wisdom: The Teachers' Lounge!

It's Wednesday, and that means it is "Hump Day!" You are now half-way through your week, and there is light at the end of the tunnel! We are here to brighten your day with Wise Guys Words of Wisdom!

This feature will be appearing on our blog once a week, on Wednesdays from mid August to mid June. The goal is for you to leave with a smile on your face and hopefully a spring in your step to help you finish off the week of school.

Our second installment is all about THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE!

Have you ever noticed that when you drop your students off for lunch, that the workers in the lunchroom sometimes have to shut off the lights, clap, blow a whistle, or scare the bejeezus out of the students to get them to quiet down? If you have, then you know being quiet is serious business when it's time for lunch!

By why isn't this the case for the teachers' lounge? The next time you have lunch, stop just right outside of the teacher's lounge and listen. What do you hear? Is it whispering? Is it the noise of people chewing? Nope, it is loud talking and almost obnoxious laughter to the point of shaking the tables. Teachers are the worst at being quiet when they are together.

But isn't this a double standard? We tell our students to be quiet, but when we get a chance to get together outside of the classroom, there are NO rules. It's every teacher for him/herself. You know what, it's not a double standard. Who am I kidding. We deserve to let off some steam. Let's keep those kids quiet in the lunchroom so they can talk more in class! Now there's a great idea!

Also, have you ever noticed how much junk mail you get in your mailbox in the lounge? Sometimes it's three of the same book order catalog. We could probably save 1/2 of the rainforests around the world if the publishing companies would get their acts together!

Another thing about the teacher's lounge is the teacher refrigerator! Every year, on the loudspeaker after the students have left, we get reminders of removing food before winter break, spring break, and at the end of the year. And guess what, people still forget to throw things out. It gets to the point that we almost have to call in a HAZMAT team to rid the fridge of toxic debris! But no worries here, I only pack cardboard TV dinners for my lunch. I barely have time to wait 5 minutes for the microwave to finish cooking my meal before I have to run off and teach.

A final thing about the teacher's lounge is the dreaded sink and dishes. Now, I don't consider myself the neatest man on earth, but I pick up after myself. But it is amazing to see what teachers leave in the sink or next to it: hardened spaghetti that has turned colors, broccoli chunks stuck in the sink grate, coffee stains around the sink, and so much more. So what did our staff do? We got rid of all the cups, plates, and utensils, and adopted the philosophy, "You bring it, you clean it." And if it sits in the sink for a period of time, it will disappear like a child's homework assignment.

We hope that you were able to get some chuckles and a break from the grind of teaching. Make sure to stop by next Wednesday for another installment of Wise Guys Words of Wisdom! We will be discussing Get to Know your Janitor and Secretary.