Working in education is a rewarding experience.
I get to teach my favorite content area (English), invest in the lives of young people, and work in a space where I feel free to be me. It’s also been great working with wonderful educators, some of whom I’ve developed trusted friendships with, who’ve approached the workplace with professionalism, positivity, and a great work ethic and attitude.
But the same can’t be said of all educators.
There have been some I’ve met and immediately knew to stay far away from. Negative energy, mean girl vibes, pettiness, messiness, and drama can easily be detected when you pay close attention. People are always communicating messages to us about who they truly are.
In education, the students aren’t always the biggest challenge. Often, it’s the educators who behave like some of the students we teach. It’s disturbing witnessing educators, often grown women, forming alliances and friendships with other educators who shouldn’t be trusted. They create unnecessary stress and division in a space where there’s work that needs to be done. There’s no time for any of this when there are classrooms to manage, content to study, plans to complete, goals to reach, and safety procedures to implement to ensure the well-being of all students.
As a leader, I feel sorry for educators who would do anything to be accepted and approved by others who don’t have their best interests in mind. Everyone is not your friend. And truthfully? Some people won’t like you no matter what you do. You may work with these people, but it’s critical to be careful about who you confide in, what you share, and who you interact with outside of your contract hours.
Even educators who try to be best friends with everyone could have ulterior motives hiding behind surface level smiles and “friendliness” that aren’t good. After all, a friend to all is a friend to none.
I’ve been called standoffish for refusing to link with certain colleagues on a personal level, which doesn’t bother me because I’d rather remain professional, protect my peace, and have healthy boundaries in place. The main thing all educators and professionals in general need to understand is that it’s important to be professional enough to work with people you’d never connect or chill with personally. I’ve seen the childish cliques, workplace Karens, friendship fallouts between people who were betrayed by people they thought they could trust, and watched some learn the hard way about why the workplace isn’t a dating service.
People are always showing us who they are. Read the room and move accordingly.