I remember very clearly when it was that I first realized that teachers are just people, too. I was actually several years out of school myself when it occurred. I was attending an open mic poetry night that lasted long into the night. A group of us were there having a great time – playing music a little bit too loudly and probably laughing just a little bit too much.

We talked about everything under the sun that night. We talked about politics and the history of music and scientific theories about the universe. We talked about the foods we liked and the movies we didn’t and the reason that we had all ended up where we were. And at some point, the conversation came around to careers and it turned out that there were two high school teachers in the group.

As a high school student, I certainly didn’t ever picture my teachers hanging out at open mic poetry nights around town. I pictured them doing tasks like checking classroom supplies off of a school supply list and grading papers late into the night. But of course, teachers are just people. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that students don’t realize that earlier in life!

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