English teachers are a rare and specific breed. Typically they are found drinking all the coffee or engaging students in yoga-inspired breathing tactics, to help them to calmly write all those essays. They’re well-read and sticklers for rules of grammar, and love to see students use their individual voices and push the limits of their way of thinking.
If these traits are true about you, you might be an English teacher…
YOU LOVE BOOKS!
English teachers love books! It’s no secret. And they want their students to love them just as much as they do! And they prefer real binded books, not those digital versions that are all the craze. English teachers are a classic breed.
YOU GIVE THE MOST HOMEWORK
Your students may dread it, but you know it’s good for them to read 20 – no, 30 – no, 50 pages a night. And don’t forget the journal writing and essay you assigned the last minute of class. All due tomorrow!
YOU TAKE THE RULES OF GRAMMAR VERY SERIOUSLY
Let’s face it. In the age of texting, traditional grammar is going extinct. For all the LOLs,“Yas,” and using “u” instead of “you,” many classically trained English teachers are suffering in their hearts. But you won’t let grammar just die! You correct your students, your colleagues, your significant other… and they love you for it. Really, they aren’t as annoyed as they seem.
YOU HAVE THE MOST WORK OF ANY OTHER TEACHER, AND YOU WEAR IT LIKE A BADGE OF HONOR!
How many English teachers have seen their colleagues in other subjects head off to happy hour to begin their weekend, while they stayed back to grade the mountain of essays they have left to read. Maybe students are right – you do assign too much work! Now you have to grade it all. No way; it’s worth it. Now back to grading!
Finally, as an English teacher, you truly have the chance to move your students and open their minds and hearts with transcendent literature.
WHEN TEACHING SHAKESPEARE, YOU THINK YOUR STUDENTS SEE YOU AS THIS:
BUT REALLY THEY SEE YOU AS THIS: