A new kind of teacher

When at school yesterday, I noticed something startling about the teachers: they were so cool! They were dressed all hip and trendy, in appropriate and professional ways, and talked to the kids using terms like "buddy" and "friend."

When I was a student, most of the teachers seemed so OLD and wore seasonal sweaters and maybe, on spirit day, wore mom jeans. I don't remember even placing them in the same category of hip-ness as my mother and her friends. Many seemed way older, and the ones who weren't, were still sort of teachery.

My experience at the kids' preschool was tainted by teachers dressed to be messy and change the proverbial diaper or kool-aid spill. The really disconcerting part is the odd way in which they spoke to the children-- all soft and smooth, encouraging calmness and properly focusing our emotions. Now they talk all the time about being safe and understanding our feelings. Last week I saw a 2-year-old throwing a fit in the hall and the teacher, in a voice like butter, said, "Now, it looks like you're not feeling very patient right now, but it's important that we are patient and help mommy put on your coat. Are you feeling impatient?" I stood in awe, wanting to see if that technique would work.

At elementary school, I was in awe at the teachers. Now, more of them are my age, so my perspective has definitely changed. But even in my trendy-mom volunteer finest, I felt dowdy compared to my son's teacher, in her black dress, knee-high boots and tights. Whoa. And when they spoke to the kids, it was a tone of authority and camaraderie, not condescending or overly benevolent. It was great.

I asked my son if his teacher always dressed so cool, and he said, "Yeah." I'm sure a lot of my perception is a difference of perspective, but it couldn't hurt for the kids to learn from teachers who are a tad more hip than ours were.