It is often said that teachers (including female teachers) are a special breed of people. Accordingly, there should be a number of indicators in their behavior that unmistakably reveal them as such.
So if you've just arranged a date with someone you've only recently met, pay attention to the signs 😉
We dare to list such “unmistakable” signs…
1. Their definition of “sleeping in” differs significantly from your definition. For you, it means opening your eyes around 10 or 11 a.m. on a Saturday morning (or even later if you've been up all night).
For teachers, it means getting up at 7 a.m. instead of a quarter to 6.
2. If you ask teachers a question, they will most likely immediately switch to teacher mode. This means that they use their hands extensively, articulate slowly and clearly, and usually give you two or three concrete examples at the end.
As a result, it may take a little time for them to get to the heart of their answer and answer your question, “Where would you like to go out?”
3. Their homes are usually littered with all sorts of half-finished art or handmade projects, lesson plans, loose scraps of paper, and an estimated million sharpeners and red pencils.
4. Coffee means different things to teachers than it does to you. For them it has the same value as oxygen, a lifeblood, an indispensable and life-sustaining fuel. “Give me coffee or death.”
For you, it's just a hot drink. "Coffee? You’re welcome, I think I’ll have a cup.”
5. Teachers know a lot about topics you've been thinking about for a long time, like how to find the coefficient in an algebraic equation, how to convert Celsius to Kelvin, or when the Mayans became extinct.
6. They laugh in the faces of people who say, “Wow, it must be great to date a teacher.” They finish work every day at 3:30 or 4 p.m., right?”
7. ... because you discovered that teachers often work much longer hours than people in other professions.
8. You realize that you suddenly know a lot about children you haven't even met yet. They know that Thomas is a real pain in the ass, that Steffi is incredibly intelligent, that Melanie will probably be a bitch when she grows up, and that Christoph is the coolest boy in the world.
9. You have to realize that you are now the mysterious stranger at the teacher's side that you have always asked the students about. You suddenly remember how you asked your then math teacher about her boyfriend, or how fascinated you were when your English teacher was picked up at school by his girlfriend. It seems a bit bizarre to you now that you have suddenly become this person.
10. They've become heated by other people's comments claiming that teachers are overpaid and overrated. That's because you've noticed how much work and dedication your date puts into his or her job, and the very idea that teachers are overpaid seems absolutely ridiculous to you.
11. Whenever teachers stay with you, it always seems like they have twenty different bags and backpacks with them. One with clothes for sleeping overnight, one with a laptop and organizer, one filled with work that still needs to be corrected, and another with a large collection of merchandise and giveaways from the last trade fair visit.
12. Teachers occasionally use adolescent slang and expressions you've probably never heard before.
When you then ask them what that means, you only get an astonished look, as if it was completely incomprehensible that you didn't know these terms.
13. Your date knows all the popular TV shows of today's youth and often refers to them. Then it suddenly occurs to him/her that you probably don't watch the Disney Channel regularly anymore.
14. For every day that teachers come home from work elated, inspired and cheerful, there is a day where you have to convince them not to quit their job and that the world will look different tomorrow.
15. Teachers are truly gifted at calming you down in seconds, using a calm voice, gentle gestures, and a speech that you're sure was originally designed to tame a bunch of rambunctious children.
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