Earlier this week in EDPB 503, our class discussed a student’s anecdote in which she came across two intoxicated teenage boys in a vacant bank parking lot. According to this student, these young men banged on her vehicle window, loudly and laughingly requesting fist bumps and high fives. The student took a moment to consider, rolled down her window, obliged each young man in a high five, shared a laugh, and drove away. Meanwhile, these young men were videotaping the encounter, presumably to upload to social media.
This encounter has been ruminating in my mind all week as I consider how I would react in a similar situation. My desire to enter the teaching profession has largely stemmed from my calling to show young people that they matter and have value in this world: I want to form meaningful relationships with teens that will impact their lives for the better. However, I believe an encounter like the one in the bank parking lot would violate my professional boundaries. I do not want a misconstrued video on Youtube or a misunderstanding outside of school time to undo years of preparing for a fulfilling teaching career. There is definitely a delicate balance between ‘reaching out’ to students and having professional and personal boundaries in the interest of liability, safety, and reputation. In my opinion, this anecdote transcends the particulars of the incident itself, and opens up the question of where ‘the line’ is with student interactions. Where does professional life end, and personal life begin? I am asking myself these questions because the teaching profession is essentially nuanced: teachers spend countless hours outside of school time volunteering, making calls to parents, writing reports, marking, using their own money for class resources, investing in the lives of kids. We bring our work lives home: teachers are always ‘on call’, always thinking about how best to serve their kids, and that makes that personal and professional boundary not as cut and dry as an alternative vocation. It is based upon several days of thinking about this complex issue that I have created a bit of a manifesto for my boundaries as a teacher. I have worked incredibly hard in university for nearly 7 years, and do not want to get burned out, or have a liability issue on my hands. With that in mind, I am committed to the whole person flourishing of each of my students. I will pour out my life, my energy, my time to help my unique learners succeed. I will stay up late marking, making lesson plans, creating hand written letters for each of my graduates. I will bring balloons and treats and make sure kids have lunches and someone to talk with while they eat a lunch. I will coach clubs and write scholarship reference letters. I will go out of my way to ensure that my English Language Arts room is stocked with inclusive and equitable texts. I will take classes to learn the Indigenous language(s) of whatever community I am ultimately placed in, because I am a guest to this place, and have something to learn. That said, when I come home in the evening, my top priorities will be my beautiful family and my own well-being. My students deserve me at my best. Boundaries are in place for everyone’s success; reputations and personal spaces are important. And if an intoxicated young person approaches me on my own time, shoving a camera my direction, and wanting to be ‘buddies’, I will (very carefully to avoid running over toes) drive away and keep on driving. This is not because I do not value their wellbeing, but because I value my students enough to still want to be teaching in 25 years. It is so important to establish professional boundaries in this vocation, and to carve out the physical and emotional spaces needed to run teaching’s long race.
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