In college, all of my education professors warned of the dangers of 鈥渢he teachers鈥� lounge"鈥攁 bastion of gossip and backbiting in schools, they said. I always thought that it must be an over-exaggeration. During my student-teaching assignment, my cooperating teacher was such an incredible mentor that I came to believe the dangers of the teachers鈥� lounge could only be a myth. She never talked poorly about anyone and always had a positive attitude. Her outlooks on teaching, collaboration, and positive teacher-student interactions were infectious. If the way she conducted herself was any indication, teachers weren鈥檛 gossip hounds anymore.
As I moved forward in my own career in teaching, I continued to see the nefarious version of the teachers鈥� lounge as a kind of misrepresentation. Even so, professors鈥� words echoed in the back of my mind: 鈥淲atch out for the teachers鈥� lounge.鈥� In my first few years in teaching, I was shy, quiet, and mostly kept to myself unless I was talking with my close friend at work.
What I failed to realize is that the teachers鈥� lounge has its way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it. You don鈥檛 even realize it has begun taking hold of you until it has completely sucked you into its vortex of gossip and negativity. To my own detriment, my professors failed to share with me that the teachers鈥� lounge does not remain only in the teachers鈥� lounge proper. The teachers鈥� lounge can be anywhere: a teacher鈥檚 classroom, the hallway, or during the time waiting for a faculty meeting. As a matter of fact, the teachers鈥� lounge is not a place at all. It is an attitude or atmosphere fostered by disenchanted teachers intent on bringing everyone down a level.
Innocent Beginnings
It starts out inconspicuously, as any normal conversation might. A coworker comes over to you with a smile on her face and asks a seemingly innocent question, 鈥淗ow did your PLC go today?鈥� That was how it happened for me. My initial reaction was, 鈥淥h, she seems nice.鈥� But behind that friendly smile was someone with the intent of intertwining my words into their vine of stories, and sadly, my naivet茅鈥攁long with her apparent congeniality鈥攎ade me easy prey. We were soon chatting about colleagues.
鈥淥ne little piece of gossip won鈥檛 hurt me. And I鈥檓 mostly just listening, so I am an innocent bystander.鈥�
That鈥檚 what I told myself. But then I got in deeper, by imperceptible degrees.
Since I am a naturally quiet person who listens more than I speak, colleagues soon began coming and telling me all of the 鈥渓ittle鈥� things they had seen or heard that day. I had become like with little birds gathering whispers from all over the school for me. With such an abundance of gossip running through my mind, I couldn鈥檛 contain it all and had to share with someone. Still being completely na茂ve of the path I had taken, I ran off to the person who asked me that first seemingly innocent question. The words poured out of my mouth with ease: 鈥淒id you hear how Smith strolled into Foster鈥檚 room today and started bashing Thomas right in front of her kids?!鈥�
Weeks and months passed before I finally realized the path I had taken myself down. I had entered the 鈥渢eachers鈥� lounge鈥� without knowing it. I had become a part of the place all my college professors warned me about.
Walking Away
Once you enter the teachers鈥� lounge, it鈥檚 not easy to escape. Everyone expects to be able to share their juicy gossip with you and get information in return. The problem with being a part of the teachers鈥� lounge is that it breeds negativity. As that negativity festers, it spreads like the plague, polluting the minds of an entire team of teachers. The tragedy of this is that the teachers鈥� sickness then spreads to the students.
How many times have you had to intervene in he-said, she-said drama with students? We give advice to our students on how to keep these situations from occurring or how to end the dramatics, but how often do we follow our own advice? As teachers, we should be role models.
When faced with the opportunity to join in on the teachers鈥� lounge, we need to find a reason to walk away or a way to change the topic. We need to rise above the teachers鈥� lounge mentality and bring positivity back into our schools. The task may not be easy, but if we can place these expectations on our students, then we should take on those same expectations.
Together, as constructive educators, we can defuse the teachers鈥� lounge of its power.
