Another truth

The teachers' workroom or lounge can be a place refreshing or toxic, especially to younger teachers. Some professions such as police or medicine develop a type of gallows humor which seems to be a stress reliever. Teachers do as well. I have often cringed when a substitute would join us at the lunch table and a teacher would make a remark such as "That kid is such a mouthbreather." Wow, that sounds so cruel and more than likely the teacher is only reacting to a series of situations with that student or the class in general and is merely letting off steam. Remember when you've seen a mother make an ugly remark to her child in the grocery store and you were shocked? We don't know what preceded that scenario. I'm not absolving teachers, or moms for that matter; I'm just pointing out that most of the time that teacher is only "blowing off steam."