There’s nothing more awkward than seeing teachers outside of school. You can see them anywhere: the grocery store, the metro, in Tenley, or riding their bike home from school. Whatever the situation may be, seeing teachers when you’re not in a school setting is always a weird experience.
More often than not, these encounters happen when least expected. “It was Halloween and I decided to go trick or treating with my cousin,” said sophomore Gabby Anifantis . They went up to a house close to hers, and proceeded to the door. “I wasn’t really paying attention to the lady at the door because there were lots of little kids there, but as soon as I got to the door I froze. It was Ms. Belew! I said hi and she definitely recognized me. I just left really quickly after I grabbed my candy. I never knew that she lived near me.”
But what about out of the neighborhood? Senior Hope Stoner says she saw spanish teacher Amy Wopat at the airport. “I saw her in the gate, and then we ended up sitting in the same row on the flight,” she recalls. “I thought it was pretty funny because she had no idea who I was.”
French teacher Lynn Palmer has an interesting perspective. “When I see students outside of school it’s kind of fun, because I see them in a different environment and they see me in a different environment, which gives a human face to somebody who is more than a stand up prop in the classroom,” she says. She thinks it’s the most fun when they’re in a place no where near school. “I’ve seen students on the metro heading to the Nats game before, and that’s kind of cool because the students seem surprised but then sort of happy to see me,” she says. She added that she understands that some situations can be embarrassing for students, and sometimes the most common places can be the most unexpected. “What I think is really awkward for students is when they see teachers in the grocery store. Why, I don’t know.”
Although students may think it’s awkward to see their teachers outside of school, it’s probably not as bad as they think. If everyone just laughs it off, you’ll be sure to make an uncomfortable situation funny!
