There’s a strange phenomenon happening in the classrooms of our school: the slow disappearance of the line between teacher and student.
Somewhere along the road, some educators decided that being relatable means becoming friends with students.
They want to be the cool teacher so badly that they completely forget they are still the teacher. They start talking and acting as if they’re students, to the point where sometimes they insert themselves into drama as if they’re honorary members of the student body. Sorry, but you don’t even go here.
Yes, the idea may sound quite harmless at first. A teacher who jokes with students, uses slang incorrectly in a sad attempt to be cool, but it’s just not working, as they’re a decade older than us.
Once the boundary blurs, students stop seeing structure and classroom behavior shifts into something closer to chaos than an academic environment. Instructions turn into suggestions and respect turns into something optional. Then the same teacher who was cracking jokes five minutes ago is frustrated that students aren’t taking anything seriously. That is where everything falls apart.
The issue here is that it’s confusing for everyone involved. Students are told they’re basically adults in one breath and then being corrected for behaving too casually in the next. We are encouraged to speak freely, but only within invisible limits that are never clearly defined until suppressed. This creates a system where the rules are flexible till they’re suddenly not.
There is also a minor detail that’s being forgotten: we are still teenagers. Our frontal lobes aren’t fully developed yet, which feels important to mention. Treating teenagers as fully mature adult friends, then acting surprised when they act immature, is equivalent to playing stupid games to win stupid prizes, but the prize here is probably a fist bump from an unhygienic senior boy, who hasn’t turned his work in since freshman year — what a treat…
Teachers are not students’ friends, and that is not an issue — it’s their job. Friendships are built on equality. Classrooms are built on structure. Mixing the two does not create a healthier environment; it creates inconsistency.
Of course, the argument isn’t that classrooms should be cold or overbearingly strict. Some of the best teachers are funny and engaging. They know how to joke around and make class enjoyable while still being able to regain control of a room. How? Because they understand boundaries.
In the end, students do not need another friend in the room. They need someone who they can joke with when appropriate, teach when necessary and still be taken seriously when it matters.
The goal is not distance. The goal is clarity. As there’s a fine, fine line between connection and chaos.
Yet, a lot of classrooms crossed it a while ago.
