Stranger in a strange land

[MrNurse(x2), ADN]

My wife and I were discussing how we are perceived in the school by the teaching staff. I had often heard that in many respects, teachers, having really never having to commit to a full time job, are in some ways still trapped in perpetual high school. Not so sure I would go that far, but the teacher clique is hard to get into. We have cordial relationships with these teachers, but to say friend is pushing it. It isn't just us nurses, either. The specials teachers, save Spanish and art are outsiders. Anyone really close with teachers at their schools?

[Farawyn]

Yes. I am really good friends with an art teacher and a music teacher, but I mostly hang with guidance and social work.

[BeckyESRN]

Most of the teachers here went to school here and then came back to teach. Everybody knows everybody! I'm really great friends with one of our office staff members and I love the kindergarten and first grade teams of teachers, but other than that, no thanks.

[guest83140]

No, the veterans ones I knew, retired. The new ones are so frazzled that they have little time to be friendly other than with their mentors. They have so many meetings and programs to tend to. I guess I'm more closer to a couple teachers who send ompteen kids as they call and chat and ask for more passes, lol. I'm really close to the attendance clerks, secretaries and some counsellors.

[ohiobobcat]

My BFF is a math teacher at my school, we were friends long before I started here. We hardly see each other at work though. I am friendly with the the rest of the teachers, but I wouldn't say we are friends.

The librarian and I commiserate about being left out of stuff, like departmental staff meetings, and staff meetings that focus on teaching strategies and standardized testing issues (which is most of them) . I am super nice to and appreciate all that our secretaries do for me and the rest of the school. Still friendly, not friends with them though.

[DEgalRN]

Yep, I have a very good relationship with 90% of the teachers. And friends with some of them outside of school, too. We're a small staff and school, so I feel like it's different than if I was in a very large school.

[MrNurse(x2), ADN]

I work with 8 teachers, with specials, 14 and 3 administrators. It seems to be getting better, but still on the outside.

[AdobeRN]

I feel I have good working relationships with majority of the staff - I am good friends with a handful of them. The ones I am good friends with started a few years ago - our sunshine committee would schedule a monthly after school outing for staff, every now and then the outings would be at a happy hour type of place. Whenever it was at a happy hour type of place it was always the same 10-15 of us showing up - we then started meeting on our own on Fridays - now we have a regular scheduled "book club" or "choir practice" meeting every other Friday afternoon. I guess you can say we have our own Happy Hour "clique" :) we are pretty selective as to who we invite since some of the things we talk about could be considered not very nice, but it is our way of blowing of steam.

[kummerspeck]

Teachers are so cliquey. When I taught, it was incredibly obvious that there were cliques and it sucked. At least at the second school I taught at. The first school, they were all 20+ years older than me. Maybe that's why I hung with my school nurses back then.