No Coffee in Front of Students? That's Taking 'Modeling' Too Far
In this video, Dr. Justin Baeder pushes back against the idea that teachers shouldn't drink coffee in front of students as a form of 'modeling' healthy habits.
Key Takeaways
- Adults and children are different - Teachers drinking coffee is not the same as students drinking energy drinks
- Modeling has limits - The concept of modeling expected behavior doesn't extend to every personal adult choice
- Don't micromanage teachers - Policies like this treat professionals as performers rather than autonomous adults
Transcript
Should teachers be prohibited from drinking coffee in front of students if students are not allowed to drink coffee?
I saw this question come up in a principal discussion today and I think at the elementary level it's a little bit of an easier call but at the secondary level if students are not allowed to drink coffee a lot of people say well you know why are you going to kind of rub that in their face why are we setting a bad example why are we being hypocrites and and Adolescents especially are eager to call adult hypocrites and ask for adult privileges and really kind of put us on the spot and say, well, why can't I have what you have?
Why can't I do what you do?
And I think, you know, I want to be fair to this argument.
I think there is a good argument for modeling.
I think there is a good argument for not rubbing things in kids' faces.
and for setting the kind of example that we want.
And I think for most kinds of professional behavior, I think that's reasonable.
I think our language should be appropriate.
I think we should be modeling what we want our students to do in a lot of cases.
But this one, I think, pushes the limits of that.
I think modeling has its limits because Staff are not students, right?
I think there's just a fundamental degree to which staff are different from students.
Staff are adults.
Students are children or teenagers.
Maybe some of our students are 18, but they can have their Starbucks after school when they're not in school.
And I think it is okay.
Teenagers are always going to say, why can't I do what you do?
You're being unfair to me.
And I think we need to be willing to say, because I am an adult who is at work, not a student who is at school.
When you are an adult at work, you can have your Starbucks, you know, you can bring your whatever.
And, you know, again, I think there are limits to like professionalism on that.
I wouldn't sit at the front of my classroom eating some nachos.
You know, I think there are some, you know, just kind of common sense things that are appropriate for while we're working and some that are not.
But let me know what you think about this.
Like, is it fair to say...
In order to set a good example for our students, in order to model, in order to be consistent with our rules, we're not going to drink coffee in front of students.
Let me know what you think.
But to me, that seems like taking modeling too far.
And I think what's going to happen if we have rules like that for educators is people are going to say, you know what, I'm going to work someplace where I'm going to be treated like an adult because this does not feel like being treated like an adult.
It takes the idea of modeling too far and turns the adult not just into an example for students, but into an actual student.
That to me is the problem here, is that we're saying you not only have to set a good example for students, you have to behave like a student in every way.
And in effect, you are a student.
That to me is too far, but let me know what you think.