Look at those teacher emoji—acting like they have this teaching thing all figured out and telling the world a giant pack of lies. Let’s take a closer look at the seven lies the teacher emoji tells the world.
Lie #1: This is Totally Appropriate Recess Wear
Those clothes are pretty sharp. And completely unrealistic. These are not the clothes of someone sitting on the floor teaching a group of kids, getting splashed opening individual cups of peaches while on lunch duty, or baking in the sun during recess. Nice try though. She couldn’t even raise her arms to change out the light bulb on the projector in that blazer.
Lie #2: I Can Go to the Restroom Whenever I Want
Some say the eyes are the window to the soul. These eyes prove that this is no teacher. Do these eyes say he has three hours to go before a bathroom break? Ninety percent of a teacher’s day is spent calculating how long it is until your next chance to make it to the restroom.
Lie #3: I Stand in Front of the Class All Day Long
I’ll be fair to the emoji designers. It’s probably hard to design an authentic teacher emoji. That’s because we’re in constant motion. The day is a whirlwind of teaching, meeting with students, giving feedback, reviewing assignments, and about one hundred other things. None of those things include time to stand in front of a class and smile blankly at your students.
Lie #4: I’m Well Rested
Where are the bags under her eyes? Does this look like an educator who worked a ten hour day and then had to stay up late into the night grading papers and planning lessons? We all know those things only happen off the clock because every minute of her planning time is taken up by meetings and paperwork.
Lie #5: We’re All Still Writing on Chalkboards
Time to move this teacher into the 21st century and put him in front of an interactive whiteboard or at the very least a dry erase board. Even teachers still stuck with chalkboards can give their boards a makeover with adhesive dry erase panels.
Lie #6: The Glasses Are Because We’re Smart
Those of us wearing glasses aren’t doing it to look smarter. We’ve got degrees, certifications, and hundreds of hours of training take care of that. The real reason the teacher emoji is wearing glasses is because years of trying to read messy handwriting and decipher phonetic spelling have ruined his eyes.
Lie #7: Teaching is Solitary
See that teacher standing there all alone? This job isn’t easy, but at the end of the day, we’re in it to make a difference in kids’ lives. We might be exhausted, nearsighted, and smelling faintly of peaches, but we’re never lonely.
What are your thoughts on the teacher emoji? We’d love to hear in the comments.
