I’m a relatively new teacher and I’m just developing my “teacher persona,” but it’s very effective at removing me as an option from most people’s consideration and at shaming people who are behaving poorly.

I was a waitress for several years and though my server persona is not as open/kind as the teacher one, the teacher one is a thousand times more effective. I think it’s because it makes people actually feel a little bit like they’re a student again, but I don’t know how that actually works- I will straight up scold people if they deserve it (I’m turning into the old German I always wanted to be), but it’s normally just a vibe.

That said, I accepted an invitation for coffee last week, then the pin dropped and before I could stop myself, I said out loud “wait, like romantically?” and watched his soul exit his body and only then held up my hand with the wedding ring on it. It was indelicate, and I did not want him to feel bad (he was very polite about it and he’s been a regular I like at my bakery for years- I still like him, I just don’t want to go on a coffee date with anyone), but goddamn was it effective.