Debate
"Do you serve the kids better when you live in the community?"

YES
Marjorie Rios teaches Spanish at Livingston Academy, a public high school in Livingston, Tennessee. She is active in extracurricular activities despite living 20 miles from school. She has taught for 31 years in Costa Rica, Florida, and Tennessee.

I have lived within a block of my school and even on campus at a boarding school, but I currently live 20 miles from work. So I have taught in both situations. I feel teachers definitely serve the kids better when they live in the community.

Living close to the school, a teacher can attend home ball games, go to band concerts and plays, work on homecoming activities and school dances, decorate the classroom, or do lesson plans without the additional effort of having to drive for miles.

One sees the students in the community more frequently, gets to know the families better, participates in local organizations, and often spends time with students in non-school activities.

When I lived close to or on campus, I really got to know my students. Teenagers, particularly, need adults whom they can trust. Sometimes they have problems to discuss, and in a class of 30 to 35 students, it is frequently difficult to find the time to lend an ear.

However, if a teacher lives in the community, there are more opportunities. I have always enjoyed visiting students' homes, going to their places of worship, and being involved in community activities.

I have taught youth classes at church and have taken students on outings. To me, teaching is not just an 8 to 3 job. It provides the opportunity to help young people grow and mature not only during school hours, but at other times as well.

But now I live far away. When I get home, I am too tired to turn around and go back to school. If I forget something in the classroom or want to drop by school to do a little extra work, it is too long a drive so I refrain from doing so.

I miss going to more activities and sometimes feel a bit guilty because I am not there to cheer on a hard-working student. I know there are many teachers who want their privacy, but I have always enjoyed my students and miss seeing them outside of school as I did when I lived closer.

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NO
Mary Ellin Eisele taught in Georgia for 10 years, followed by one year teaching education at Emory University in Atlanta and one year at the University of Georgia. An NEA-Retired member, she now lives in Cary, North Carolina.

You do not serve students better when you live in the community, nor is the teacher better off.

Having a neighbor or family friend for a teacher puts tremendous pressure on the student, even if that student is doing well. If there are problems, they can break friendships. It happened to me.

For three years, I taught in a small, rural district 25 miles from my home. Almost all the other teachers also lived some distance away. One who lived nearby lamented her situation every day. She could not go anywhere without seeing students or parents.

Then I started teaching one mile from my home in a school where the children of many friends and neighbors were students. At times, it was worse than awful during my six years there. I was relieved to move on to teaching in a university.

I vividly remember one painful episode. A neighborhood boy became my student in sixth grade. His parents had been good friends of mine since before he was born. Little Johnny Smith (I'll call him) was a child who made you smile: bright, energetic, and athletic. As so often happens in middle school, his social life became all-encompassing. Homework and paying attention in school went by the wayside. Parent contact was a must. I sent a low-key note stating the problem.

So began a non-relationship with my friend, his mother. In the grocery store, she changed aisles or avoided eye contact. In other situations, coldness or avoidance were her chosen behaviors. I was being punished for the child's behavior! I believe she was embarrassed that she appeared to be failing in a major parental function. The irony was, I considered my two friends to be the best parents I knew, and Johnny Smith's acting like a typical middle school boy certainly didn't lessen that opinion.

I had him again in eighth grade when he was much more serious and purposeful, and the situation with his mother lightened up. I wish I could say we were fond friends again, but we became only long-time acquaintances.

Yes, it was nice being able to get to school quickly, but the convenience wasn't worth my loss!

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