8 Ways Waitressing Helped Me Be a Better Teacher

Hold the homework, please!

While working my way through college, I held the illustrious position of part-time IHOP waitress. There in my syrup-sticky blue apron, I had no idea serving short stacks would be such a crucial component of my teacher prep process. While I wish I found tips on my tables when the bell rings to end class, hereā€™s how the skills I learned in my pancake wielding days have ā€œservedā€ me well asĀ an educator.

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1. Conflict resolution

Difficult customers help you prepare for future problem resolution with parents. Only now, issues occasionally end with, ā€œWould you like to speak with an administrator?ā€ rather than, ā€œWould you like to speak to my manager?ā€

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2. Patience

In spite of my best efforts, sometimes people just wouldnā€™t listen to me when I was serving them. As my livelihood depended on me keeping my cool, I now handle the occasional need to repeat directions (over and over and over) with grace and an only a slightly feigned smile.

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3. Multitasking

I could have 10 tables to attend to and still, individual diners would keep me tethered tableside, sharing intimate life stories way beyond my time constraints. So I had to learn to listen attentively, while multitasking. Now as a teacher, cue little Johnny telling me about his new puppy while Iā€™m simultaneously taking attendance, prepping for a fire drill, answering a principal email, and trying to figure out who just threw a sandwich across the room.

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4. Stamina

Quick! Think of another job that keeps you on your feet as much as being a teacher. RestaurantĀ server, perhaps? My legs were primed when my first day in the classroom rolled around.Ā 

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5. Tidiness

Have you ever seen the hot mess a toddler can create in a restaurant? Turns out that cleaning up a food tornado under a high chair makes the paper scraps left behind by a cut and paste activity look like childā€™s play.

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6. Letting go

Everyone knows itā€™s the serverā€™s fault when the table next to you gets their order first even though they sat down later, right? Wrong! The kitchen cooked the orders, and I was at their mercy for how and when they arrived. It prepped me nicely for handling the politics that dictate how I can deliver content. In either situation, itā€™s my smiling face on the receiving end of the complaints towards the system.

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7. Meeting individual needs

Differentiating classroom instruction looks a lot like holding the pickles for picking eaters and staying mindful of food allergies for special orders.

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8. Appreciation (and lack thereof)

Fun fact: minimum wage for tip-based professions in the United States is $2.13 per hour. While gratuities make that wage more reasonable, there is nothing like pouring your heart into every cup of coffee only to get stiffed by a table. The weekend and night shifts where I served tables without pay foreshadowed the unpaid overtime on nights and weekends when I became an educator. On the other hand, unexpectedly generous tips brightened my day almost as much as unexpected cards and gifts from my precious students.

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So teacher friends, the next time you visit a restaurant, be especially kind to the kindred spirit busting their tail to bring you breakfast. And, just between you and me, now you know why I circulate my classroom asking my students if they enjoyed their lunch while *almost* reaching out to fill their empty water bottles.