Why is this not advisible?

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Why is it not advisable for teachers to live in the same town they teach in?

never heard of that, as far as I know teachers do usually live within driving distance of schools they teach at.

Probably so that the teacher isn't constantly running into students and parents of students in their day to day life - at the grocery store, the gym, the bank, etc. I could imagine that would get awkward / tiring.

Also, if I were a teacher - which is about at the bottom of the list when it comes to jobs I would consider for myself - I think it would feel awkward when / if all my students know where I live.

But would it really be practical for a teacher to live in another town far away and have to make that drive every morning? I remember back when I was in school I did not get the impression most teachers drove from far away towns to come teach.

They might not live in 'exactly' the same town but they might live in a different town which might only be a 20 minute drive away from the school they teach. Where I live in England even if you live in a town which is 3 or 5 miles away kids/parents will do the majority of there food shopping/buissness etc in the town they live in.

And by way my parents have to drive quite a long way to work everyday so it's actually normal to have to travel a great distance to the place you are employed at.

I'm not sure who is advocating that position, but I would say it's quite backwards. I would say teachers *should* live in the same town they teach in, or at least very close. I would perhaps not make it a formal requirement, but I would strongly urge it.

Some towns/cities have regulations about various public officials having to live in the town they work for, I think. Would you want your town run by a mayor who didn't even live in the town?

In the most selective (and expensive) private boarding schools, teachers not only live nearby, but many live on the school grounds, so if that's good enough for the top schools, it should be good enough for every school.

I remember my dad advocated this theory about teachers 14-15 years ago lol

I've never heard this. The teachers I've had usually lived in the nearby area, and occasionally I ran into them in my sparetime, and those who lived closer saw them more frequently.

That said, I think orangegoldgreen has a good point.

My mom' was a teacher before she retired & I never heard of that rule.

Yeah, I've heard-of this----and, I agree that it's not advisable, for this reason:

Teachers are like parents, in that they're not suppose to be your friend, or be in a "friend-like" situation with you, or whatever you wanna call it ("familiar" situation----cuz, "familiarity breeds contempt"), cuz it makes it harder for them to be "above" you (in-charge of you). IMO, it's better to keep your private life separate from your professional life, anyway. Also, kids, ESPECIALLY, don't need to be knowing things, that they might, like, hold against ya----like, "I saw Ms. Smith, yesterday, at the 'Stop and Save', and all she had in her cart, was TV dinners----she's even more pathetic, than I thought she was"----or, something stupid, like that.

Also.....

Edit: I decided to put these statements in a different order, and totally screwed things up, and had to fix it.

Last edited by Campin_Cat on 14 Oct 2016, 9:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Hey O.P. - who is saying this and in what type of place are they located?
Historically teachers lived in the same town they taught. Historically everybody knew everybody's business too.
And historically teachers had to live up to a certain moral standard.
The times have certainly changed or are at least in flux in many places and perhaps this concept is suggested as a shield to your private life.

I have never heard of it. I think the reason why teachers would live out of town where they teach is because they have to find a teaching job and they won't always find it in their own town so they don't mind a twenty minute drive.

I don't know where this "historically" is, but it hasn't been like that, around here, for as long as I've been alive. When I see "historically", I think of the 1800s----cuz, in the 1960s and 70s, when I was in school, almost no teachers lived in the town, where they taught----or, if they did, they lived WAAAAAAY on the other side of town (IOW, if they were of school-age, they would be in a different school district)----and, it's been like that, on up 'til present-day. Maybe it has something to do with living in a major metropolitan area, like I do----Baltimore is HUGE----and, most teachers live 20 or 30 minutes away (and might still live in Baltimore); so, it's not "times have certainly changed", around here.

I think it would depend on the size of the town. Where I live, most staff live relatively near (within about 15 minutes driving distance, I'd estimate) but very few live literally down the road - as I do. (I can walk to the school in 5 minutes.)

I'm a TA and yesterday my teacher mentioned that she "couldn't do it". It's do-able, if you're not planning on making friends with your neighbours.

Downsides include: being careful not to talk about the school or children in it within local proximity/buses residents may be using, needing to behave professionally near your home (it wouldn't go down well if parents saw you drunk or you had a meltdown) and the fact that there's a decent chance parents will know where you live and you never know if one is going to take a dislike to you.

Also the fact that you will spend a lot of time stopping to chat to children who are usually extremely excited to see you and be met with a chorus of "I was you yesterday evening" from the children.

That said, I do still head out to the local corner shop in my PJs. I wouldn't recommend living too far from the school because teachers are expected to work very long hours and commuting cuts down on the time you can sleep, much less partake in recreational activities.