Teacher Who Says ‘I Love You’ To Her Students Wonders Why People Think It’s Odd
They may never hear it from anyone else in their lives.
PeopleImages Yuri A | Shutterstock In school, we’ve likely heard our teachers tell us, “Good job!” “Study hard!” or “See you tomorrow!”
We probably never heard them say, “I love you” to us. However, it appears that nowadays the sentiment has become quite normal in the classroom, and some teachers believe that it improves the teacher-student relationship significantly.
One teacher who tells her students ‘I love you’ every day doesn’t understand why some people think it’s odd.
Taking to the subreddit r/Teachers, the teacher asked others what they think about telling students they love them and justified why she does it.
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“I’ll say it when my students are leaving class, like, ‘Bye, love you, have a good day!’ or like if one of my students is having a particularly rough time, I’ll just say, ‘Hey I love you and believe in you,’” the teacher shared.
“Some people feel weird about this, but my students don’t seem to mind, and some will say it back. I’ve heard a lot of my co-workers and their students say it, too.” But many people had mixed opinions about the subject.
Some people believe that the relationship between teachers and students should be strictly professional, and saying ‘I love you’ crosses a line.
“I think that’s pretty weird, to be honest. I’m a young male teacher, so I often feel like I have extra eyes on me in regards to inappropriate relationships, so I’m not interested in raising more suspicions,” one Redditor commented.
“I might say, ‘Oh man, I love you guys’ after the kids say something funny or do something cool, but I think the connotation there is very different.”
“For me, love is reserved for a very intense, deep sort of emotion. I don't love my students, and I shouldn't have to,” another user shared. “I like them, often I respect or admire them, and I care about them. I don't need to get lovey-dovey about it.”
Even some parents are uncomfortable with the idea of their children’s teachers saying “I love you” to them. “My son is in elementary school and I hear it daily and find it strange,” one mother commented on a TikTok video regarding co-workers saying it to each other.
TikTok
I can not get over my kid’s nanny hugging their teachers; it makes me so uncomfortable. And I can’t figure out if I’m the problem or not. It’s weird teachers telling their kids, ‘I love you.’”
While many people disagree since love is viewed as a strong word, some teachers say there are perfectly good explanations for saying 'I love you' to their students.
“Upper elementary, male teacher. I say it all the time. I can maybe get why a male teacher would want to hesitate with this, but I think showing students, especially boys, healthy ways of expressing emotions to others is invaluable,” one educator commented.
“I say it, depending on context. It may be the only time they hear it from an adult. The tone is everything, though!” another wrote.
Annie, an elementary school teacher, said that she was told to refrain from telling her students she loves them. However, she believes otherwise, sharing a heartwarming TikTok video of her hugging each one of her students and telling them “I love you” as they leave school for the day.
“This is powerful. You never know how much those kids are or not hearing those words. You are making a difference!!” one person commented. “Life is too short to NOT tell anyone you love them,” noted another.
Some teachers want to instill the idea into their students that at least someone loves them since they may not even hear it from anyone else.
Children thrive on knowing that at least someone in their lives loves them and believes in them. When teachers express that they care about their well-being, students are more likely to work harder and perform better in the classroom.
They may even look forward to coming to school instead of dreading it! Having a trusted adult who loves them makes school a safer and overall happier environment.
In many cases, young students have a hard time seeing their teachers as people with emotions like them since they are often perceived as figures of authority.
When teachers are open with emotions such as love, it humanizes them, and their students feel as if they can trust them.
Some of them have a difficult home life. It never hurts to give them a hug and tell them that you love them so that they can at least hear it from someone and believe it.
Even if teachers do not want to use the word “love,” there are plenty of other ways they can demonstrate care for their students, such as arranging a one-on-one study session if they are struggling academically, allowing them time to decompress and have fun in class, and simply assuring them that they are doing a good job.
A teacher’s faith in their students means more to them than they may ever know.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.