You can take the teacher out of the classroom, but you can’t take the classroom out of the teacher. Every teacher who has left the traditional school system knows exactly what I mean. The habits and quirks we carried for years don’t magically disappear when we hand in our keys—they follow us into our next chapters. Some are funny, some are frustrating, and some are reminders of how deeply the profession shaped us, for better and worse.
The Quirks That Follow Us
School dreams: recurring nightmares about forgotten lesson plans or endless stacks of grading.
Speedy eating and bathroom runs: we learned to survive on lightning-fast breaks, and those patterns are hard to unlearn.
The "teacher look/voice" in public: yes, it still slips out at the grocery store or the park. And, no, I don't mind that at all.
These little quirks are funny, but they’re also proof of how much teaching becomes part of our way of being.
Some Habits That Are Harder to Shake
Some habits aren’t as lighthearted. They speak to the unhealthy coping mechanisms we pick up to make it through the day:
Hiding comfort food or working while eating, watching TV, or even spending time with family 🫤
Forgetting to drink water because there’s no time for bathroom breaks
Living in the burnout/recovery cycle, both daily and yearly
A good work ethic is important, but teachers often take it to an unhealthy extreme. Without a calendar dictating breaks, many of us don’t know when (or even how) to rest. Years of ignoring our body’s cues train us to push past exhaustion until we no longer recognize what balance feels like.
Why These Traits Stick With Us
Teaching trains us to put others first, multitask constantly, and normalize exhaustion. Those patterns don’t vanish when we leave the classroom. They linger, reminding us just how much the profession asked of us—and how much we gave. Until or unless we notice them, we don't have any way to change them.
Where Healing Happens
But here’s the hopeful part: healing happens when we notice. When we've been out of "Survival Mode" long enough to recognize the patterns and unhealthy ways we've learned to accomplish tasks on our ever-growing to-do lists. Without awareness, we take all those exact ways of being into entrepreneurship. We accidentally re-create the very situations we're trying to leave.
I’ve been sharing clips from last year’s retreat, and what struck me most wasn’t the workshops or the content—it was the power of being surrounded by people who get it. People who don’t need an explanation for why you eat fast, dream about grading, or struggle NOT to speak to a child in public.
For years, I've dreamt about creating a year-round version of that community, where we can continue to lift each other up and redefine what it means to thrive as teachers-turned-entrepreneurs. A place for camaraderie, support, accountability, collaboration, and even co-working/body-doubling. A place where we can network and refer students and clients to each other’s businesses. Because when teachers support teachers, everyone wins.
Your Turn
What about you? Which “teacher traits” have stuck with you long after leaving the classroom?
And if a community like this existed, what would you want it to look like? Best wishes always 💕