Ever Heard of A Student's Pet?

Almost everyone knows what a Teacher’s Pet is.

A Teacher’s Pet is a student who spends an exorbitant amount of energy and time trying to please- not impress- the teacher of their choosing.

Traditionally we think of the Teacher's Pet as the goofy kiss-up that goes out of their way to purchase their teacher gifts and do everything they say. But someone can still be a Teacher's Pet with less excessive and more realistic behavior. A Teacher's Pet, from my understanding, is someone who spends a great deal of time chatting up a teacher and getting deeply involved in the specific subjects of the teacher's interests- all for ill-motivated reasons. 

A Teacher’s Pet might hope to eventually achieve some sort of high ranking academic opportunity or improved grades from their teacher, but ultimately this rarely happens. In other words, they are selfish in their approach.

But I would like to suggest here that there is another side to this fake, shallow behavior in the teacher and student relationship.

Have you ever heard of a Student’s Pet?

A Student’s Pet is a teacher that displays the same behaviors as a Teacher’s Pet, but towards students.

This behavior, in my opinion, is exponentially more revolting considering it comes from a person of higher authority, and, presumably, wisdom.

A Student’s Pet will perhaps endear themselves to their students in their words and actions, acting dramatically sympathetic towards the class to the point where they become of little use as a role model. The teacher usually hopes to win the adoration and obedience of the students, because for most whippersnappers, obedience is the same as respect. Ultimately, such teacher/student relationships are based on little substance and involve the delusion of the students.

But both behaviors in severely diluted forms and displayed for the right reasons can be beneficial to everyone involved.

A student that takes a completely genuine interest in a teacher’s field of work and ends up helping them with their work is not “Teacher’s Pet” behavior. And teachers that take the time to get in touch with their students’ perspectives in order to be a better mentor is not “Student’s Pet” behavior- they are often better teachers than ones that choose to completely distance themselves from their students.

As long as the student and teacher relationship is informed by respect and and mutual goodwill, I believe the teacher/student relationship can be one of positive development. I am fortunate to have rarely encountered these behaviors in my academic experience. I just ask that we all keep our habits fairly distant from those of the four-legged variety.

Allow Me This Last Pang

If I had an inordinate amount of time and no realistic obligations, I know exactly what I would do.

I would purchase a great deal of book cases. They would be all shapes, sizes, and styles- mahogany and cedar, ones with curling cornices and lions’ feet, even the hidden drawer or two.

And then I would purchase a great deal of books to fill them with- including the ones people spend forever trying to throw away.

Last of all, I would purchase a hulking, high-backed Victorian armchair- bottle-green with gold tassels, to be exact.

Oh, but how could I forget! The next step would be to install floor to ceiling windows, with heavy drapes pinned to the sides with braided ropes.

And then I would settle into the armchair with a book- any book, anything that vaguely smells of stiffening wood, old glue, and the chemical smell of ink would be welcome.

I would never fall ill from craning my neck over the book or wrinkling my forehead from mental exertion, and I would never contract deep vein thrombosis from sitting for hours on end.

And of course, I would never interrupt my attempt at self-enrichment and escapism to procure something to eat or call up a friend. I would never get bored, I would never miss anything- it would be a perpetual daydream, and my enthusiasm would never dry up, and the books would never run out. It would be the infinitely more awe-inspiring version of Twilight, with more quality literature and less amateur writing.

Such thoughts are what they are- a simple comfort, a stanza of lies repeated, my silly answer to a tangible lack.