"Teaching is the only job where you steal from home to take to work."
In the developed world, almost everyone attends school at some point in their lives. So it's only natural that a large number of TV shows (and movies and books, etc) center around the school experience. In reality, every teacher is different. On TV, however, teachers seem to always fall into one of the following categories:
Tropes:
- Apathetic Teacher: A teacher who doesn't give a damn how well their students do.
- Apple for Teacher: A student gives their teacher an apple.
- Badass Teacher: Calls the roll, then kicks ass.
- Cool Teacher: A teacher who makes learning fun and is well liked by their students.
- Creepy Gym Coach: Gym teachers and coaches that are perverted.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty (the coach version)
- Embarrassing Relative Teacher: My Beloved Smother is now your teacher
- Enthusiastic Newbie Teacher: A friendly teacher who is just out of schooling.
- Evil Teacher: Regardless of which of the other tropes they adopt, this teacher is actively working for the dark side.
- Fired Teacher: Deservedly or not, this educator is on the unemployment line.
- Hippie Teacher: A teacher who dresses and acts like they're from The '60s.
- Hot Librarian: Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
- Hot Teacher: A teacher who is found attractive by their students.
- Loony Librarian: An off-kilter librarian.
- Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher: A teacher who talks to everyone as if they were young children.
- More than Just a Teacher: An overqualified teacher with an extremely impressive skillset.
- Mysterious Teacher's Lounge: What do they do in there?
- Non-Giving-Up School Guy: A person who will do whatever needs to be done to keep kids from skipping school.
- Politically Motivated Teacher: Reading, writing, and either radical or reactionary activism.
- Private Tutor: A teacher who is hired by a family to teach only one student.
- Psychologist Teacher: Actually understands the way their students, and normal people, think.
- Sadist Teacher: A teacher who enjoys tormenting their students.
- Scary Librarian: Also Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
- Schoolmarm: The single teacher, usually working alone, in rural and usually historical settings; may combine with many of the other tropes.
- School Nurse: Charged with the health of the students, and like the Librarian often comes in "Hot" or "Scary" sub-tropes.
- Sensei-chan: A young female schoolteacher who is seen as more of a Cool Big Sis by her students.
- Stern Nun: A nun, usually teaching a class in a religious school, who enforces harsh discipline.
- Stern Teacher: A teacher who can be a bit harsh at times, but in the end truly does care about their students and is only hard on them because they want them to do well.
- Students Playing Matchmaker: Students try to find their teachers a boyfriend or girlfriend.
- Teacher/Parent Romance: A teacher falls in love with the parent of one of their students.
- Teachers Out of School: A student reacts to finding out that teachers have lives outside of school.
- Teacher/Student Romance: A teacher and their student fall in love.
- Teasing the Substitute Teacher: A substitute teacher is treated like a Butt-Monkey by the class they're supposed to be teaching.
In terms of rank, the authority tropes arguably equal are Badass Preacher, Corrupt Corporate Executive, Irish Priest, Preacher Man, Pedophile Priest, Sexy Priest, Sinister Minister and The Vicar. For the next step down, see Student Council President. For the next step up, see Dean Bitterman.
