Natalie

I am an elementary school teacher that is on sabbatical and looking to pursue my passion for meeting new people and to try something different.  Although I have not  been a paid waitress in many years, I will make the observation that being a school teacher was great training for meeting the demands of being a waitress.

Picture this, in the classroom, students arrive en masse with a variety of expectations. They seat themselves at desks and are given an opening set of instructions. The teacher engages every student in the activity at once.  In a restaurant, customers arrive and are seated at tables with every expectation of a great meal. Hopefully, the arrivals are staggered, but quite often there is a rush of customers who are presented with a menu to make selections. The waitress manages several tables at once.
Back in the classroom, the students’ attendance is recorded, homework collected, and lesson materials distributed by the teacher. The length of class is fixed; once the bell rings, the clock is running. At the restaurant, customers make their selections from the menu; their individual requests are recorded by the waitress. The clock is “running” once the order is taken.
Being a teacher was a great way to develop the skills of timing and monitoring, the skill of delivering materials, and the skill of closure that are needed in the service industry. I love the busy pace and interaction with people that waitressing will give me during my time away from the classroom.