The point is that if you have a rule, you have to follow it yourself or the kids will question you, and worse, lose respect. No food allowed in the classroom and you have a Starbucks blueberry scone every morning that you eat during class? Just saying. I learned from experience. (The beauty of teaching 16- and 17-year-olds: They don't often hold back their opinions.) Being a model for what we expect is at times inconvenient and exhausting but it comes with the job