Why my students are not my clients

For years I have resisted the encroachment of the language of the business world into the world of education.  Often without realizing it, teachers are using the terms of business management to describe their students and the work we do every day.  Why we abandoned the language of teaching, in favour of language that often obfuscates the meaning of what we do, I will never understand.

In that vein, I recently had an encounter with an administrator in which she referred to students as clients.  Probably stupidly, I had to object and said, quite simply, "Sorry, my students are not my clients.  A student is a whole lot more than a client."

Here in summary, is why my students are not my clients.

• Clients get bills.  I don't send my students or their parents a bill for services rendered.  Even working in a private school, this doesn't happen.
• Clients rarely (ever?) get in trouble.  I don't know anyone who runs a business who reprimands their clients or gives them detention. In fact, that would probably be a pretty good way to go out of business.  As a teacher, however, I sometimes reprimand my students for things they do because I am trying to help them become powerful, positive contributors to society.  Sometimes they annoy each other (or me), and part of my responsibility is to make the group function smoothly.
• Clients don't just drop by to hang out.  Students, however, come by at break, lunch, and even after school.  I don't think I know any lawyers, doctors, or fitness trainers whose clients just want to hang out with them.  [Well, maybe sometimes the fitness trainers...]  I, however, sometimes have to lock the door to get some work done.  Unless it's a Black Friday sale, I don't know of many clients clamouring at the door to get in.
• Clients rarely get nostalgic.  Students on the other hand come by years later to talk about old times or to tell you about how life is changing.  I don't think lawyers often hear, "Hey, do you remember that time I got sued?"  
• Clients rarely drop by with snacks, notes, or little gifts.  Students, on the other hand, send funny messages, share their popcorn, bake cookies, and leave funny notes on your desk. Students often make your day.
• Clients rarely get nicknames.  In the course of a year, I end up with nicknames for most of my students.  Whether it's Megasaurus or adding '-ito' to the end of a student's name, when you spend that much time together, you develop a deeply personal relationship.
• Clients rarely develop a bond with each other.  In a classroom, though, we (students and teachers) become like a weird extended family. 

The number one reason my students are not my 'clients'?  I love my students.  To call them clients belittles the relationship we share and reduces it to some kind of customer service model.  

Because I love them...

I get teary when they do great things; 

I get irritated when they do 'bad' things;

I listen when they cry; 

I teach them how to stand up for themselves and for others;

I hope that they can make the world the place it can and should be;

And I care about them long after they leave my classroom.

A student is not a client.