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In an effort to remain positive in our school overall, the Teachers' BreakRoom has signs posted on the tables - "This is a Positive Table...sit with pleasure".  I placed them there myself.  The teacher's area is usually a place where we can break free and say how we feel, but we try to ensure that our conversations are positive. If we do have a complaint about a student, we try to combine our issues to determine if the behavior is the same and what POSITIVE measures can be used to direct the student.  Our campus police officer eats with us, as well as some of the office staff.  We have a combination of people who offer suggestions and make small talk.  Most of us are saved Believers who follow the Gospel, and that makes a big difference!  There are also positive quotes around the walls as well as posters, pictures and other representations of positivity.   We try very hard to keep our conversations about students positive, or to a minimum.  Afterall, this is our time together and we talk about our families, our health and how to stay healthy, lesson plans, standards and anything else that comes to mind.  The idea is to try and remain positive - it's not a place where we air our displeasures about the students.  That does not reflect the best practice of a teacher or representative of our school. 

Yes, as teachers, we use the lunch room as our quick way of shoving food down our throats and crabbing about our day.  We are overworked and underpaid.  We should, however, do ourselves some good mentally instead by talking about positives in our lives or classes.  It is very hard to get caught up in the daily shuffle.