From giving up the luxuries of Late Start days to receiving free homework help, the life of a teacher’s child is not like that of an ordinary student. A student’s high school experience certainly differs when his or her parent is present on campus. In a short Q&A with those in such positions, the Bull’s Eye has gathered some information about the daily lives of a teacher’s child.
Bull’s Eye: Do you sometimes find it is helpful that your parent is a teacher on campus?
McKenna Acciani: Yes, because I can go to my dad whenever I need something or help with a class.
Katie Desmond: Yes, if I have a question about school or schedules, he helps me work it out.
Gracie Sorensen: I think it’s really helpful because they can help me with homework and they know what the teachers are expecting so I know what I have to do [to succeed].
Holly Thomas: Yeah, whenever I don’t understand math she’s always there to help me.
Kali DeCambra: Yeah, because when a class gets pizza or she has a pizza party, I can get pizza. And it’s just nice. If I need to print out an extra copy of a worksheet, I can go to her room.
Molly McCabe: Yes, because if I forget my lunch sometimes, he takes me out and buys me lunch. And I know a lot of teachers because of him.
Spenser Brose: Of course, because I don’t need a locker. I usually just put [my soccer stuff] in my dad’s room. Also if I have a question about math, homework, or anything else, he helps me out.
BE: How do you think your life differs because you’re the son/daughter of a teacher?
MA: It is not much different except sometimes I have to wait for him while he is in rehearsal to leave.
KD: It’s cool because if I need something he’s there. That’s always kind of nice.
GS: Usually my friends and I hang around in my parents’ room at school until four or five, and on late starts I can’t sleep in. But high school in general is different for me because I used to attend a private school until middle school that had kids from pre-school to eighth grade. There were only about 250 kids so this is definitely different
HT: A lot of feelings that freshman feel, I never really experienced because I already knew the school and I knew where the classrooms were. I guess I never really had to stand on my own. Even when I would forget anything, I could always come [to my mom’s classroom] and get it. It’s easier in many ways, but it could be a hassle at times.
KDeC: I think that it’s nice knowing the administration and knowing a lot more students and it’s good socially because you just know a lot more people you wouldn’t normally get to know
MM: People and teachers just tend to know me better. But because of that, people have higher expectations of me.
SB: I don’t really see it as different, but it made me somewhat popular, in the sense that people would come up to me asking if I was Brose’s son. So it was a lot easier to socialize. But I always have to keep in mind that my reputation affects his reputation so I have to be a good kid, and that influences me to do well. So I guess it’s a positive effect.
BE: Do you sometimes think it’s an invasion of your privacy?
MA: Kind of because I know he could check up on me with any of my teachers or GLC to see if I did anything wrong.
KD: A lot of people ask, “Is your dad Mr. Desmond?” It can get pretty annoying sometimes, but I’m used to it.
GS: No not really. I know my dad has mentioned me in his class a couple times (because I have some “spies” in his classes) but I don’t really care that much.
HT: Yeah, sometimes randomly [my mom] would start talking about [some sophomores I know] and I ask her how she found out about these things because they’re not even in her classes. It’s weird. Also, random people come up to me and know things about me because she talks about me in class. It can be embarrassing at times.
KDeC: Yeah a little; in her room there are pictures of me when I was little. Also, sometimes students don’t really know who I am, but rather [see me] as DeCambra’s daughter so it’s hard to have my own identity.
MM: Well, I’m used to it in a way because I went to elementary school with my mom who was a teacher there. But high school’s definitely different. It’s different from being just a normal high schooler.
SB: Not really. I actually introduce him to my friends sometimes. I just hope that I’m making good friends so that I’m not in the wrong group. But like I said, if I do something stupid, it affects him and me. Not that I ever would.
