Have you ever wondered what your teachers were like in high school? In this article, we take a look back at their teenage years.
Ms. Thompson, Science Teacher:
Where did you go to high school, what “clique” and clubs were you in?
I went to Valhalla in the ’90s. I played two seasons of sports. I was also a PL, or at least our version of a PL back then. Then I worked when I got older. We had a SADD Club back then too and I was part of that. I think that was kind of all I had time for.
What was the funniest or most memorable moment you remember from that time?
One Halloween, my friend and I dressed up as ghosts. We wore white sheets and these Italian fedora hats, and nobody knew who we were. We switched seats in our classes, and for some reason, we actually got away with it—the teachers didn’t know! We also appeared in the windows of the cafeteria and scared half the school.
That ended up being our senior yearbook photo—us in our spooky white sheets with the hats. It was really funny. I remember a lot of great things, doing funny stuff with my friends, but that’s probably one of the funniest moments that popped into my mind.
Did you already know you wanted to be a teacher back then, or did you have other ambitions?
I thought I wanted to be a social worker in high school, but never a teacher. I never thought of it. I never thought of science or math, even though I liked both—actually, I liked math even more. But no, I didn’t consider teaching at all.
I was a pharmacy tech, and I wanted to be a pharmacist after that. I was going to go to pharmacy school, but it was very competitive around here, and I didn’t want to go away for college. I wanted to go to St. John’s, actually, but I didn’t get in—I got waitlisted. So I started a biology degree and planned to use that as a stepping stone for pharmacy school since I had about three-quarters of my classes done.
Then I started tutoring a friend’s kid in bio, and I thought, “Oh, maybe I should look into teaching.” I ended up getting my master’s in teaching, and never looking back, it all worked out.
If you could give your teenage self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Don’t assume you know everything early—maybe you’ll change your mind like I did. I never even thought about teaching, and I ended up here, and I’m certainly happy with that decision all these years later—25 years later!
Things can change, and you can learn new things and that’s okay. You don’t have to know everything in ninth or tenth grade. It’s hard to decide what you want to do. Even if you change your mind, go with it—go with what will make you happy, not with what someone else wants you to do. Life is short. Go with what makes you happy and find something you’re passionate about.
Mr. Kon̈ig, Science Teacher:
Where did you go to high school, what “clique” and clubs were you in?
I went to high school in my hometown of Grafing, Bavaria. It’s a small town in Germany. As for clubs and after-school activities, we didn’t have anything like that back then. It was very different from here. There were no school-sponsored clubs or sports; you just went to school in the morning, finished in the early afternoon, and then went home.
What was the funniest or most memorable moment you remember from that time?
It sounds sad, but there really wasn’t one—I was miserable in high school.
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Were there at least any funny moments, maybe even dark humor?
No, not really. It’s strange—I feel like there should have been, but I just remember that time as a period of drudgery.
Did you already know you wanted to be a teacher back then, or did you have other ambitions?
That came later in college. But I did know I wanted to do something in chemistry or at least in the natural sciences. That was pretty clear to me back then.
If you could give your teenage self one piece of advice, what would it be?
You’ll find your tribe later. In college, or while traveling. Don’t give up.
Mr. Hunt, Social Studies Teacher:
Where did you go to high school, what “clique” and clubs were you in?
I went to Greenwich High (Greenwich, CT), the same HS as Ms. Hardesty. High School in the 80’s had a ton of cliques and sub-cliques (like you see in the movie Mean Girls), especially at bigger high schools (mine had 2,400 students). There were the “tree people” (artsy/theater folks that sat around the tree in the student center, metal heads, stoners, jocks, etc). I had my own people that had our own place to hang out in the cafeteria/student center….we didn’t have a name but could be described as the cool nerds.
What was the funniest or most memorable moment you remember from that time?
I don’t have a specific moment, but getting a license was life changing. We spent a lot of time driving around. A driver’s license was freedom!
Did you already know you wanted to be a teacher back then, or did you have other ambitions?
I knew I wanted to be a teacher in high school–though I thought I’d be an English teacher, as those were my favorite classes in HS. I hated my English classes in college, however, and ended up majoring in Religion and Asian Studies.
If you could give your teenage self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Keep doing what you’re doing…everything will work out fine.
