After the final bell rings, students scatter throughout the hallways of North Atlanta diving into their afterschool activities and complaining about the loads of homework they have to complete before the next day. But here is a plot twist, those teachers’ students can’t help but side-eye for not putting grades in when they want them to, actually have lives of their own. Who would have guessed that among all the essays, emails, and meetings, there are people who like to enjoy life, not grading another math quiz? Let’s take a sneak peek at what North Atlanta teachers do in their free time. You might even be surprised.
While most warriors are sleeping snuggly in their beds, some teachers are up and at it way before the sun comes up. Not wanting to completely devote their life to their job, it takes sacrifices like waking up at the crack of dawn to find time for themselves. Early Birds like D’Andra Mcphail, an AP Language and Composition teacher, wake up early to devote time to their passions. “I teach cycling class on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 5 am,” he said. “Although it can be seen as a side job, it is a passion that I just happen to make money with.”
Life often consists of making hard decisions based on what we believe is the better choice. More often than not, people have to choose to have fun and suffer the consequences later or be responsible but not have an enjoyable time. For some teachers, their hobbies force them to balance between their careers inside the classroom and a fun-filled life outside of school. This is the case for U.S. World Affairs teacher, Shandie Everett. “I’ve been skating since I was in sixth grade and the main night to go skating is Sunday from 8 pm to 12 am,” she said. “I can’t be a responsible teacher and give to my students without sleep.”
Teachers often have hobbies that may surprise students. Inside the classroom, most maintain a professional demeanor while outside the classroom, they partake in hobbies that are far beyond grading papers. This is true for Robin Oliver, a World Language teacher at North Atlanta. “Some of my students are surprised when I show them my artwork because they don’t see me being into art,” he said.
Students see their teachers as just the adults that give them pointless assignments but in reality, they have a life outside the classroom. From teaching cycling, skating with friends, and painting, these hobbies show students that teachers are people too with passions that they enjoy. So inside of bashing your teachers for assigning “too much work” ask them about their lives and remember they are humans too!
