Teachers contribute greatly to students’ school lives, taking on positions of guidance, perspective and leadership. One might compare the job of a teacher at school to a parent at home. For some teachers, they actually do both.
Several educators say that teaching their students is akin to having their own kids. While educating teenagers as a career, various teachers at Antioch Community High School are in fact parents to children of their own. With this, some parent-teachers feel that playing both parts has enriched their work in the classroom. English teacher and mother of three, Mary Easton, has seen her parenting style transfer over to that of her teaching and for the better.
“After having my kids, I’ve developed a [better] sense of empathy and understanding,” Easton said. “Parenting requires a great deal of patience and so does teaching. In that sense, I’m a better teacher.”
While having such an impact at school, teachers who are parents are also tasked with balancing their unique work and home lives. Despite the intricacies of maintaining such a lifestyle, many teachers find ways to be sure they are engaged in and out of the classroom. ACHS chemistry teacher Katie Losinger’s own kids have attended ACHS and she has identified what works best for her in being involved both as a teacher and a parent.
“I try and set boundaries for myself personally and try and do most of my work at school,” Losinger said. “I leave that here so that when I’m home, I can be present.”
The transition to having kids as a teacher is an undertaking in itself. Upon having children, teachers have to adapt to their shifting priorities and career approach. Jaycee Ruley, social studies teacher and mom to a one-year-old daughter, is navigating the new relationships between parenting and teaching herself.
“My career approach is that I try and be even more productive while I’m at work,” Ruley said.
Seeing as there is such a considerable correlation between being a teacher and a parent, it is apparent that the two roles significantly influence one another. Being a parent and a teacher can go hand-in-hand and that is made evident by the teachers of ACHS.
“I think that my roles as a parent and as a teacher are similar in many ways,” “Both roles involve guiding, facilitating, developing, and communicating,” Easton said. “They are executed differently in each environment, but I find that the roles overlap in many ways.”
Assuming the responsibilities of a teaching parent can pose its respective challenges. Still, with the impression it can make upon one’s career, it also has the capacity to be doubly rewarding. ACHS parent-teachers represent parallels between teaching and parenting, as well as the conscious care required of both acts.
