Chloe Jiang
For a majority of MC students, a typical trip to school involves a good-bye to the ‘rents in the morning, maybe a kiss on the cheek, and a farewell until evening. With this parting, the parent and child then head off their separate ways. However, for a handful of students, their parents and MC come as a group package.
Freshman John Earnest and sophomore Megan Earnest have their dad, AP Physics teacher Mr. Earnest. Freshman Jacob Brooks has his mom, AP Calculus teacher, Mrs. Brooks. And, last but not least, freshman Erika Blichfeldt and junior Kelly Blichfeldt have their father, biology teacher Mr. Blichfeldt.
Having a teacher as a parent, like everything, can have both its benefits as well as its drawbacks. However, the positives often greatly outweigh any negatives.
One of the many advantages of having a parent as a teacher that John Earnest and Jacob Brooks can both agree on is that it is a major convenience.
“At lunch, I go to his classroom. I store some of my stuff inside of his room,” John said.
But, despite these upsides, these students also struggle with some problems a large percentage of MC won’t ever have to deal with.
“It’s kind of weird [having my dad here] because whenever I’m at home, when I try to get his attention, I will just be like ‘Dad, dad, dad,’ and in class I’m just like ‘See me, see me,’” Erika Blichfeldt said.
In addition, at the beginning of the school year, Jacob had his own worries about certain aspects of his circumstance.
“I was a little worried that [my mom] would baby me here, but it’s also really good […]. She’s a good resource,” freshman Jacob Brooks said.
As the year went on, Jacob found that having his mom teach at MC was not as bad as it had first appeared.
“My favorite part [of having my mom here] would probably be eating food in her class and my least favorite part would probably be being labeled as ‘Mrs. Brook’s kid,’” Jacob said.
On the other side of the spectrum, parents Mr. Earnest and Mrs. Brooks both found that having their children here at MC puts their kids in a good environment.
“I love having [Jacob] here because it’s a really great place to be with great teachers so I know he’s in good hands,” Mrs. Brooks said.
Earnest agrees.
“I love it, mostly because I know that this is a great school,” Mr. Earnest said, “There are great teachers. There are great kids. And, I enjoy being around my children and most of the time they enjoy being around me, but it’s not really about me, it’s about the school. That’s why I am glad they are here.”
No matter what, in the long run, Megan, John, Erika, and Jacob can all agree that they would rather have their parents here than someplace else.
“The good thing about [my dad being here] is that he’s kind of there for me, so I guess if I have no friends to hang out with, I can always go in there with him,” Megan said, “I think high school would be a little different without him here.”
