This week on Do You Know Our Teachers?, we feature a teacher from Springfield, Ohio. They said that although their city had a population of 100,000, it “had a small town vibe.” 

Their entire family lived in Springfield, and all within one square mile of each other, which likely also contributed to the hometown feel. “Yep, my entire family lived in town,” they told me. “Even after my parents got divorced they still lived within one mile of each other. Yeah. It was weird.”

And just like their family, they kept their friends close, too. Their main bond with their best friend was the game Pokemon. The game was quite popular, even when they were in high school. 

When asked about their high school experience, this staff member explained that, “High school was really weird.” The first two years were much less than enjoyable to them, but, after getting involved in a passion class, the story took a turn.

“[It] was really fun after that. Just the friends you make and all the activities you do.” They advise that the more involved you can be in your school, the more positive effects you’ll see in your experience. And they lived by that, almost religiously. 

Because, really, what weren’t they in? “I did Cross Country, Track, Band, Jazz band, Show choir, Pep band, Regular choir, Leo club, National Honors Society, Spanish Honors Society…I was in like, literally everything.” 

And that’s where their pet peeve of complaining students stemmed from. They were the do-it-all, so surely 2 sports isn’t “too much”. 

Apparently, high school also brought some meals that to this day, still just hit different. For starters, everything barbecued. Smoked brisket, pork, anything of such. 

However, the best meal? “Smoked pork, barbecue sauce and mac and cheese.” And there’s a story behind it too. 

“When I was a freshman in High School, this new restaurant in the south end of Springfield opened up called Rudy’s Smokehouse Barbecue. And, that’s where, like, my friends and I started going…anytime we wanted to go out for a ‘nice’ meal. We started going there and it was just so amazing.” It definitely sounds like good food served right to a table where great memories were made. 

As a final note, there is one thing the Springfield Do-It-All has to teach us. 

“Learning to admit that you made a mistake. Because, a lot of times, especially being a newer younger teacher, I wanted to prove that I knew what I was doing. And also, as a new teacher when you’re student teaching you’re only 3 years older than the kids you’re teaching…You feel the need to prove to [your] students that you know what you’re doing. That you’re fully capable, while also admitting when you’re wrong I think tells people that you’re still human.

And that’s a lesson we can all take to heart. 

If you have any ideas for who this week’s teacher is, submit your answers to the Mystery Teacher Form by November 29th, 2021. Thank you so much and we hope you have a great week, and until next time readers!