Do we really know our teachers? I was able to interview Mrs. Diedrich, a PHY ED teacher, to get to know a little bit more about her. She shares what she listens to before and after school, her outdoor hobbies, and what she would do if she wasn’t a teacher.
Q: What music do you listen to outside of school?
A: On my way to school, I actually listen to audio books. I don’t listen to music. I like to use that to decompress at the end of the day and at the beginning of the school day. That’s the only time I have time to do that. If I wasn’t at school, I would listen to country music, 24/7, but my students don’t always appreciate it, or not everybody does. Then I usually pick whatever playlist they have or whatever they think it’s popular and appropriate.
Q: What is your favorite hobby?
A: Oh, I like doing things with my friends and family. I really like when it’s nice outside. I like hiking and biking. We like kayaking; we also go scuba diving. I love doing that, if I could afford that I would do that all the time. I love the ocean. If I could move someplace warm, that would be a great hobby.
Q: What are some of the places you’ve been scuba diving, or things you’ve see?
A: We’ve gone on all school trips for the last 11 years; every other year we take students. We’ve been to Bonaire three times, Roatan we’re going for our second time now, and we’ve been to the Cayman Islands. We’ve seen sharks, octopus, eagle rays, puffer fish, and squid. Everything, I guess. If I had an ultimate bucket list, I would want to go dive somewhere and see whale sharks at some point, and big manta rays. We did just go ourselves to the dive aquarium in Georgia where we got to dive with whale sharks and manta rays, but it was in a big aquarium, so it wasn’t the same as in a natural environment. It’s very contained, but they were huge when you look up and this big whale shark is going right over the top of you. But I think in a natural environment, it might even be more scary, more unpredictable.
Q: If you weren’t teaching, what would you be doing?
A: Well, I love planning trips, so I think maybe someday in the future, I’d like to be a travel agent. Maybe when I retire, but I like planning trips where people go on different types of adventures. I love planning our school trips, which makes me think that might be what I’m going to do.
Q: What is the biggest difference you’ve seen between being a high schooler and now teaching high school students?
A: I was always worried about what people thought about me and whatnot, where as a teacher you just have to accept people. Kids are gonna like you or not like you, and it is what it is, but you’re there to build relationships and teach them. That would probably be the big difference in high school. I was always worried about everything. Now, not so much, I guess it is the social aspect of things.
Q: Do you have a movie or quote you want to share?
A: I always say students should live life out of their comfort zone. That would be maybe a quote for me. I don’t even know if I have a movie.
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