Aziza Moyer, Reporter and Designer
Teachers at our school enjoy Christmas for different reasons, and many of them have different ways of celebrating during the holidays. However, as they have grown older, their views of Christmas-time have often changed.
Over the years, many teachers have found that they have begun to value more materialistic parts of Christmas less, and have started appreciating the family-oriented aspects of it more.
“My favorite part of Christmas as a kid was having lots of vacation time, and I still appreciate having that as a teacher,” said Geometry teacher Andy Callender. “But now that I’m not a kid anymore, I appreciate being around family and friends more.
“When I was little, everyone was just excited to open presents, and that’s far less of a big deal now,” he said. “I just appreciate time off and time to be with people I care about.”
Guidance counselor Tara Vanselow also expressed her appreciation of break as a time to spend with family and have valuable experiences.
“My thing is always that I want time with all of us together, because everyone is going in so many different directions,” said Vanselow. “When kids are little, and this is true when I was little of course, the focus is always on presents and what you’re going to get.
“Then [as you get older], you try to shift away from that more to being about family and service to the community. (Not as much as what you’re getting, but what you’re doing together.) We try to give more experiences as gifts that we can all do together, and our kids kinda do that more now too.”
Some teachers had traditions when they were younger that included volunteering their time to give to the community, instead of just supplying their own family with gifts.
“We would go into town as a family and feed the homeless on Christmas Day when we were younger,” said Pathways teacher Per Lars Blomgren. “I won’t pretend to say that we enjoyed doing it, but looking back as a (kind of) adult, it’s an experience that was very valuable.”
But every teacher seems to have one thing in common: their good memories of celebrating with the ones they loved when they were younger.
“My best memories are of the Christmas tree hunt, driving out into the snowy woods, searching for the perfect tree, and picnicking in the snow,” said Spanish teacher Ms. Powell. “Hot cocoa, sledding, snowball fights, and champagne for the adults.
“Someone would usually get stuck in the snow, and there would be a heroic effort to unstick their car. Also, tying the trees to the roofs before heading down to civilization with half frozen fingers.”
A final common tradition is the one of passing on things you enjoy about Christmas to others.
“Most of the traditions that we have held on to are things that [my husband] and I also did in our families when we were kids,” said Vanselow. “We open one gift on Christmas Eve, and we open all the rest on Christmas morning. And we always decorate the day after Thanksgiving. I like having that carry over.”
