By Margaret Stansell
Looking around an average classroom on the first day of school, one would guess that the teacher does not know most of the students and vice versa. However, the right class at the right time may have a student and teacher who know each other better than anyone else in the world. The student is the child and the teacher is the parent.
To a student, going to school where a parent works may sound awful, but for the Vietors and Wheelers, it is just part of the average day.
Michelle Vietor, English teacher, and her daughter Faith, senior, have always spent quality together in the morning on the drive to school and actually going to the same place every day isn’t much different. The extra time in the morning is something that has prompted their close relationship. “What’s going to be weird is NOT having her next year,” Vietor said.
Faith recalls being brought to BSHS when she was little, allowing her to get to know the teachers and campus early on. Not only does Faith know most teachers personally, she also knows which classes to take and can consult her mom for almost all school advice and questions. “Most people feel like they have to fend for themselves in high school, but that’s how I felt in middle school,” said Faith.
Zoe Wheeler, Algebra teacher whose daughter Zavia is a sophomore, says that the only weirdness she’s experienced was knowing Zavia’s friends before having them in class. Aside from that, the experience so far has been enjoyable and actually easier than previous years when Wheeler did not know her daughter’s teachers personally.
Wheeler has Zavia in class and Vietor has taught two of Faith’s classes. Some may worry that a student whose parent is the teacher might be given better grades unfairly, but Wheeler and Vietor confess they’re actually harder on their children. Even though she may grade her daughter’s work tougher, Wheeler enjoys having Zavia around so much before she goes to college.
“I don’t get to see my son Jon for almost ten hours a day,” Wheeler said. “I love having Zavia here.”
And perhaps that’s the secret to a great mother-daughter relationship. Both the Wheelers and Vietors agree they like being together so much. Even though it may sound nightmarish to some, being so close is a great advantage for these families.