Sitting in class, staring off into space, thinking about what to do this weekend… you start to wonder. What will my teacher be doing this weekend? Teachers, like any other humans, have activities that they enjoy outside of teaching. Sixth-graders here at CannonFallsMiddle School have Missy Klapperich for their first year of middle school social studies. They find out early on that one of her favorite pastimes is to go fishing, but Mrs. Klapperich doesn’t think they know just how much she loves to fish.  Many of her students know that she loves to go fishing for sturgeons. She said that she still enjoys going Up North to fish for them. Mrs. Klapperich also told me that she enjoys to read, golf, and crotchet, “even though [crocheting] is kind of a granny thing to do.”

Ben Schopp is the beloved eighth-grade science teacher here at CannonFalls, and many of his students know that he loves to hunt and go fishing. But what they don’t know is that he also has other hobbies. Something that he enjoys doing that might come as a surprise to his students is going antiquing – looking for old furniture and trinkets. Mr. Schopp also enjoys using his hands to build things out of wood, and said that just the other day he built a cabinet.  His big project right now, however, is cutting and stacking wood for next year, which he said makes him “just like a little beaver.” Anne Davisson is the loving, energetic eighth-grade English teacher that enjoys spending time with her friends and family.  She loves making old furniture new again by painting and reupholstering it. Putting her needle and thread to work is another pastime for Mrs. Davisson; when she reupholsters her furniture, she likes to get creative and sew old jeans together to use as the fabric.

When the weather is nice, she likes to be outside in her yard: mowing the lawn, planting flowers, and taking care of her yard. With the weather getting warmer, she is looking forward to getting to do these activities once again. Teachers are just like us. They have families, friends, and activities that they enjoy doing – when they are not stuck in the classroom educating the next generation of kids.