It’s not uncommon for students to talk, gossip, and even complain about how teachers teach or grade. Students may think of teachers as authority figures, but do we ever think or see them as normal people? Teachers try to get through the day and then have their own responsibilities at home, just like us. Having their own lives, joys, struggles, and goals.
The Dispatch interviewed teachers at Del Mar to get to know more about their daily lives.
One of the teachers the Dispatch interviewed was Erick Gutierrez, an IM3 teacher. Gutierrez speaks about his hopes for the future, his family, and his struggles.
The Dispatch: Can you share a personal achievement or experience outside of teaching that you are proud of?
Gutierrez: Being a first time house owner when I was 26, purchasing a house nowadays in this market is crazy.
D: What are some goals or dreams you have for the future, either personally or professionally?
Gutierrez: I’ve been exploring the idea of maybe becoming an admin, like a vice or assistant principal. Even as a principal of a middle or high school, that is my next goal in life.
D: What brings you joy in your life?
Gutierrez: Spending time with my daughters and my wife. We typically travel every time we have breaks. We’re planning to go to Lake Tahoe and have the girls play in the snow. A few weeks ago we went to Disneyland, it was a long weekend.
D: What do you think you struggle with most?
Gutierrez: I feel like I have the tendency to have control of everything I do, and that’s nearly impossible. Every time something goes wrong, I get frustrated.
D: What traditions or activities do you enjoy either with your family or friends?
Gutierrez: Spending the holidays, like Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, pretty much [any] traditional holiday.
Mel Lindberg, a Psychology, Government, and Economics teacher also shared some insights on his personal life. He shares details of his past and future, along with things he looks forward to.
The Dispatch: Can you share a personal achievement or experience outside of teaching that you are proud of?
Lindberg: When I was working in the retail lumber industry, I had a couple of standout things that happened. One was about six months after I started working, I was named MVP of opening a whole new store, and they gave me my own tape measure award on it.
I was most responsible for the success of a new store opening, and the next week the vice president of the company came to see me and offered me a job that ended up having me live here. They paid me to come out here and run two different lumber yards because I was a natural at it.
D: What are some goals or dreams you have for the future, either personally or professionally?
Lindberg: Personally, my goal is to be able to help my daughter start off wherever she ends up going [to college] and the career she pursues. I know she wants to stay in California, it’s very expensive. A goal of mine is to make sure, if she wants to stay here, to help her afford it.
D: What brings you joy in your life?
Lindberg: Seeing my daughter being successful at university. She’s finding herself and it makes me really happy. My family, including my wife and our dog, doesn’t know that he’s not one of us, so when I get home, he’s really excited to see me every day. I know I can relax when I get to see him. He brings me joy, it’s pretty sweet.
D: What do you think you struggle with most?
Lindberg: Time management. Trying to keep all of my responsibilities straight and in order and not get behind because there’s so much work when we’re in school, like lesson planning and grading. It’s just finding balance for both self, family, and work. Once school gets in, I have a really hard time making time to do stuff for myself. So I struggle with that a lot, I wish I had more time to do stuff.
D: What traditions or activities do you enjoy either with your family or friends?
Lindberg: With family, we get a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. It’s been going on because my wife had a health scare [one] day, so a way she wanted to not think about it is to celebrate and have some happy family time. My daughter will be home for it, so when she’s home for Thanksgiving, we’re going get a Christmas tree and start doing that tradition, I’m looking forward to that. It’s a good tradition.
Angela Stevenson, an English teacher, discusses being a mom and an educator. She talks about her joys, struggles, and achievements from both her personal and professional life.
The Dispatch: Can you share a personal achievement or experience outside of teaching that you are proud of?
Stevenson: Becoming a mom. Before, a lot of my achievements were school, work, or sports related. The most fulfilling would be becoming a mom and switching roles entirely and figuring it out.
D: What are some goals or dreams you have for the future, either personally or professionally?
Stevenson: Professionally, becoming a better teacher. Figuring out how to adjust what I’m doing in the classroom to what students need, and continuing to challenge them in ways that are beneficial.
Personally, I would say raising good human beings and trying to figure out how to become the best role model I can be. [While] raising a daughter to be a strong woman that could fend for herself in the world, but also be empathetic and kind to others.
D: What brings you joy in your life?
Stevenson: Obviously family. But trying something new, reflecting, and being successful on the next try. I don’t go out of my comfort zone very often, but when I do, it feels nice to be fulfilled in it. If not, then I like to try again and [try to] be successful in it. I like improvement and [trying] new things. I’m an English teacher, so reading also brings me joy.
D: What do you think you struggle with most?
Stevenson: Time management and overcommitment. Sometimes I overcommit or set really high expectations for myself, not on the skills I’m working on, but with how much time I can commit to something. It can lead to stress and feeling overwhelmed, but then the time management ties with that, because I’m not managing my time, and then everything else goes out the window.
D: What traditions or activities do you enjoy either with your family or friends?
Stevenson: For traditions, we have family dinners, so both my and my husband’s immediate family live very close to us, so we really love to have dinner together where all sides get to meet with each other. They’re very casual, not like a holiday dinner, but it is nice to get to see each other, to talk and catch up.
As for my husband and child, we like to take walks, we go to West Cliff and to the beach. My side of the family loves boating. We always do a vacation together where we take the boat out and everyone commits to a week staying in a cabin or house and then going to the lake every day.
Overall, teachers are more than educators and authority figures, they have their lives and responsibilities outside of school, just like us. Teachers have their own struggles, joys, and lives beyond their professional lives.
