Some students have the added stress of having their parents in the same building as them every weekday. Some rarely see their parent during the school day, while others might share a few classes with them.

High school students often feel awkward about having parents teach at the same school. But sharing the halls may not be so bad with the perks of extra homework help, and knowing their teachers even before the first day of school. “I think it’s a blessing and a curse. It’s interesting because I know my teachers more. I also get a free ride to school which is nice,” Mr. Loecken’s freshman daughter Sophie Latourelle said.

Yet having a parent around during school has disadvantages. If their friend gets yelled at in class for something, or if they accidently call their teacher ‘mom’ or ‘dad’ in front of everyone, it escalates to a new level of awkward. “I have Spanish with [my mom] eighth period. It’s kind of awkward because she’ll bring up stories sometimes about me and our family,” Ms. Murray’s sophomore daughter Maddie Kurtovich said. 

Would you enjoy having your parent as a teacher?

• Yes, I wouldn't mind.
• No, I'd probably die of embarrassment.
• My parents are already my best teachers.

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It can be harder to stay home from school when their parent knows they have a test in their class that day, but at least they don’t have to worry about parent teacher conferences. “My dad embarrasses me as often as he can. He sometimes shows pictures of me when I was a kid during class.” Mr. McMerty-Brummer’s freshman daughter Jimena McMerty-Brummer said.

Students with parent teachers may always be the first to know about snow days, but they can be held to a higher standard if they are in the class of their parent. “We are treated even harder, especially if you know the teacher—there’s no slacking. People might think that we are treated easier since my dad works here but that’s not true,” Latourelle said.

Having their parents in the building isn’t as bad as everyone thinks it would be. “You get used to seeing your parent at school, and you are not alone because a lot of my classmates have parents teaching here as well,” McMerty-Brummer said.