Extracurricular activities are an essential part of high school. Students’ interests can lead them to join organizations that can teach them important life skills such as communication and teamwork, while giving them an outlet to destress from the busy school day.
The same is true for teachers, however, many teachers around Judson High School have their own interests and hobbies outside of school. These hobbies allow them to have a dedicated space for their interests while taking their mind off work and allowing them to connect with the people they care about.
Mr. Pagan
English 3 AP teacher Lance Pagan’s hobbies revolve around his two young boys. Because of this, his current pastimes are watching Dragon Ball Z (DBZ), playing DBZ games, having Beyblade battles and playing the drums.
His oldest son has encouraged him to watch many Dragon Ball Z series and movies. His youngest son, on the other hand, has gotten Pagan interested with Beyblades. He shared that they spend their time playing together and trying different ways to win.
“The cool thing about Beyblades is that you can change parts to adjust the weight and angle of attack. So, we all try to find a way to make adjustments to our Beyblades to see if we can defeat each other,” Pagan said.
Pagan does hold some hobbies of his own, however, citing drumming as an on-and-off hobby he’s had since fifth grade.
“My sons started showing an interest, so I decided to pick it up again and start teaching them,” Pagan stated.
Pagan believes that although his hobbies have a positive effect on his work-life balance, he’s always had a good balance between the two.
“I love my job, but I also love acting like I don’t have a job. Out of sight, out of mind. Too often people are shackled to their jobs and I work to live, I don’t live to work,” he expressed.
Instead, the main impact his hobbies have are on his relationship with his kids.
“The benefit I get from these hobbies is having a stronger relationship with my kids. I like to joke about how my kids drive me crazy, but it’s because I am with them all the time. I know that one day they will get older and that won’t be the case. That is why I know every evolution of Goku and that a Beyblade that’s short is better than one that is tall and that the heavier Beyblade isn’t always the winner,” he shared. “It sounds cheesy, but if they enjoy it, then I enjoy it.”
Mr. Lowrey
AP Human Geography teacher John Lowrey shares a similar sentiment to Mr. Pagan. Lowrey believes his hobbies tend to revolve around spending time with the people he loves.
“No matter what we’re doing, board gaming has kind of become my number one hobby,” he shared.
“We have a little bag of board games that we just take with us and play anywhere, if we’re camping, if we’re traveling, if we’re at home. Some nights I’ll just make a couple of cups of tea and my wife and I will just play a board game, kind of wind down together. And it’s really good,” Lowrey reminisced.
Lowrey’s family has been going camping for years. He says it’s something that can be done spontaneously and quickly, simply by grabbing a few changes of clothes, some canned foods, dried goods and some camping gear.
Lowrey’s other hobbies include reading, video games, tabletop story games and occasional woodworking, with reading being a very significant hobby.
“It (reading) sounds dorky but I can carry my kindle in my pocket and pick it up anywhere, and it keeps me from being on my phone,” he stated.
He claimed that although he used to play video games a lot, he’s found reading to be more enjoyable, as it’s an “easily interruptable” hobby in case his family needs him.
Lowrey reflected on how his hobbies have changed throughout the years and believes it’s a direct result of his life changing.
“I guess one of the reasons I collect hobbies is because as my season of life changes, the accessibility of time and money that every decent hobby needs, it changes,” shared Lowrey. “Video games, from a young age, that’s just because we moved a lot when I was a little kid, and so those were things that I could do with myself. Now I just want to be around people, especially post-covid…I will even stomach doing something I don’t particularly like if I can be around people that I like. I think that’s one of the things that keeps me really sane.”
Lowrey believes his pastimes serve as ways to build memories he can look back on later, when he’s feeling down.
“If I see the news and I feel hopeless about something, it comes more quickly to mind that I know good people whose life just makes the world better, and I get to be a part of that a little bit with them–and it just helps. It feels like maybe the only antidote to present-day anxiety.”
Ms. Kennedy
English 3 teacher Malila Kennedy describes her hobbies as “nerdy.” Her hobbies include: reading, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), jigsaw puzzles, book nook models, Legos, cooking, collecting/reading tarot cards, chess, coloring, anime, pinball and photography.
Kennedy’s favorite hobby is reading. “The reading is pretty self-evident, I feel. It’s my passion and also the biggest reason I became a teacher. I’ll read anything,” she claimed. She also participates in two book clubs, granting her a space to enjoy her interests while socializing with others.
She’s also involved in Dungeons & Dragons and photography. “I enjoy [D&D and photography] for the storytelling elements as well as the technical challenges of putting it together and the ‘stuff’ they both require—my dice collection is ridiculous,” she expressed.
Additionally, she enjoys putting things together, leading her to take an interest in jigsaw puzzles, building book nooks and Legos.
“I started doing those a couple of years ago because I wanted something new to do when I was at home that wasn’t reading, watching TV, cooking or cleaning and offered more of a mental challenge,” she recalled.
Kennedy believes her hobbies benefit her by sharpening her thinking skills, serving as creative outlets and creating spaces to socialize with others.
She claimed, “All of my hobbies require some brain power, so I think the biggest benefit is (that) I’m keeping my mind sharp, or trying to, which is important, especially as I get older.”
That being said, some of her other hobbies are “pretty solitary”, which she enjoys. “I get the benefit of doing something that interests me that doesn’t involve anyone else, which satisfies my need for solitude.”
Mr. Maxwell
Statistics teacher Robert Maxwell currently enjoys fitness, home improvement and electronics projects.
Maxwell believes weight training is important for his physical and mental health. He chooses to focus on breathing and movement during his morning workouts, letting them serve as a form of meditation, while avoiding injuries.
His background in electrical engineering drives his interest in electronics.
“Electronics projects help to nurture my entrepreneurial spirit and feed my creative side by finding solutions to problems others may not have considered,” he explained.
Currently, his projects involve a local internet hub used to manage different household sensors, an infrared and Wi-fi controlled mechanical light switch and a local media server for movies and music. Additionally, his current home improvement projects include removing outdated wallpaper, building a retaining wall, installing a walkway, replacing carpet with hardwood floors and placing steps through his front yard.
“Home ownership is challenging and required to keep nature from overcoming my space. Things work…until they break. The way I see it, if I can fix it myself, I can save a little money and do it exactly the way I want it. I am not an expert by any means so I make a lot of mistakes, but I can generally fix those mistakes,” he shared.
Maxwell expressed the difficulty of maintaining these hobbies as a new teacher.
“These hobbies do not affect my work-life balance, but my work does. I am a fairly new teacher and it is my first year teaching a new curriculum, so there is a lot of learning and adapting to do on my part. Currently I have 174 students, so grading papers is a major chore,” he explained.
“I also have family and friends so some weekends I get absolutely nothing done on any project. Teaching has really taught me the art of procrastination. I used to procrastinate because I didn’t want to do some task. Now I procrastinate because I don’t have the time to spend on any one task to complete it. I have to prioritize my goals and say to myself, “Ok, I can work in the yard for an hour, I can work on my IoT server for an hour, then I have to eat and go visit my father, then come home and put in some grades,” he shared.
“Preparing for school takes up a significant amount of my time at home. As such, anything I spend more than 5 hours per week doing is a hobby or side project,” he concluded.
Despite the differences in pastimes between teachers, the general consensus is that their hobbies serve as ways to dive deep into what they enjoy, destress outside work hours, and connect with people they care about. To them, they are ways to maintain a precious, yet delicate, work-life balance.