![Hosting the SCLA Casptone Mentor Dinner outside allowed for more attendees on September 27, 2021 at Silver Creek. This event would’ve usually been held inside. According to Lauren Kohn, a SCLA 12 teacher, “If we have a higher number of people, as long as we can host the event outside, then that seems to be keeping every[one] safe”.](https://schsnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/sxMAIGbSYGodZkqmrvTi5YWcJ1ssWA08ApkeMLpp-900x675.jpeg)
Silver Creek is home to incredible teachers who, believe it or not, have full and bubbling lives outside of teaching in a classroom. One part of their lives is having families, and more specifically, children. In fact, many of Silver Creek’s favored teachers have children who attend Silver Creek High School along side their parents.
Though going to school where your parents work may seem strange to people who haven’t experienced it, many students and teachers enjoy spending the day at the same place as each other.
Matthew Opal has been teaching at Silver Creek for 20 years and just last year his oldest daughter, Genevieve Opal, joined him as a student at Silver Creek.
“The year Genevieve was born, we called it the baby boom of Silver Creek,” Opal said. “Now there’s like 11 of them…every time you turn around there’s a teacher’s kid somewhere.”
Many teacher’s kids like knowing they can stop by their parents’ classroom whenever they want, even if it’s just to say hi.
“I can just go to his room when I need and he has all the supplies I need,” Genevieve Opal said.
However, Matthew Opal might feel otherwise.
“I feel like sometimes my classroom is her locker, she’ll drop things off and come back for it later. She uses my microwave so she has her own little space,” Matthew Opal stated.
Even though many teacher’s kids go to school with their parents, not every kid is lucky enough to have their own parent as a teacher.
“She’s not just at Silver Creek, but she’s in my class for honors English 10,” Matthew Opal said. “For me it’s been fun.”
“It’s interesting because he keeps telling random stories about me in front of the entire class!” Genevieve responded.
Similarly, Sara Pilon offers her perspective on having her mom as a teacher and how it can be challenging.
“I had her [Ericka Pilon] for math,” she said.“It’s hard because you can see how bad the kids are treating her and it’s hard to see your mom being treated that way by teenagers.”
Having a parent also be the person who teaches you comes with many positive things, but it also leaves students with concerns. Specifically, what teacher’s kids should call their parents.
“I call [Ericka Pilon] mom, I’ll call her Ms. Pilon sometimes,” Sara Pilon said. On the contrary, “I avoid calling [Matthew Opal] anything,” Genevieve Opal said.
In addition, Matthew Opal brings a parent’s perspective to this unique situation.
“I always call [Genevive Opal] honey, so I have to remind myself I probably shouldn’t call her honey in front of her classmates, so I have to check myself,” he said.
It’s often surprising that teachers know more than their subject: they often know about the student body and the hallway happenings.
“It is cool because when she talks about people [in her classes] I know exactly who she’s talking about.” Matthew Opal stated. “A lot of parents don’t have that.”
Something that students probably never realize is how if a teacher chooses to send their own child to the school they work at, that says something significant about the school’s environment.
“That’s how great Silver Creek is,we choose to have our kids go here,” Matthew Opal says, “I open enrolled my kids at Eagle Crest so they could come to Silver Creek.”
Teachers and students alike are lucky to spend their days at Silver Creek, and some are even luckier to have their own parent or child at school with them. Silver Creek is a great place for teachers— and their kids— to call a home away from home.
