I am the child of two teachers in Westford Public Schools and let me tell you, it’s hard. It’s a stressful experience, growing up with teachers, especially when you are in the same school as them.

My mother, an elementary teacher at Crisafulli, and my father, a middle school teacher at Blanchard, were both present when I was in elementary and middle school.  So up until high school, my parents have been friends with almost all of my teachers. It’s anxiety-inducing knowing that your parents can text or Facebook message your teachers to ask how you’re doing in class.

There’s a level of independence that comes with having teachers as parents since sometimes they can be too busy correcting your friends’ tests to help you, but there’s also a level of dependence that comes with it. My parents can be in my face about homework and tests, demanding to see this or emailing my teachers about that.

There are two things everyone asks me when they find out my parents are teachers. The first question is if I’ve had them for a teacher. The answer is no. That’s not possible, so please stop asking me that. Unless your parent is the only person who can teach that class at that school, the answer is always no.

I’ve never had a parent as a teacher, but my father was the coach of the Blanchard baseball team while I was on the team. It was very hard for both my father and me because my father had to maintain fair playing time, while for me I always felt like I wasn’t getting quite enough playing time.

The second question is something along the lines of “don’t you get special treatment, being a teacher’s kid?” Seriously? If anything I get pushed harder to succeed. When I say no, everyone adds some comments about how I would get it easier if I had my parents as a teacher. Even if I was somehow in my parent’s class, I would get graded so much harder than everyone else and pushed so much more.

When I was in elementary school, my mother was unable to study with me because she knew what was on the tests. Likewise, my father couldn’t study with me during my time in middle school. There was a very strict honor code my family had to follow to avoid being accused of cheating.

The weirdest part of being a teacher’s kid is seeing current and former teachers when my parents host parties. It’s very awkward seeing my teachers in my house, and I lock myself in my room most of the time.

I have had a lot of waiting in empty classrooms while my parents are in meetings. Half-days are especially stressful since my parents are in a rush to get me home and still be back at school in time for professional development.

Another downside to having parents as teachers is that in elementary and middle school if I ever got a bad grade or in trouble, that teacher would find my parents and tell them before I could explain myself.

There are some upsides to having teachers as parents, however. Up until this year, I’ve always had someone in the house who is knowledgeable about every subject, s0 I’ve had help. Also, they have connections to other teachers who may be able to help me with things I don’t understand. Additionally, I have quite a few friends who I met due to my parents teaching with their parents.

Another upside to being a teacher’s kid is that I find out about snow days before everyone else, and I get to tell my friends before they get the call. My friends always ask me the night before a snow day if I have heard anything, even though they know I’ll tell them right away.

Another great thing about being a teacher’s kid is that I have been able to go on many amazing vacations since my parents do not work in the summer. 

There are many advantages and disadvantages to being a teacher’s kid, but in the end, it all balances out, and I’m just a normal teenager going through high school, just like everyone else.