Teacher Stories
From Music to Marathons: How Teachers’ Personal Passions Engage and Empower their Students
Photos provided by interviewees
Imagine you’re back in third grade. It’s the holiday season, and you step off the bus on Monday morning as you adjust your backpack that’s slightly too big for your body. You’re excited for the day and eager to learn, but suddenly you’re distracted by an unfamiliar sound. As you walk toward the school building, you hear music unlike anything you’ve heard before. You look around until your eyes catch a shocking sight: your teacher confidently playing an oddly shaped brown instrument. You’re enthralled and have so many questions: “What is she doing? How does she know how to do that? My teacher does more than teach? I want to ask her about it!” The excitement in the air is palpable. Your mind starts racing as you’re filled with wonder at the sight of someone you look up to doing something so incredible and unexpected.
In Huntsville, Alabama, Meaghan Hughes’ students experience this thrill each December watching their teacher serenade them with a holiday tune. Hughes, who has been playing violin since the 4th grade, began bringing her instrument to school while student teaching so she could run to orchestra rehearsal after dismissal. Now, bringing her violin to school is more than just convenient—it’s a source of connection. It’s a chance to expose her students to a new genre of music while showing them a different side of herself.
I was first introduced to Meaghan’s story when her tweet caught my eye: “I encourage my gifted students to pursue their passions, and it’s important that they see I pursue mine. This semester I’m playing in two orchestras.” Her words brought me back to times in my early education when seeing a teacher pursue a passion outside the classroom seemed like a window into another world and an invitation to follow in their footsteps.
Eager to hear more stories, I reached out to the rest of our Certified BrainPOP Educator community to find out how teachers across the country are bringing their talents and skills into the classroom to inspire their students. When the responses began pouring in, I was overwhelmed by the breadth and diversity of their hobbies, from artistic endeavors to physical feats. Each teacher brings a unique perspective, enthusiasm, and joy into the classroom, in turn igniting passion in their students and instilling lifelong lessons.
Seeing a teacher pursue a passion outside the classroom seemed like a window into another world and an invitation to follow in their footsteps.
(Role) Modeling for Students
For many students, especially in earlier grades, it’s a bit of a stretch (borderline incomprehensible) to imagine their teachers as people with full lives and interests beyond teaching.
“You know, they see you as a teacher, and that’s your job, and you don’t really have a life outside your classroom,” says Mary Howard, a 6th grade science and ELA teacher from New York. This year, Howard shattered her students’ expectations by writing and publishing her first book, a guide to help educators embrace AI in the classroom. When asked how her students reacted to the news, the word “astonished” came to mind. “They’re like, ‘Wait what? You did something else besides teach?’”
Howard, who has always wanted to write a book but never found the right subject, jumped at the opportunity to help her fellow educators navigate the changing technological landscape. “In a way, it’s really good modeling,” she said, reflecting on how publishing a book has impacted her teaching. “I’m telling them to write. I’m teaching them to write. I’m teaching them effective writing strategies, and then to actually say, ‘Well, I use those strategies in here, too.’ That was a powerful thing.” Since debuting the book, Howard’s students have shared their own novels, eager to show her they can be authors, too.
Stacey Shapiro, a first grade teacher from Austin, Texas, models perseverance for her students by bringing them on her journey as a marathon runner. “They take so much pride in what I do, just as I take pride in what they do,” said Shapiro, who has now become somewhat of a schoolwide celebrity for her dedication to the sport and her students.
Shapiro, who began running in her thirties, never saw herself as a runner. “You don’t have to be great at something, especially the first time you try it,” she reminds her students, who diligently track her bib number throughout each race. They also participate in her after school running programs. After completing 22 marathons, she uses her story to model the importance of trying new things, setting goals, and developing a growth mindset.
When Shapiro qualified for the Boston Marathon in 2020—a personal milestone 10 years in the making—she saw an opportunity to once again include her students in her celebration. After completing the marathon virtually (from Austin), she ran the last lap on her school’s track surrounded by former students who ran alongside her and cheered her on. They couldn’t have been prouder.
A Whole New World
For many of Meaghan Hughes’ students, her morning holiday performance is the first time they’ve seen a string instrument or heard live music. “It’s so amazing just to see their faces light up when they recognize the song, or they see the instrument and they don’t know what it is, and they want to know more,” Hughes said, reflecting on past students who have followed in her footsteps by joining the band and orchestra at their middle school. “It inspires them, and they remember that.”
At another middle school in New York, health teacher Lindsay Ambruster seemingly achieved the impossible: She made eighth graders passionate about knitting. After rediscovering her love for the hobby during the pandemic, she brought it to her students and saw it transform the social dynamics of her classroom. “It’s an equalizer, I would say, because it’s new to almost every single kid,” said Armbruster, who watched students who typically struggle with the course content gravitate towards knitting and become leaders among their peers.
“They kind of see each other in a different light. You introduce knitting, which is not something that’s seen in a traditional public school, and kids see, ‘Wow, that kid who I really haven’t given the time of day to before could help me with this’—someone who typically they see as a struggling student, and they see success, and they’re like, ‘Holy cow, that’s amazing! You’ve done such an awesome job!’ and it just changed things.”
Something to Talk About
Nancy Betler, an elementary school gifted teacher from Charlotte, North Carolina, brings her love of sports and all things soccer into the classroom as a way to show her students who she is and what she cares about. “I think it’s really neat,” she says, reflecting on the connections she’s made with students over a shared love of their soccer team, Charlotte FC. “A lot of the kids who might not have been as open or talkative, this is giving them something to share with me.”
After school, Betler is part of the Charlotte FC supporter group, and can be found sketching, painting, and assembling tifos (the massive visual displays fans hold up in the supporter section). She has pictures of the tifos hanging on her classroom wall, along with giveaways from games, images of the team, and autographs from her favorite players. “I’ve had students draw soccer player pictures for me to put on the wall or pictures of me in my jersey. It’s been a really good community connector.”
Jennifer Velt, a K–2 special education teacher from Tampa, Florida, also found a way to build connections (and skills!) with students by introducing a lifelong love: scrapbooking. Velt, who grew up scrapbooking with her mom, and continues the tradition for her synagogue, realized that scrapbooking was not just a personal passion. It has proven to be a powerful medium to support students’ learning in both her public school and Hebrew school classrooms. “When I have a student who is truly struggling to retain the alphabet in their long-term memory, I scrapbook the ABCs with them,” Velt explained, detailing the project. Each page includes a collage of magazine cutouts, stamps, coloring pages, and stickers for every letter of the alphabet, which also helps students build fine motor skills and make personal connections.
“I want to get to know their family as we’re doing it,” she said. “We use pictures of their family, friends, home life, food, and things that they enjoy to help make connections and build vocabulary.” By the time the project is finished, she’s given them a tool to better understand themselves and share their story with others.
Making Time for Hobbies to Turn Into Passions
As students get older, it becomes harder to find the time for hobbies or interests outside of schoolwork. But many teachers understand it’s not about having time—it’s about making time. Carving out time for students to follow their curiosity in class helps them see the value of developing their interests, and it creates a culture of learning and sharing. In Meaghan Hughes’ class, students are encouraged to bring in their personal projects, whether it’s building a skateboard or designing a video game. “I’m definitely not an expert on everything, and these kids sometimes teach me more than I teach them.”
Lindsay Arbruster creates a similar culture of “hobbying” in her classroom by encouraging “10 minutes of healthy behavior” to start each day. “It’s great because they can show who they are, what they love, their creative side or their non-creative side.” In similar fashion, Nancy Betler developed “genius hour,” a designated time for students to research any topic of their choice. By making time in the school day to prioritize students’ personal pursuits, teachers simultaneously validate their students’ interests and reinforce the idea that hobbies are a productive use of time.
“I think they’re starting to realize at this age that they have passions, too,” Hughes says. “I’m hoping that they’ll start to really pursue some of those passions, and as they get older, realize you don’t have to stop your passion just because you have a full time job or a family.”
Carving out time for students to follow their curiosity in class helps them see the value of developing their interests, and it creates a culture of learning and sharing.
“Being the Authentic You”
When teachers arrive to class armed with pens, planners, and a pair of knitting needles (or a violin!), they show up as their full selves—encouraging students to do the same.
By embracing the full kaleidoscope of their own identities, teachers provide entry points into new experiences and opportunities. They encourage students to dream big and persevere through challenges; demonstrate how to approach others with empathy and seek out unexpected commonalities; and model how to take pride in their pursuits and share them with others.
It’s about “sharing enough of yourself,” says Howard. “Being the authentic you, the dorky you, making mistakes in front of them… and being willing to look for the right answer.” When that happens, what may seem like a small moment to a teacher may be the spark that ignites a student’s passion on a seemingly normal Monday morning.
Samantha Hodes is community engagement associate on the BrainPOP Marketing Team.
