Is sharing a school with a relative really that bad?

By: Chloe Heller – Every day, the majority of students walk out their front door, off to school, and say goodbye to the adults in their household for the day. Some are relieved that the next time they’ll be seeing a relative is later that night, and they don’t have to stress about their parents or someone else watching over them all day. But what if one of your family members worked at your school and you saw them several times every single day? For some, that sounds like a nightmare, but for most of the students who have a family member at LSE, the advantages make it all worth it.

“I enjoyed having [my mom’s] class because at home she will always talk about lesson planning and she’ll run things by me, so it’s interesting to see the reverse and be in class to see how she actually runs things,” said Kyle Krueger (11), referring to when his mom, Julie Krueger, an English teacher at Southeast, was his teacher in class.

On the flip side, teachers also tend to like having their kids around at school. Mrs. Krueger, for example, has been on staff at LSE for 18 years and really enjoyed teaching Kyle in class last year.

“For the first few days it took a little getting used to, but after that it was just like having another student in the class,” said Mrs. Krueger. “It probably made me a better teacher having him in class because I would always be second guessing or thinking through everything.”

Both would say they have grown in their relationship with each other and in their abilities as teacher and student from their time at Southeast together.

“I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. I think it has really deepened our relationship. We’ve had a lot of the same common experiences that we’ve been able to process and talk about at home,” Mrs. Krueger explains. “[I have seen the] amazing opportunities through experiences other teachers have created for him. I think he’s been really challenged in a positive way.”

Karen Krull is also thankful for her experience at school with her son Seth, “I have the opportunity to see Seth daily and check in with his teachers.”

Mrs. Krull is a teacher for a handful of classes in the special education department. She has been working at LSE for seven years and has two sons. Her youngest, Seth (11), says, “even though she embarasses me [and teases me in the hallways], she gives me food and a ride to school.” He also agrees the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Not every family situation is parent and child. For some it can be uncle and niece as it is for Southeast principal Mr. Toalson and Sarah Toalson (12).

“It’s just been a really nice part of our relationship,” said Mr. Toalson. “I think it has made us have opportunities to check in with each other and see how things are going that we might not take advantage of otherwise.”

He has been the principal for five years, and four of those years have been spent with his niece at the school.

“It’s unique… when teachers say to tell a cool fact about you I always have that fact to go to,” said Sarah.

Although they don’t get to see each other that often in the school, they still make the best of it by having conversations when they can.

So if you ever find yourself in the same building or classroom as someone you’re related to, these Southeast students hope you enjoy the experience as much as they do.