Most people leave their families to go to work, but for math teachers Johnny and Charla Hill, it’s a bit different. Their daughter Caitlin, who graduated from West in 2016, decided to come back as a long term substitute, in the same building as her parents. She began substituting for Math II and Discrete, and now they all carpool to work.
¨My mom, one day said, ´you can come substitute for Mrs. Brown’s class if you want to.´ I was like, math? Are you sure? What kind of math?” Caitlin Hill said.
Since she’s a licensed esthetician, math isn’t her first choice. But she is learning what it means to be a good teacher, and do things her own way.
¨I never really saw myself as a teacher in high school, especially a math teacher. I don’t want to be that teacher that everybody doesn’t really get along with. I want my students to know that I am there for them to help them and to help them understand versus just giving them information,” Caitlyn Hill said.
Having never been a substitute before, Hill says her first substitute teaching position has been a positive one so far, with the help from a warm and welcoming staff.
“It’s definitely been an adjustment. It’s weird being on the teacher side, but also everybody has been really welcoming, because of my parents and because of my history here at West. It hasn’t been a bad experience whatsoever, so far it’s been great,” Caitlin Hill said.
Her parents are over the moon to have her on the staff and welcome her to West along with the other students and staff.
“I think it’s great! It’s something we’ve talked about for a long time in our family about what she wanted to do. She actually did at one point talk about wanting to be a teacher, but some things didn’t go the way she had planned… She went a different direction, but just like everything else in life some things come full circle. She got an opportunity to do what she started out wanting to do, so here she is,” Johnny Hill said.
With his daughter being only a few doors down, Johnny Hill is overjoyed to see her every day.
“I think if they had the opportunity more people would have their siblings or family come work at the same place as them,” Johnny Hill said.
Although Caitlin might not choose the same career path as her parents, she does plan to finish substituting until the end of the school year.