Families share love for teaching

SANDPOINT — Teaching, it has been said, gets in your blood. Teaching in the Lake Pend Oreille School District, however, gets into the bloodline.

The district claims a number of “teaching families” — some that span a generation and others where the career has truly become a family affair, fanning out to encompass siblings, spouses and in-laws alike.

The cross-generational connection benefits everyone involved, with veteran educators helping their progeny through the difficult early stages of learning about classroom management and the newcomers infusing teacher-parents with fresh ideas and energy.

In some cases — like that of Dinah Gaddie, who is in her first year of teaching upper-quartile math and science to fifth- and sixth-graders at Washington Elementary — drawing on a parent’s experience goes further than asking for tips on how to handle a roomful of students.

“My mother is my inspiration — she returned to college to get her degree after I graduated from high school,” Gaddie said. “I was always so proud of her for going back to school at this time of her life. I stayed home with my kids for nearly 10 years and started taking classes as they started school. Just like my mom, I also had to work hard to balance family and school.

“When things got tough I’d think about my mom and remember: I knew I could do it and here I am!” she added.

Her mother, Delores Matthews, is now in her 16th year of teaching for the district. At Clark Fork Junior/Senior High School, she teaches English and English electives, speech, publications and drama. Matthews recalled her mixed emotions when her daughter announced she was going back to school to earn a teaching degree.

“At first I was confused, as she already had a successful career as a cosmetologist,” she said. “But after hearing her discuss her education classes, I was reminded of my own decision to enter the teaching field in mid-life and the excitement of teaching youth. Today, I often ask her for new ideas or approaches to lessons.”

Jennifer Shelton is now in her seventh year as a kindergarten teacher at Hope Elementary, where she doubles as a first-year P.E. teacher. Growing up, she watched as her mother, Betty Kohal, taught fourth-grade at Northside Elementary. Mom never had to ask, “What did you do at school today?” because she already knew.

“I had a wonderful childhood and I loved how connected my mom felt to my life, how she could relate to where I had been all day,” Shelton said.

That carried through to her own career, where her mother continues to feel connected to what goes on during the school day. While she can’t remember particular statements or bits of advice that helped her along, Shelton does credit her teaching parent’s overall support for her own success in the classroom.

“My mom’s pearls of wisdom came in the form of encouragement and a proactive attitude,” she said.

Marianne Love, who spent a combined 33 years teaching in the Bonner County School District 82 and Lake Pend Oreille School District before retiring in 2002, now finds her son, Will, following in her footsteps as a journalism instructor and advisor for the Cedar Post student newspaper at Sandpoint High School. As Will gets his footing in his first year of teaching, Marianne plans to keep her counsel to herself.

“As a mother of a first-year teacher, I figured out my own words of wisdom: ‘Keep your mouth shut and give suggestions only when asked,’” she said. “I’ve tried to stick to that, but have faltered a time or two.” 

Like a few others in the LPOSD family, Will entered the profession after making a name for himself in another field.

“I didn’t set out to be a teacher,” he said. “I was working as an assistant sports editor for the Idaho Press-Tribune in Nampa and was asked about my interest in the position last summer.

“Since I have so many relatives who are or were teachers, I had confidence I could rely on them to help me in the transition from the newsroom to the classroom,” he added.

Along with his mother — who taught English, advertising graphics and journalism along with acting as yearbook, Cedar Post and Ponderettes Drill Team advisor — the incoming teacher has two aunts on his own advisory team. Laurie Tibbs is a fifth-grade teacher at Farmin-Stidwell Elementary and Barbara Tibbs teaches English and works as yearbook advisor at Sandpoint High School.

According to Marianne Love, she never prodded her children to become teachers. But with several generations of the family before him standing in front of classrooms, fate might have played a part in determining her son’s eventual career path.

“About 90 percent of our family members have been teachers, through four generations that I know of,” she said.

When it comes to the depth and breadth of current family connections in the school district, Judy Hull’s kin take the cake. Between immediate and extended family, she claims no fewer than six relatives who are active in LPOSD.

Hull has been involved with local schools for 31 years, first as an elementary school teacher and later as district reading facilitator, Title 1 and Even Start director before taking her current position as curriculum director for LPOSD. Her daughter, Jennifer Smith, is now in her eighth year as an elementary and special education teacher at Washington Elementary.

“I certainly grew up knowing that teaching was an option,” Smith said. “My parents always wanted me to find something that I enjoy doing. I found that in teaching.” 

Jennifer’s husband, Brian, has been teaching regular and AP government at Sandpoint High School, as well as coaching SHS varsity football and Sandpoint Middle School basketball for nine years.

But wait, there’s more. His brother, Matthew, also coaches varsity football at SHS and his step-father, Michael Lefler is a social studies teacher at Lake Pend Oreille High School.

 In addition, Judy Hull’s daughter-in-law, Kathy Berget, is assistant principal and Title 1 teacher at Farmin-Stidwell Elementary and Kathy’s sister, Peggy Gaudet, is a third-grade teacher at that same school.

“We love family get-togethers,” Hull said.

Reaching — and teaching — across generations creates a powerful connection for these families. According to Jennifer Smith, one of the strongest bonds comes from the laughs that are shared in good times and bad.   

“My mother helps me keep my sense of humor about myself and the students,” she said.

Dinah Gaddie, too, has learned about the importance of keeping things in perspective from her mother, Delores.

“She definitely had several conversations with me about the highs and lows of education,” Gaddie said. “I know she is very proud of me for getting my degree and even prouder that I have chosen such a wonderful avenue.

“Being a teacher is the noblest of professions,” she added. “And I want to be fabulous at it, just like my mom.”

Tributes abound from these children who followed their parents into a teaching career. Although she is now well established at Hope Elementary, Jennifer Shelton still remembers the feeling of entering the classroom for the first time and how she chose to recognize that moment by honoring the woman who inspired her to be there.

“On my first day of teaching,” she said, “I sent my mom flowers with an enclosure card that read: ‘As is the mother, so is her daughter.’”

(Editor’s note: The names of teachers interviewed for this article were compiled after contacting the school district’s central office and asking numerous educators to help us find as many family connections as possible within the district. If any individuals were left out, we offer our sincere apologies and our thanks for all you do for the children of LPOSD.)