For most students, school is the time of day when they’re away from home—and from their parents—but this isn’t the case for four Whitman students. 

The Kafkas

Freshmen Adrienne and Julian Kafka’s mother, Lauren Kafka, has been working in the ESOL department for about six years.  While Adrienne sometimes finds it weird to see her mom at school, she says she always gives her a wave in the hallways—but she never gives her a full-out hug.

“[However], occasionally her friends will give me a big hug in the hallway,” Kafka said.

While Adrienne has never had her mom as a teacher, she knows some students who have been her mom’s students.

“I know some people who have taken ESOL with her and they say, ‘Oh, I love Ms. Kafka,’” said Adrienne.  “But I don’t know if they actually do or if they are just telling me that.”

One perk for the freshmen was that they already had a feel for the building before they were students because of the many trips to Whitman with their mom.

“The only inside scoop I give them is where the chocolate supply is,” Kafka said.  “They often come after school and try to raid my desk for chocolates.”

The Kuhns

If Sophomore Jake Kuhn has a question in his father’s AP calculus class next year, he will have to raise his hand just like the rest of the students.  Jim Kuhn has been teaching math at Whitman for 17 years and Jake finds it helpful to have a dad who teaches AP Calculus.

“I have a math tutor at home so every time I have to do homework, he helps me,” Jake said.  “He also writes down problems if I’m studying.”

Because Kuhn is the only AP Calculus AB teacher, Jake will have to have his dad as a teacher next year when he takes the class.

“I’m sure that there will be many heated conversations at the dinner table,” Kuhn said.

Jake also knows other students who’ve had his dad as a teacher and finds it funny when they complain about how hard his last test was.

Just as Jake likes to have his father in the building, Kuhn also likes to be in contact with his son during the day.

“When most students are kind of pulling away from their parents, I get to stay involved in what they’re doing,” he said.  “You get to know the culture that they are living in and that’s nice.”

The Stebbins

Michael Stebbins has been teaching math at Whitman for about 14 years, but his daughter, junior Jessica Stebbins, has only been at Whitman for the last three of them.

“I like seeing him interact with students and see how close some kids are with him,” Jessica said.  “It’s cool but weird at the same time.”

Jessica also finds it helpful to have a dad who’s a math teacher because she always has extra help with her math homework.

One down side is that Jessica has to wake up with her father at 4:45 a.m. every morning to go to class with her dad, because they live in Germantown.  The father and daughter wanted to be at the same school for scheduling purposes.  Stebbins said that it was a difficult process to get his daughter enrolled in a school out of district.

“It’s not an easy hoop to jump through,” Stebbins said.  “The harder you fight, the better your chances are.”

However, Jessica finds that it’s worth the small inconvenience because they’re on the same schedule and have summers off together.

Jessica enjoys having her dad in the building and finds it nice to know that her father is a liked and respected teacher, she said.

“People sometimes tell me how my dad is so chill and cool,” Jessica said.  “People come up to me calling me miniature Stebbs because that’s what they nicknamed my dad.”

Stebbins likes that he can keep tabs on what his daughter is up to, but sometimes he finds it hard to balance being a parent and a teacher.

“You have to wear both hats, the parent hat and the teacher hat, and that’s the hard part,” he said.  “But I really wouldn’t have it any other way.”