Cool things you didn't know about your teacher

For some students, they're the ones that give them homework, make them sit up, listen and maybe even take their phones away.

For others, they're mentors who teach them valuable life lessons along with reading, writing and arithmetic.

But away from the classroom, teachers have their own lives like everyone else. They're athletes, musicians, artists and entrepreneurs.

Here is just a small sample of cool things you may not know about your teacher.

Jeri Munro, fitness instructor 

There probably are not many vice-principals on P.E.I. who can deadlift 370 pounds, but Jeri Munro is one of them.

Before moving to Morell Consolidated this year, Munro was a phys-ed teacher for 13 years at Montague Consolidated. 

She is also a fitness instructor at the TCAP Family Aquatics and Fitness Centre, and has competed at the nationals in powerlifting.

Munro said she has enjoyed being active all her life and wanted to make a career out of it as a phys-ed teacher — and inspire others to become fit.

I kind of feel that if you're in that field and you're promoting for kids to be active, you kind of have to lead by example.— Jeri Munro

"I kind of feel that if you're in that field and you're promoting for kids to be active, you kind of have to lead by example," she said.

Munro, who is also a gymnast, said she works out about six times a week.

"It's something that can make you feel better when you're finished. Sometimes it's hard to get there and get it done but you just feel so good when you finish. It's fun to motivate others to do so, too."

Along with being a vice principal at Morell Consolidated, Munro teaches science for Grades 5-8 and math for Grade 7. Oh, and for those math students who might be wondering, 370 pounds is equal to 168 kilograms.

Moe Monaghan, auctioneer

Moe Monaghan has been a welding and automotive teacher at Charlottetown Rural for 25 years and an auctioneer for almost as long.

It's a good fit for sideline business, he said, though sometimes he gets carried away and uses his fast-talking auctioneer's voice in the classroom.

"Sometimes you can get into a ramble and all of a sudden I can tell with the expression on the kids. They could take a look at me and they say, 'What in the name of God is this man talking about?' Then I noticed myself I have to pull back a little bit. And then we usually have a laugh and a joke about it."

When you think you've seen it all, you haven't.— Moe Monaghan

Perhaps not unlike teaching high school students, Monaghan said the beauty of the auctioneering business is "when you think you've seen it all, you haven't."

"I'm still getting pieces that I've never seen before," he said. "You open up stuff and you say, 'Wow, where does this come from?' or 'What is this?'"

For example, he recently auctioned off an early 1900s tabletop pinball machine and 1944 Weasley army jeep from the Second World War.

Monaghan said switching to online auctions about five years ago has made a "huge difference" in his business, but he still does about 10 benefit stand-up auctions a year.

Students have seen him in action.

"I do a number of auctions at the school, as well for Easter Seals and Christmas and all that kind of stuff. So they get to hear me on the live screen at lunchtime two or three times a year."

Do I hear homework? Going once, going twice….

Gordie Cox, DJ

Gordie Cox has been a teacher and school counsellor on P.E.I. for almost 30 years, but many people know him as a popular DJ.

Lately, he's been giving his eardrums a rest from The Macarena and Mambo No. 5, and focusing on his own band with fellow teacher Brian Langille.

The band is called Graywood — a hybrid of Colonel Gray and Birchwood, where Langille teaches.

His students may have seen him play his "folky, blues country" at the Cavendish Beach Music Festival the past couple years. 

Cox said he's drawn to great songwriters like John Prine or John Hiatt, and is a big fan of The Allman Brothers, Bruce Springsteen and April Wine.

His longtime love of music led to gigs as a DJ from the time he was a Grade 12 student at Charlottetown Rural High School.

"I liked just the freedom of always have new music coming in. It's like a painter creating on your blank canvas every night, you know, getting people dancing, moving."

For the most part there's very few that are cringeworthy for me. I still play You Shook Me All Night Long, I still like it.— Gordie Cox

DJing at weddings can be fun — and therapeutic — because they are always happy occasions, he said.

"I felt it helped me distress a lot when I'm there watching people smiling, laughing, carrying on, dancing, having a great time. It sort of helped to take away from the stress of the day."

Sure, he said, there are some songs he got sick of over the years — hello Cotton Eye Joe and Old Time Rock and Roll — but he would still play them because they were guaranteed to pack the dance floor.

"For the most part there's very few that are cringeworthy for me. I still play You Shook Me All Night Long, I still like it."

Cox continues to DJ at select events every year, including the grad dance at Colonel Gray. He said it helps him stay current with music, but there is one song he hopes will have runs its course by next June.

"A song like Old Town Road. You'd say OK that song's got a shelf life of another month and then it's done but right now everybody wants to hear it. So you say sure I'll play that, but you know in two months no one will want to hear it again."

Jenna Harvey, actor and playwright

As a language arts teacher at Summerside Intermediate School, Jenna Harvey loves that she can bring her outside interests into the classroom.

She's a playwright and actor, and will sometimes talk about her writing experience with her students.

"It's really neat. If I'm writing a piece of my own I talk to kids about my process in writing or if I am teaching about character, I can talk to the kids about when I write, how I'm creating a character — different strategies I use when coming up with a character and their traits, things like that," she said.

You're always kind of on a stage when you're teaching.— Jenna Harvey

Sometimes teaching can be a lot like acting, she said.

"You're always kind of on a stage when you're teaching. So I try to keep things interesting in the class. I always try to keep them engaged and I might throw out a character, a voice here and there. The kids like when I go into a character sometimes when I'm teaching just to have a little fun with them."

Harvey is a huge fan of Broadway theatre, and this summer attended her 106th show in New York.

It has inspired her to write and act in her own productions on P.E.I. Her first show, Awake, played at Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside last April.

She has another show coming out this fall, a comedy called The Last  Man in Summerside, which she co-wrote with Adam Lambe.

"Our tagline is 'It's about dating in Summerside. It's a comedy and a tragedy,'" Harvey said with a laugh.

"It's more for the adult, not-easily-offended crowd. But we wrote that as a kind of a comedy, everybody talking about what it can be like on Prince Edward Island and you are looking in a small town for that person in your life."

The show plays Sept. 27-28 and Oct. 4-5 at Britannia Hall in Tyne Valley.

Stanley Chaisson, marathon runner

Pop quiz: Who holds the all-time course record for the P.E.I. Marathon?

If you answered Mr. Chaisson, the phys-ed and leadership teacher at Charlottetown Rural, go to the head of the class.

Bonus point for the time — 2:32:58, set in 2009.

Chaisson has won the P.E.I. Marathon the past three years in a row, but said he won't be competing this year because he's running the Chicago Marathon the weekend before.

He's no stranger to prestigious races — he's run in the Boston Marathon six times.

Chaisson began running marathons in 2008 and hasn't slowed down since.

"I enjoy the physical exertion and effort and the mental stillness and focus it brings," he said. "It allows me to enjoy the outdoors, get fresh air, meet and connect with like-minded people and challenge myself."

When we chat about the distances I run, they think I'm a little crazy.— Stanley Chaisson

He said many of his students know he is a runner, and hopes to inspire them to compete.

"When we chat about the distances I run, they think I'm a little crazy. However, I run with many of them during cross-country and track season and they are genuinely curious about the training process and what kind of commitment it takes to complete a marathon, and many of them show interest in participating in one someday."

Susan Thomson, harness race horse owner

Susan Thomson was involved in the harness racing industry many years ago and got back into it 2013 when a former student at Hernewood Intermediate School in O'Leary approached her about getting into the business with him.

Thomson taught Jansen Sweet, who is now in his 20s, from Grades 7-9. He just so happens to be the son of Hernewood principal and Thomson's friend, Patti Sweet. 

"I tried to get her to become part of this as well but she chose not to," Thomson said. "But she's definitely, in my opinion, part of it."

I like the people that you meet. I like the excitement of the races. I like the horses. It's a very social time.— Susan Thomson

Thomson owns three horses that race in Summerside and Charlottetown, including last month at Old Home Week. 

"I just like everything about it. I like the people that you meet. I like the excitement of the races. I like the horses. It's a very social time," she said.

"It becomes a part of your life."

Thomson said she often sees students at the races. Jacob Sweet, a high school student and Jansen's brother, is the horses' trainer.

"We have students here that are from families that are involved in harness racing so it's not unusual to see them at the track as well. I have pictures in my office. So, like, I talk about it with my students."

Along with being a vice-principal, Thomson teaches Grade 7 language arts and social studies teacher.

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