With Thanksgiving break just around the corner, us high school students seem so focused on our own time off that we often do not realize that our teachers spend their free time just like us.
Lori Jacobs has taught all of the French courses at Central for 19 years. Annually, she participates with the French club in the homecoming parade and organizes French week in early November. Jacobs also enjoys playing the viola in York College’s community orchestra and walking her three beagles on pleasant autumn weekends.
On a typical Thanksgiving, Jacobs has dinner at her sister's home in Annville, where her other siblings and distant relatives often go as well. Last year's Thanksgiving was unlike any of her family’s usual traditions, though—Jacob’s niece was to be married in Phoenix the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so her family flew out to Arizona and celebrated the holiday there.
“My husband and I stayed a few extra days and drove to the Grand Canyon,” said Jacobs. “There was beautiful summer weather.”
She said that she hopes to incorporate more traveling in future holiday breaks to help stop and rest from all of the regular autumn bustle.
Similar to how Jacobs enjoys her annual Thanksgiving breaks, she hopes that students take this time to spend with family and friends. She wants students to form positive memories in hope that they can return to school refreshed.
Global studies teacher, Donald Carl, also enjoys spending time with his family; particularly, he likes being able to reflect on the good things in life with those he cares most about.
“We always got together with my grandmother and my extended family,” said Carl. “I used to really like to spend time with my cousins that I rarely got to see since they lived upstate as kids.”
Carl also enjoyed hunting when he was younger—but has found himself preferring soccer and biking as he’s gotten older. When he’s not outside participating in athletic activities, he often utilizes the long break to grade assignments and prepare new content for his many students.
This year in particular, Carl had the idea to travel to Portugal over Thanksgiving break, considering that he is interested in eventually purchasing property there. However, he faced difficulty in finding enough time for this lengthy trip, and is keeping the idea stored for a later date.