Dexter, Missouri - Chris Bolin’s middle school journalism class has created the first ever school newspaper at T.S. Hill Middle School. The DMS Press has already published a couple of newsletters since classes began in August. The students really enjoy writing, taking photos, and seeing their peers read their newsletter.
The ShowMe Times will feature various articles written by middle school students and will feature them on our website.
Kelby Hill is a Sports Reporter for the DMS Press and published this article entitled, "Teacher? Coach? or Both?".
"Here in T.S. Hill we have quite a few teachers that also serve as athletic coaches. After interviewing two of them, Mr. Lummukka & Mrs. Hahn, I learned that juggling teaching and coaching can at times be very difficult. But also can be very rewarding with the relation- ships and memories made from both.
Mrs. Hahn is the head coach of both the 7th and 8th grade volleyball teams and teaches 6th grade physical science. After interviewing her I learned quite a few interesting things about tackling both coaching and teaching and also a few things about herself. Mrs. Hahn began teaching after she had kids and began coaching because of her love for sports and her own competitiveness. Mrs. Hahn looks at both coaching and teaching as about the same thing because, ”You’re really just trying to help your student or player reach their full potential whether that be on the court or in the classroom.”
When asked if she treats her players the same on and off the field she says she has high expectations for all the kids but that academics should come first and sports should be a complement to our academic program. Even after a sore loss Mrs. Hahn says, “I try to keep my problems that affect my life outside of the classroom out of class”, but her energy level after a big win “might be a little higher than usual.”
Mr. Lummukka is an assistant football and a middle school track coach and teaches health and advanced health. I also had the opportunity to ask him a few of the same questions. Mr. Lummukka has the opportunity to both coach and teach a few of his students. This lead to the question of, “Is it easy being a student’s coach and teacher?” He replied with, “The easy part is the relationship. In the classroom you get to know kids and you’re with them every day and I think that’s great but, I also think there is a different dynamic on the field or on the court. You get to know who they are, their goals, maybe where they come from. I think there is a balance between those two.” When Mr. Lummukka was asked if his student athletes’ work ethic affected how he thought of them on the field he replied with, “Yes, I think that’s the most important thing, work ethic.” He looks for qualities like showing up, paying attention, being coachable, and handling correction properly, in both coaching and teaching.
Although coaching and teaching can at times be stressful, they are a very rewarding experience. Mr. Lummukka and Mrs. Hahn both greatly enjoy their jobs. Our student athletes at T.S. Hill are very thankful for our great staff of both teachers/coaches and athletes."
