School is a massive part of both students and teachers. For teachers, it is their job, oftentimes their career or their passion. For students at North Clackamas School District, it’s where we spend nearly seven hours of our day, five days a week, for nine months of the year. So school is a big time commitment for any teenager or teacher but it’s a huge commitment of energy and “mental space” too; our classes are where a lot of our friends are, we strike up conversations during passing periods, we have to complete homework outside of school hours! In short, school is big. So what do Rex Putnam students and teachers do outside of school? And how is that affected by school?

Aaron White is a mathematics teacher at Putnam High School of five years and has a grand total of four children, one six-year-old daughter, two four-year-old twins, and one -in his own words- “adorable baby” just six months old. As a teenager, Mr. White spent the bulk of his spare time playing a multitude of sports such as football, basketball, cross country, and baseball. He was also a part of his high school leadership team and band and performed in concerts and student government; outside of scheduled activities and doing his homework Mr. White could be found playing video games and spending time with his friends. “I know for some folks that there is a big parental push to be involved in things, [but] I was just somebody who liked a lot of things” Mr. White then explained that the camaraderie and team aspect of these things is what appealed to him. When asked if he had any regrets, White said that having so many things on his plate caused him a lot of anxiety at times and he could now see the benefits of taking things off his plate and relaxing more, but is happy with what he did and what he experienced. Later on he added a more specific cause for remorse: “In high school, I had two long-term relationships that took a lot of time, away from my friends and a lot of other hobbies that I enjoyed… and part of me wishes that I would’ve recognized that these things don’t really last and I should’ve spent time doing things with my friends and doing well in school.” 

Regarding how he spends his time now, Aaron says that he has a lot less free time than he did earlier on in his life. Between juggling the responsibilities of having four young children, forming memories with them, and making sure to spend as much time as possible with his wife, Mr. White has two hours to relax on a good weekday, and almost always after eight o’clock. On the weekends White likes to go on day trips with his family. As a parting note, he shared some advice that he would give to a high school student: “Don’t grow up too fast, I know it’s such a cliche thing but it’s true; being young means you have a lot of freedom, more than pretty much anyone realizes when you’re going through that stage it is so important to have fun.”

Luisa Martin, a freshman at Putnam, is a talented dancer from her studio Classical Ballet Academy, or CBA. She spends the bulk of her time outside of school dancing with the other students there, who have become her best friends over the years. Luisa spends twenty-seven hours and thirty minutes there every week; that number includes her breaks between classes when Luisa talks with friends and sometimes walks around the area surrounding CBA. Luisa, like many of her friends, does not think she wants to pursue dancing as a career in the future but is “definitely keeping the option open.” Even though she doesn’t have it in her plans for life after high school, Luisa “love[s] dancing and [her] friends at the studio so much.” The distance between the CBA studio and Rex Putnam does pose a few hurdles for Lusia and her family; every Thursday Luisa leaves school twenty-five minutes early and is driven to the studio by her grandpa. Every Wednesday after school Luisa spends an hour at Alder Creek Middle School waiting for her mom, who works there, to take her to CBA. In terms of school, Luisa works hard to keep her straight A’s and enjoys her classes and talking with friends. Her favorite class right now is Health Sciences, which is taught at the Sabin-Schellenberg Center but she also enjoys the atmosphere and people in her math class, taught by Aaron White.

So how do Kingsmen spend their time outside of school? Mr. White takes care of his children and his house and likes playing card games with his wife when they’re both off work. Luisa spends her time working very hard to get better at her art with her friends. Again, Mr. White highlights the importance of the time that we have, especially as teenagers, and wants all of his students to take full advantage of the position that they’re in to experience what they want to experience and do what they want to do. And most importantly, for both Mr. White and Luisa Martin, having fun and spending time with their loved ones is at the top of their agendas, during and after school.