A teacher’s life outside of school: Mrs. Pasquale

A teacher’s life outside of school: Mrs. Pasquale

By Britton Holman, Online Editor Posted September 23, 2008

Life outside of school for Michelle Pasquale is not something that could be called easy or quiet. Actually, it is quite the opposite. In addition to being the National Honors Society advisor for Lowry, helping with the Lowry rodeo team, and tutoring high school and college students, Mrs. Pasquale is a loving wife and mother of two children, Tony, 18, and DeeAnna, 14. Mrs. Pasquale has a passion for teaching and being involved in many different extracurricular activities, which can sometimes conflict with her home life.

“It seems like life during school runs over into home life all the time so you have to choose your priorities and sometimes no matter how well you choose, it’s the wrong one because you’re going to be staying up late at night to make up for the other one,” she said. 

Pasquale spends much of her time tutoring students and helping them with different subjects with biology, geometry, and English. Because she spends a lot of time helping these students, her kids sometimes get a little angry due to the fact that this after-school tutoring sometimes cuts into their family time. Occasionally, she also takes classes in the summer, which take a lot of time, so she can stay current in her field of expertise. However, even with the time spent away from home and with conflicts that sometimes arise, her family still fully supports her in what she does. She said that she wouldn’t know how she or anyone would be able to be a teacher and not have the support of their family. 

When asked, “What keeps you motivated?”, she answered, “Right now, it’s the students themselves. Because the amount of work that we’re being asked to do over and above and beyond teaching is so numerous, the motivation isn’t there from your peers or your colleagues, or your administration. So the motivation comes from the students.” She loves when students come up to her and tell her how excited they are about what they just learned. “That wow factor and that ‘I’m learning so much.’ those are what we need to hear. Those are what you need to tell your teachers because that’s what keeps them going. That’s the motivation.”

A normal day for Pasquale after the last bell rings starts with preparing for the next school day. From there, Pasquale takes her daughter home so DeeAnna can ride horses to keep up with her rodeo events. Pasquale sometimes takes her daughter to the rodeo arena to practice barrel racing and pole bending. Once they are done and at home, Pasquale usually focuses on grading papers. Once she is done grading for the day, she spends whatever time is left with her family. When evening comes, she makes dinner and then does the dishes afterward. By that time, it’s late and time to go to bed.

Pasquale has one busy life. A life dedicated to teaching and her family. It is apparent that she is passionate about what she does. All in all, she is someone who loves her family and her community.

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