Any teachers out there hunt during the school year?

[buckeye_hunter]

I am a 5th grade special education teacher. I usually go for a 4-5 day whitetail hunt each November. The principal in my building is anti-hunting, but likes me for some reason. She doesn't say anything about my trip each year, even though she knows where I'm going for those days.

-Charlie

[tarponnut]

I teach elementary school art in Miami. I take a personal day now and then to make a three day weekend hunt.Most years I go to Western NY for a few days of deer hunting around Thanksgiving.
I wish I could teach in the summer and have the fall off!

[jcar315]

I am in the Operations Dept. of our local schools. We can start work pretty early and our eight hour shift ends early enough in the afternoon to get in a sit. We have long weekends, nice holidays, and comp time too that can be used.

Have to be creative but it will work. I too love my job.

[mwosborn]

Have been teaching biology/chemistry for 26 years - been bow hunting for 33.  Local whitetail hunt every chance I get - weekends, evening, and breaks.  Land owners here in NE are very good to bow hunters.  Dreaming of Elk hunts after retiring!

[Jmgcurve]

Teach 5th grade Science at a dual-language school. Time in hunting season is hard to come by; however, the South Texas rut is usually during Christmas break plus a few personal days. Saving and looking for a hunt in the far North that maybe starts in July.

Check the avatar.
Michael

[gregg dudley]

James,

They let me be the principal of an elementary school before they moved me back to secondary.  It was probably the most satisfying year and a half of my professional career.  I knew they wouldn't let me stay long because all of my experience was at middle and high schools.  I really miss it.  

I used to love going into the elementary art class and the kindergarten classes.  Bad days there were few and far between.

[Steve O]

You need to get "My Neck of the Woods" by Bryce Lambley.  Bryce is a school teacher and he hunts more than any person I have ever met!  Just about every day during the deer season in NE, whiteails all over, antelope and bears in the summer, Africa, Kodiak Island for Sitka Blacktails.  Sounds good to me!

[Lucas K]

I teach high school biology, chemistry, and a&p in a smaller school here. I try to hunt the weekends during deer and turkey seasons close to home. I have a small savings to go to Africa one of these summers. Pretty tough to take an extended period of time off during school.

Lucas

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Good to see so many teachers that bowhunt! I think Mark Siedschlag, the author of a couple of tradbowhunting books, is also a teacher.

[Bill Carlsen]

I taught Biology for a few years and ended the last 30 years or so of my career as a High School counselor. I always hunted mostly after work in the late afternoons. Early on I lived right on the Maine border so did a good deal of hunting there. I managed a couple of Spring bear hunts in Maine when they had a Spring season and took two really good ones. When Vermont used to have lots of deer a few of us would go over there for some weekend hunts. The judicious use of sick leave made the bear hunts possible. Now that I  am retired I've been to Labrador twice, make an annual bear hunt to Hunters Point in Maine, been to Texas, have had several moose hunts here in NH,. I would love to get out west and do an elk/antelope/mule deer hunt as well as head South and shoot a pig or two.

[fishmerf]

I teach high school English. I just save those personal days and my sick days roll over. When I need to get away, I use them.
I teach inner-city Columbus and the fact that I hunt scares some of my gang-bangers. It keeps them on there toes.
I always try to share my pictures, stories and even a little jerky with them. They really enjoy the jerky.
Merf

[StanM]

12 years in a middle school as a math teacher.  Like so many of you I hunt after school and on the weekends.  In Oregon, the best blacktail hunting is during November and we get four days at Thanksgiving, so I usually get out a couple of those days.  I'm looking into something in Alaska for an early August hunt.

I get to extend my archery fix by teaching an archery class at the school I teach in.  Really cool principal helps a ton.  We build longbows, recurves and arrows in the class.  Gets a lot of kids into the sport.

[Wary Buck]

Steve-O put in a plug for me on p. 2.  Speaking of my book, I think I have something like six "loaner" copies floating around the halls of my school right now that kids are reading, plus I know they've got one in the library too.  

I've taught 26 years now in the secondary schools, with I think 7 more after this one until eligible for early retirement.  Right now I'm in my core area of social studies (US history and sociology) but have also taught journalism when our school couldn't find a decent teacher for the same and convinced me to "help them" for a year that turned into nine years.  Ha.

As Steve noted, I do hunt a TON locally in "My Neck of the Woods" for whitetails.  Up until now, I've stayed away from coaching in the fall.  If you have good hunting in your backyard, teaching's not bad for that.  I've been able to do some NR stuff but the teacher's calendar makes it very difficult to leave during the year and getting a sub requires the teacher to compile exhausting lesson plans/directions to do it right.  And in my case, any personal days over three gone from school and I get docked 1/180th of my pay each day.  It has made it impossible for me to hunt elk or moose thus far.  I have been able to get in some antelope hunts and spring bear hunts right after school's out.  I have been to Africa (good timing there), and also some very early August hunts for caribou/Sitka deer in Alaska as well.

Teaching would be a great job for the dyed-in-the-waders fisherman.        One other thing, is that it's also a good job for the parent who wants to have basically the same hours as his/her school-age kids.  I really like that.

I also believes teaching keeps you young if you don't get all burnt out/negative.  So far, while I get frustrated as all heck with some of the work climate fostered by some of those in charge, I really enjoy my peers and most of the kids most of the time.  And I know I'm still effective so it's an honorable profession.

[Coach]

Finishing up my 32nd year.  Started as a teacher and have been secondary and elementary counselor the last 14 years.  I also coach three sports so time is tough.  I mainly hunt whitetails and then build bows the rest of the year, as well as go to shoots.  I do use personal days and have had understanding administrators.  Pig hunting is something I need to look into for hunting when I may be able to squeeze some more time.  A rewarding career but I do dream of a little more free time.  Things seem to wrk out though.  Coach

[JMac]

I teach high school Health, Integrated Science, and every once in a while they give me a P.E. class. I also coach boys Water Polo in the fall so I don't hunt very much any more. We start school the 6th of August so I can't even get the beginning of archery season in any more. Every 4 years or so my brother and I go to Montana for Thanksgiving week.

[Gary Logsdon]

Just got back from the "Pig Gig" and saw this.  I'm retired now after teaching 30 years in the KY public school and community college systems. My professional degree program (BFA) is in studio art (painting) while my two academic degrees (MA and MFA) are in education and art therapy. I taught studio art, art history, graphic design, photography, web development, and college humanities.  I was a certified IBEP instructor for over 20 years and also sponsored the first high school bowhunting club in the state of KY, which included an annual school field trip to TVA's Land Between the Lakes. While teaching I was NEVER able to hunt out-of-state during the fall for critters like elk, antelope, moose, etc.  For 14 years I did manage to guide bear hunters for 2 weeks each June during the "bear rut".  Of course I was out for summer break or that would have been impossible.  Today, I basically do whatever I want (finally!) I've been on several elk hunts since retiring and spent a good deal of time shooting outdoor themed cover photos for Traditional Bowhunter, PBS, TradArchers' World, and others.  Would I go back to the classroom?  NO WAY; I'm having too much fun!

[mrpenguin]

I teach secondary English and lecture at a community college in the evening.  Been doing this 5 years.  I am blessed to teach in a district where we have kids and teachers who hunt and I get tips ALL the time about where to go.  I am about 5 mins from 3 properties I can hunt and usually get there right after school till dark.  I hunt 1 or 2 days during the longer vaca's but have to make time for the family as well... I also run and archery club here at my school, so I get kids into the sport as much as possible.  Its great!!

[Ground Hunter]

I run a large University Dept. Criminal Justice.  We have both undergrad. and graduate degrees.  Oh yea, in my spare time I'm a cop.  I hunt every chance I get.  H

[Sherm65]

I am a high school social studies teacher and a wrestling coach. I hunt hard from Oct. to mid Nov. before the wrestling season starts. I try to sneak out to the woods over Thanksgiving and Christmas break. I look forward to retirement when I can plan a trip for elk and caribou.

[Ryan Sanpei]

Been a special education teacher in Hawaii for 10yrs.  I'm fortunate because we always have something to hunt year-round.  I hunt on the weekends and during my breaks.