Teacher Profile: Mr. Roche

People say they know their teachers, but do they really?  Students are around their teachers for a great amount of time without getting to know them. Having relationships with your teachers gives you the ability to interact and speak up for the things you need. It also makes it easier for your teacher to meet your development, emotional, and educational needs. All teachers have a different story from their school life compared to their home life. Mr. Roche, a health teacher who has been here at Forest Grove High School for 11 years, should be recognized for the hard work he’s put in to teach us students what he’s most passionate about. He’s very easy going and his students feel welcome in his classroom.

All teachers have typical morning routines. Mr. Roche starts off his day at 5:30 am when his one year old wakes up. For a majority of his morning, he hangs out with his family, watches the news, and eats breakfast. Finally, he helps his kids get ready for school and out the door. When we asked Mr. Roche what his favorite part about being a teacher is, Mr. Roche proudly stated, ”My favorite part of being a teacher is connecting with students and following their progress during their four years at Forest Grove High.“ This shows how much he cares about having connections with his students so he can help them meet their everyday needs. He’s figured out that knowing things about his students makes him more likely to remember their names. Mr. Roche has been a health teacher here for quite some time, but everyone likes trying new things. We continued to ask him about his school life, wanting to know what other subjects he would teach, given the opportunity. He told us he would teach history if he wasn’t able to teach health because as he grew older his appreciation for history changed due to experiencing other parts of the world. In college at Pacific University, Mr. Roche studied Exercise Science, although he didn’t stop there – he continued on to get his Master Degree in teaching to get his teaching certificate. His college experiences and best memories came from the basketball team he was on. The training, practices, games, road trips, and hanging out with his teammates made it all worth its while. There’s many people who inspire us to pursue the things we want in life. In high school, Mr.Roche came across a few teachers and coaches who encouraged him to follow what he wanted in his future career. Teachers and coaches such as Mr. Dailey, Mr. McMillan, and Mr. Reike “ had a great positive impact on my life.” Mr. Roche says that, as a teacher, he hopes to have the same effect on his students and athletes as his favorite teachers had on him.

Mr. Roche’s school life is very different in comparison to his home life. During the breaks he has off of school, he spends time with his family. He said,” I love to hang out with my family. I have three young sons that are very active that we try to keep busy. We love to go camping, and traveling to see family out of the state.” Mr. Roche loves to see new places and experience new things. Having three sons keeps him busy throughout his free time which never leaves him wondering what he should do next. He likes the feeling of the fresh air and his surroundings which drives him to his hobbies, such as going camping, hiking, and running to stay in shape. Before he started teaching, he was all about trying to keep up in his schoolwork, which made him a very hard worker. He also had a passion for basketball throughout college. Most people admire or look up to someone in their life. For him, that person was his father, also known as “Papa Roche”. He said to us, “He stood for the right things and is a valuable asset I still learn from today.” His father has made a great impact on his life and to this day, Mr. Roche still learns new things from him that he can use in life. Traveling is always a fun to experience if you have the chance. Mr. Roche has traveled to Europe many times and this Spring break he will travel to London and Paris with the adventure club. Which will be a very interesting and exciting trip for him.

Now that we know more about teachers home life and school life, it gives us an idea of how teachers individually spend their time. Mr. Roche is a great teacher to have because he has a great impact on his students. Teaching health is something Mr. Roche has always been dedicated to. He states, ”Your health and how you take care of your mind and body plays such a big role in everything else in your life. As a health teacher, I really hope to inspire students the importance of taking care of their health in order to reach their goals and passions they have in their life.” As students, we forget that our health is just as important as our education. Having Mr. Roche here to tell us the benefits of taking care of ourselves, makes us more likely of having a better and healthier life. He has a great sense of humor and students love to be in his classroom. If you have him as your coach or teacher, make sure you acknowledge the hard work he has put in to be the best teacher and coach he can be for all of us, students.