no slowing down

By Austin Pimentel

People with jobs have to balance their life with work and home.  It's the same for teachers when they have to teach, plan lessons and then go home and relax.  

Joe Te, A physical education teacher at yerba buena high school is managing classes full of students, being a basketball coach at Gilroy high school and has been coaching ever since 1995 with Gilroy high school and also being a family man with his kids and his wife.  He is committed to his jobs and his home life.

Born and raised in the Philippines, eventually moving here to San Jose at 8 years old, Te always wanted to be a teacher when he walks into the classroom every day.  

Back in the 5th grade, Te would see his teachers having a good time and images of being one of them.  Now he is a teacher having fun with his Physical education class and students.

Te: “Oh man, 5th grade.  I remember very clearly I would walk into my PE class and I would see my teachers and joking, having a good time and I thought to myself, man, these guys really enjoy their job, so I wanted to be just like those guys and sure enough, that's kind of what I'm doing now.  I'm trying to have fun in P.E.”

Now being a P.E teacher, he has fun with his students everyday and teaches them while moving, and likes daily activities with his students and is glad to see them back to watch them grow better.  

Te: “Oh, its everyday activity, you know, and I'm able to sit and move and be able to play with the kids, still have a lot of energy to keep up with them.  And obviously teaching them movement patterns.”

However, there are still challenges for Te when he is trying to teach a class that he is trying to have fun in due to the insane amount of students in his classes:

.

Te: “Yeah, I would say the class overload.  Its, we have so many kids and i've had 51 year for one class and that's just a lot to manage for any teacher.  So I would say thats probably not the most enjoyable part because it becomes a safety issue.”

But despite those challenges, Te has a lot of fun with his classes especially when trying to get them into sports and teaching them the basics to have fun, seeing them grow, and also enjoys the big sports events that are hosted. 

Te: Oh my.  Entering my ninth or tenth year here, there's so many.  It's the camaraderie with the kids, seeing them grow, but as far as the best memory, it's the its got to be the annual march madness.  Well, Mr. Trin has this lunchtime games and where we play the winner of those games, the staff play.  I enjoy it.  That's my favorite memory.”

Te having to manage the classes with a bunch of students and also his home life where he has to take care of his kids can be a bit of a difficult challenge but also that he gets to have time with his wife and kids when his work day is over.  

Te: “Spent a lot of time with her.  And the kids the you know my little 2 year old definitely keeps me laughing all the time.  But I spend a lot of time with the family. And so then there was that make, I don't know, laugh.”

Despite his balanced life, he still looks towards the future and unlike most teachers, Coach Te is a bit different from other teachers when it comes to retiring and living their life peacefully because he wants to continue to work.  

Te: “I don't plan on retiring. I think I'm going to be working for the rest of my life.  I think it'll just be a new chapter after I leave education and just not what sure what future endeavors will apply.”  

In general, despite the struggle he deals with, Te always brings enjoyment towards his students in the classroom, and getting to spend time with his wife and kids at home.  He always keeps working hard everyday and makes sure he breaches others with a good attitude.  

Te: “Keep your head straight.  Get good grades, have good character, work hard, never give up.  And just know that every day is a new day.  So if you have a bad day, just continue to work hard.  And surround yourself with good people.”