Johnson comes back to M.A. after leaving during pandemic
Seth Johnson is delighted to be returning to a Minnehaha classroom after taking a pause in his teaching career during the pandemic.
Johnson teaches 9th grade English and has taught high school English for 18 years.
He seeks adventure and excitement in everything he does, including golfing, camping, cold plunging, and eating and growing hot peppers.
“The experience is pain, sweating, crying, eyes watering, a lot of water pouring out of my body and then you know your mouth is just on fire,” he said, describing the experience of eating a Carolina Reaper. “It’s invigorating. It totally wakes you up, and it’s a shock to the system. Once you cool down you feel so awake and alive.”
Johnson taught English at the Upper School until the COVID pandemic hit. He then chose to take a pause on his career and focus on his family.
“My kids were going to be doing distance learning because the pandemic was hitting, and we didn’t know how long it was going to last,” he said, “so just knowing I was going to stay home with them for as long as was needed, I had to leave.”
Johnson stayed connected with Minnehaha by coaching girls golf in the spring, but he said he loves teaching and especially likes to watch his students grow and learn.
“I think relationships with the students and watching the students progress throughout the year and watching them grow is the most rewarding thing,” he said.
First-year Gretchen Rieke is one of Johnson’s students this year.
“I like how we get to read stories and write,” Rieke said. “He’s a really good teacher.”
Johnson said he loves to introduce his students to the joys of literature. After being asked what his favorite book to teach is, he replied, “That sounds like asking which is your favorite kid.”
When pressed, though, he said his favorite book to teach is not a novel or short story. It’s a play: Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
“Walking them through it,” Johnson explained, “and seeing light bulbs come on, and seeing them appreciate something that is clearly outside of their time and their culture, it’s really cool to watch them get that.”
