History can be a very boring subject for most people. Some people can’t imagine school without it. However, whether students love history or hate history, Tanner McGaughey makes it fun for everyone. McGaughey, or Coach Mac for short, strives to make his class fun for everyone. He perfectly mixes learning and having fun to make his class the one students look forward to all day.
Before teaching history, he taught science at Loflin Middle School. However, his love for history made him jump at the opportunity to teach it at the high school.
“My favorite subject has always been history,” McGaughey said. “When I got the offer to move over to the high school and teach history it was an easy yes.”
For teenagers, it’s important to have leadership skills. Leadership skills help brain development. McGaughey helps his students get these skills.
“In my class, students have leadership roles that they complete daily to help class run smoothly,” McGaughey said. “I want students to feel comfortable in my classroom as well as responsible for their learning.”
Interestingly, the Coach Mac that we know today came very close to not being here. His original career path was accounting, and that’s even what he majored in.
“My favorite class in high school was accounting,” McGaughey said. “I actually loved it so much that it was my first career path.”
McGaughey is a very kind and caring person, and that is what played a part in him eventually becoming a teacher. He was inspired by his kind teachers and wanted to reciprocate that care to his own students.
“Everyday as a teacher is something different, a new challenge, a new interaction, a new chance to connect with someone,” McGaughey said. “I think just knowing I could make a difference to some kids was inspirational to me in choosing this career path.”
McGaughey creates his own ways to get his curriculum across to students. Sometimes, it’s hard for students to focus. However, McGaughey works around this by creating games that keep students entertained.
“I sometimes host the ‘’Coach Mac Quiz Show’ where students compete with one another,” Mcgaughey said. “Allowing students to be creative in my class as well as have fun while doing it is how I try to keep them engaged.”
As per the nickname, Coach Mac, McGaughey coaches soccer alongside teaching. He himself played sports in high school, and getting to pass on his knowledge to his students fun and even inspiring for him.
“I can connect with kids easily through sports,” McGaughey said. “Sports have always been a big part of me and who I am, so being able to pass my knowledge onto others is a ton of fun.”
McGaughey has taken inspiration from his past teachers. His favorite teacher, his accounting teacher, left a mark on him, and he uses her caring and passionate approach to teach his own students.
“She would say this thing on Fridays as we left her class, which is something I say to my students now,” McGaughey said. “‘Come back to me safe on Monday.’ It was something that has stuck in my mind ever since I was a student in her class that shows a level of care that really resonated with me.”
McGaughey cares for his students, and he wants them to know that. He tried to interact with them and show them how much he cares. There’s a reason he’s arguably one of Joshua’s favorite teachers.
“This student and I would take turns hiding each other’s backpack,” McGaughey said. “My favorite time was when we hid his backpack in the ceiling tiles in my class. When he finally figured it out, it was hilarious.”
McGaughey is a person, like the rest of us and like many people, he likes to sleep in. Unfortunately, his job makes that kind of difficult. If only he had super speed.
“I never feel like I can get enough sleep, so being able to wake up five minutes before I need to be somewhere and be able to super speed my way there would be awesome,” McGaughey said. “I hate driving, so this would cut down on my commute.”
In addition to wishing for super-speed, McGaughey is a man who is a very caring teacher. His passion is inspiring kids to do and be their best. He chose his career mostly based on this aspect, so it’s no surprise that he always stresses how caring he really is.
“The mark I would like to leave in this world is that I’m a loving and caring individual,” McGaughey said. “If I made the difference for one kid, doing this job has been worth it.”
