Being a teacher is hard work, yet with a little help from your significant other, it can be an incredible experience. Mr. and Mrs. Bassler have had the privilege of working together at Deerfield High School for 12 years, which includes the three years they’ve been married.

A common misconception among many students and staff is that working together may be a frustrating, and or difficult, experience; yet according to the Basslers, it has been the complete opposite.

“It’s nice that I teach math class also, so we collaborate sometimes, and I get information on her for help on teaching my class, so it’s nice,” Mr. Bassler said.

Even though married couples sometimes work in the same building, not all share a subject that they can have open discussions about, as well as enjoy equally. For both Mr. and Mrs. Bassler, working, and teaching students math, while being able to discuss math problems as well, has been a major upside of working together.

“It’s nice to be able to go home and like, you know, if you had a long stressful day at work you can vent about it. And he knows everybody. I couldn’t imagine having a husband who worked in an office all day, and when I tell stories he has no idea who I’m talking about,” Mrs. Bassler stated.

For the Bassler’s, talking about their day and sharing stories is one of the many highlights of working together. By working in the same department it’s easy to understand and relate to one another’s stories. Not only is both working in the math department an advantage, yet being able to coordinate plans with one another is one advantage as well.

When Mr. Bassler was asked if carpooling was something both he and Mrs. Bassler did together, he responded with, “A couple times a week we do. You know it depends on some days whether or not I have to pick up my other son at a different school, and what days we have other stuff going on after school.”

Despite only being a way to get to school, carpooling is also a way to hang out, and to spend quality time together. “I like the times we can drive together, and just like hang out in the car and listen to music. We listen to like NPR, or sometimes funny stuff on YouTube while we’re driving to work”, Mrs. Bassler stated.

Though carpooling is one highlight, Mr. and Mrs. Bassler also have two kids to take care of, which means having to sacrifice carpooling at times. Having children requires taking part in other responsibilities such as grocery shopping, doctor appointments, and other regular conflicts such as practices, or playdates; and by working together, coordination is much easier.

“Now that we have kids, it’s nice that like you know if I get a phone call from daycare saying ‘James is sick,’ I can run to his office and say ‘okay, who’s going to pick him up?’ and it’s nice to be able to coordinate that,” Mrs. Bassler said.

Besides family, there are sports involved in their conflicting schedule as well. Though Mr. Bassler is no longer the wrestling coach, wrestling practice used to be a daily conflict due to practices every day after school. There were even times after meets when Mr. Bassler would spend more time with the wrestling team at restaurants.

After hearing from one of Mr. Basslers previous wrestlers Adam Magnetti, we can tell that Mr. Bassler cared, and still does, greatly for his team.

Adam states, “Mr. Bassler usually took us, the freshman wrestling team, out for Culver’s or McDonald’s after our tournaments, but it was only if we performed well earlier in the day.”

Though unnecessary, Mr. Bassler always found ways to show his wrestling team how much he appreciated their hard work and dedication. On the other hand, Mrs. Bassler has shown her students, one of whom was Adam Magnetti, how much she cares for them as well.

“Mrs. Bassler loves to laugh and crack silly jokes in her math classes, however puts us back on track after we all get a good giggle”, Magnetti stated. Even during the hard school days Mrs. Bassler is able to cheer students up, as well as teach them the curriculum.

Working in the same building is much easier to help with family issues, and also after school plans as well. Though advantages are always a good thing, there are presumably always disadvantages as well. Yet, for the Bassler’, that’s not the case.

“No I don’t think so. I think it’s fun,” said Mrs. Bassler when asked if there are any disadvantages about working in the same school. Mr. Bassler agreed with Mrs. Bassler on this statement, where he said, “You know, I haven’t seen any challenges yet.”

Overall Mr. and Mrs. Bassler are wonderful assets to Deerfield High School. The impact they have made on both students and staff is tremendous. Current student Magnetti is one example of a student who has been impacted by the Basslers in which he stated, “Mr. and Mrs. Bassler always have a great attitude and love to do what they do, and for that, I say thank you guys.”