High School is full of memories that students will look back on and never forget, even the embarrassing moments. Believe it or not teachers are not excluded from embarrassing high school moments either. South El Monte High is a fairly new school, only being built in 1992. This means that we are lucky enough to have teachers that have spent years teaching here, with plenty of stories to tell.  Here at South El Monte, our teachers have been through a whole lot. Presenting their most embarrassing moments in all their glory, our staff at South answered a few questions about their most bittersweet memories:

Ms. Cobian’s English Disasters

Ms. Cobian has been working at South El Monte High for over 27 years, and she has a few stories to tell us. Imagine the scenario: 6th period senior class, and Ms. Cobian is hysterically laughing. Naturally, she rests her head on her desk while she takes a moment to gather her composure. She raises her head and her students have the most horrified look plastered on their faces. Blood drips down from her forehead while students frantically ask if she’s okay. “I put my head down directly onto a pin tack. I didn’t even feel it.” While this was enough to turn her classroom from laughter to concern, it’s a memorable moment for sure.

Senior class stories don’t stop here, in that same class, Ms. Cobain taught for a whole two hours, unbeknownst to the giggles that littered the classroom. She finally realized that her zipper was down the whole time while she was teaching. “Nobody even told me! I was teaching for a whole two hours, so embarrassing.” 

Ms. Cobian once fell in the parking lot, then literally walked it off. “I fell, but everyone thought it was someone else! I just went along with it.” Meanwhile, all her coworkers discussed the teacher who fell in the parking lot, but the whole time they were talking about Ms. Cobian! She looks back at it now and laughs.

Mr. Legaspe: Biology Class Chronicles

Haircuts, they make us or break us. 

“This one happened recently with a group of senior students. One of them had gotten a haircut, and usually I don’t take notice, but once it was pointed out I told them they look more mature.” 

Of course they joked, “Thank you! You’re calling me old.” 

“Obviously, it’s all in good spirits.” 

Mr. Kidder, Technology These Days

“I am not a techno wiz, ask anyone who has taken my class. People still ask me if my computer is turned on.” 

This story takes us back about 10 years, when the new grading systems were implemented onto the school desktops. 

“I couldn’t for the life of me figure out the problem, but I know it had something to do with submitting grades. I called the district and was referred to Mr. Duong, but at the time he was in training for assistant principal teaching, not our assistant principal yet. Mr Duong got on the phone with me, and at some point he decided to make it a video chat. Remember, I know nothing about technology. I held my phone to my ear while speaking to Mr. Duongs image on my desktop.”

Basically, Mr. Kidder was on a video chat on the computer, but thought he needed his phone to speak to Mr. Duong.

“My class is looking at me like I’m some type of idiot, and I cannot understand why. They’re supposed to be doing work, but no, they’re all just watching and listening to me and Mr. Duong.”

Fast forward about three minutes into the call, Mr. Duong says, “Mr. Kidder, you know you can put down the phone, and we can still talk to each other.” The classroom erupted into laughter as Mr. Kidder sheepishly hung up the phone.  

He leaves us with this advice, “If you can’t laugh at yourself, then you have no right to laugh at others.” 

Mr. Rosales: Regret the Bet

Mr. Rosales takes us back to 1999 at El Monte High School. 

“I lost a bet to a football player, and my loss was that I had to dress up as a cheerleader and wear a wig. My luck, Halloween was not far away. So on Halloween, I wore a cheerleading outfit and a wig. Students took pictures with me.”

“I did get made fun of, I believe it was all good spirited! The next day was quite funny as well as everyone recovered from the bet I lost.”