Every student knows Casey Shannon is the cool photography teacher who always has a camera looking for a good picture. But outside the darkroom, there is more to Shannon than meets the eye. 

Two years ago, Shannon’s life was as normal as every young male’s. He went to work, came home, went to the gym, and chilled. But now that he has a son, his home life has changed. He understands how exhausting it is to take care of a young boy, so Shannon makes it his life’s mission to rush home and give his wife a break from her parenting duties. Shannon normally takes his son out on a bike ride or takes trips to the grocery store. 

With Shannon’s life changing in the past two years, getting used to separating his teaching and home life has been easier over time.

“I think maybe I found it difficult [to separate my work and home life] when I first started teaching, but I think now, since its my eighth year at Hayfield and it’s my ninth year teaching, I feel like at this point I have a pretty good handle on how to teach and have a personal life,” Shannon said. 

Along with taking care of his son, Shannon spends his time doing millions of different hobbies. 

“With an almost two year old at home it’s been hard to have hobbies, but…my hobbies have included photography, painting and pottery. [I play] music, I play guitar and a few other instruments. I love being outside. I was an athlete for a long time. But as of right now my hobbies currently revolve around being a dad, which is just kind of the season of life I’m in right now,” Shannon said. 

When becoming a teacher, you may think “I will never see my students outside of class”, but that is not necessarily true. 

“There was one time… last year. It was right around this time of year, and I was sitting right by the Torpedo Factory with my wife’s family…[we were] sitting in the grass and a student that I have in SOAR, Taylor Bailey, was five feet away from me…I didn’t want to startle her… and I also didn’t want to be weird and not say hi, so I was just like ‘hey Taylor’ and it freaked her out,” Shannon said. 

Besides Shannon’s busy life with his son and his many hobbies, he holds a deep respect for teaching. 

“I feel like being a teacher has gotten more challenging. I’m a photography teacher… [and] sometimes I look at some of the other teachers at Hayfield who I really respect. They might teach chemistry or math or an English class. And I feel for them because I’m like ‘man, that’s just like a really difficult job and there is a lot of pressure for students to perform, and that can be passed onto you guys, the students.’ …People have bad-mouthed teachers and stuff like that, but teachers are… the backbone of society. And I’m not saying that teachers need to make a million dollars a year or something, but a little more than what we get now. We need to get more understanding or respect for teachers,” Shannon said. 

Just like taking a good picture, you can’t always capture the full idea without a little backstory. Shannon is not only a photography teacher but he is an amazing dad, a man with a million hobbies, and someone who always speaks his mind.