This is the 2nd article in Before They Were Bears, a biweekly column highlighting teachers’ lives before their jobs as educators
Before he became an Education Specialist and Study Skills teacher at M-A, Scott Kirk was a friendly teen navigating the halls of San Mateo High School.
Raised in San Mateo, Kirk remembers his high school as both unique and tight-knit. “It looked kind of like a prison, as far as the windows and the courtyard in the back,” Kirk said. “But we loved it. It was a very diverse campus, similar to M-A.”
Unlike some classmates who fell into distinct groups, Kirk floated between them. “I wasn’t part of any particular crowd,” Kirk said. “I kind of just migrated, whether it was athletes or just skaters or whoever, it didn’t matter to me.”
Though he tried out football, golf, and even a year of soccer, Kirk never fully committed to one sport. Instead, his high school years were shaped by a balance of fun, responsibility, and a little bit of mischief. “I got in some trouble just kind of being a teenage boy in middle school, you know, little things like getting detention and stuff like that. But nothing crazy,” Kirk said.
Kirk also worked throughout high school, starting young. “Believe it or not, they let you work as a 14-year-old at Long’s Drugs, which is now CVS. I don’t think they do that anymore,” Kirk said. That job gave him an early sense of independence and responsibility that shaped his future work ethic, he explained.
Kirk recalls his school’s spirit vividly, especially during basketball season. “I was not on the basketball team, but we had a lot of school spirit, and we had a very good basketball team,” Kirk said.
Academically, Kirk took a more relaxed approach. “I just took the regular classes,” Kirk said. “I didn’t do any AP. We did have that, but I just wasn’t motivated like that.”
One of his tougher moments came with a long-term P.E. substitute. “I kind of was a little bit of a knucklehead. I just stopped dressing out, so she failed me, and I owned it. So then I had to take P.E. as a senior,” he said.
His senior year took an unexpected turn when the school was abruptly shut down over safety concerns. “They decided that it wasn’t earthquake safe. Basically, the year ended there,” Kirk said.
Still, his senior year wrapped up on a high note with a friend group senior trip to Cancun. “We had to raise money and all that, but it was a lot of fun,” he said. “It was very interesting to be there as an 18-year-old with a bunch of 18-year-olds at that time. Lots of fun outside the country,” Kirk said
Looking back, Kirk notices how different his high school experience was compared to today’s academic demands. “I don’t remember the academic pressure,” he said. “Now people are so concerned about grades and extracurricular activities and doing the best. It was really more about having fun and a little bit more stress-free,” he said.
Kirk sees technology as one of the biggest changes in today’s environment at M-A. He shares how recently his students found a video of San Mateo back in the 2000s. “There was a video actually in San Mateo, someone had a camcorder, and there was nobody on their phones. People were talking. And it bums me out, because I think that’s just the way the world is now, but it wasn’t like that before,” Kirk said.
Overall, Kirk reflects warmly on high school. “There wasn’t a lot of bullying or anything like that. I think for the most part, I’m gonna say it was a nine [out of 10].”
Today, he uses his experiences to relate to his students, offering the advice he wishes he’d known as a teenager. “I would say, follow your gut, follow your interests, do something you love to do, and work hard to do it, whether it’s art or whether it’s computer science,” Kirk said. Work as soon as you can—it’s a really good experience to learn how to kind of gain some independence. And get your driver’s license.”
