Teachers celebrate day of love

February 16, 2009 • written by Taylor Trauger, Copy Editor  
Filed under Feature

        Flowers tower over administrative assistants in the office, red heart-shaped balloons bounce above students’ heads in the hallways, and love notes and hugs are exchanged. However, students are not the only ones in the building celebrating this extravagant day of love.

        Teachers and staff members also go out to eat and shower their loved one with flowers on Valentine’s Day.

        A rose is the flower of choice for English teacher Sybil Hopkins. But by any other name, it would be unacceptable.

        “Last year my husband gave me tulips,” Hopkins said. “Tulips are wonderful, but not on Valentine’s Day. Tulips are stupid on Valentine’s Day. You have to have roses.”

        Physical education teacher Nathan Knudsen does not think flowers are important on Valentine’s Day. He usually gets his wife a card instead.

        “I don’t send flowers when they’re expected,” Knudsen said.

        Science teacher Aaron Tank sends flowers, but not necessarily roses every year.

        “It depends on what the florist has and what condition they’re in,” Tank said.

        Along with sending flowers, Tank and his wife celebrate Valentine’s Day by going out to eat or leaving town.

        “We try to keep it spontaneous,” Tank said. “We try to go someplace new. Just somewhere random.”

        Hopkins and her husband try to do something different as well. One year they went to Winnipeg, Canada.

        “[Going to Winnipeg] seems like a crazy thing,” Hopkins said. “We tried to go skating, but it was too cold.”

        Most years, Hopkins and her husband generally have a nice dinner.

        Knudsen does not go out on Valentine’s Day because there are too many “amateur daters,” he states.

        Teenagers seem to stress the importance of Valentine’s Day, while some adults do not even send flowers or have fancy, romantic dinners.

        School Resource Officer Todd Pearson thinks Valentine’s Day can be stressful for teenagers these days.

        “As a teen, [Valentine’s Day] wasn’t nearly that big of a deal,” Pearson said, referring to his years in high school.

        English teacher Toni Nelson did not like the romantic holiday as a teenager.

        “My friends and I used to dress in all black on Valentine’s Day,” Nelson said. “I had a boyfriend break up with me because he didn’t want to buy me a present for Valentine’s Day. At least that’s the excuse I’m going with.”

        However, Pearson thinks Valentine’s Day is a good way to remember the ones you love.

        “As guys, it’s sometimes hard to do that [daily],” Pearson said.

        Pearson remembers to spread the celebration of Valentine’s Day to his entire family. He and his wife give their kids candy hearts and send cards to extended family to “make sure the ones you love know it.”

        “The symbol about the holiday is about love,” Pearson said.

        Even if Knudsen does not send flowers or go out to eat, he recognizes romance.

        “Despite what you think, I am a romantic,” Knudsen said.

        Romantics and simpletons alike celebrate Valentine’s Day with their spouses and families. Some of them wander the halls of West Fargo, teaching the “amateur daters” anything from English to science.