One teacher, two departments.

World language and health and fitness teacher Elizabeth Gorman teaches Spanish, rock climbing and yoga. She has been teaching for over a decade and is a former BHS student.

She is one of a few teachers who works in two departments and she juggles her responsibilities well, according to Health and Fitness Curriculum Coordinator Teddi Jacobs.

“Getting the schedule to work well for her can be tricky, running back and forth and needing different clothing,” Jacobs said. “But she handles it with a lot of grace and doesn’t make it look hard.”

Gorman said she tries not to contradict herself in different classes because sometimes she has students in more than one class. For example, many students are in both her Spanish and yoga classes or take yoga and rock climbing.

“When I teach yoga and talk about keeping things in a certain perspective, I can’t just walk out of there and contradict myself and drive home a different message,” Gorman said. “It keeps me in check, thinking what’s best for all my students, their well being, their learning, their self esteem, their relationship with the world.”

According to senior Emma Poole, who is in Gorman’s Advanced Placement Spanish class, Gorman likes to see her students succeed. She challenges them when she feels they can handle it.

“It’s not always easy with her; she is a really hard teacher, but she makes it something that’s within our grasp,” Poole said.

Gorman said her teaching philosophy for Spanish is to help students understand their world through the new language that they are learning.

“That’s my huge guiding force as opposed to doing what they are supposed to do and just building the skills because I told them to,” Gorman said.

According to Jacobs, Gorman tries to create a fun environment for her students but still teach important skills.

“Rock climbing is incredibly playful and fun; it’s about building strength and getting exercise, obviously, but it’s also incredibly playful,” Gorman said. “Yoga can be playful, but the energy we cultivate in climbing is taking risks and challenging yourself.”

Having a broad knowledge of multiple subjects, Gorman sometimes even incorporates elements of yoga into her Spanish class.

“Before midyears, we did some relaxation breathing, which was very therapeutic,” Poole said. “So much so that I might have fallen asleep for a few minutes.”