We Followed Mr. Roebuck For an Entire Day — Hour by Hour

A complete insight on Mr. Travis Roebuck’s daily routine as a teacher at Redwood High School.

By: Haley Padilla

Have you ever wondered what your teachers do in periods other than your own? 

This question often loiters in the minds of students, specifically when they observe teachers bustling through the hallways, apparently balancing a slew of responsibilities without neglecting any, or when they swiftly input grades instantly upon submitting an assignment.

Whether they teach multiple subjects or adhere to the same script in every class, every teacher inhabiting Redwood carries a story—students are just oblivious to it.

In order to acquire insight on a teacher’s day-to-day schedule, I shadowed Mr. Travis Roebuck for the entirety of the day. 

Mr. Travis Roebuck has been teaching at Redwood for about seven years now and relishes every day he can connect more with his students. Since 2018, he has been crafting a myriad of memories with his students, though his all-time favorite will forever be watching them graduate. 

Mr. Roebuck says, “Watching a kid that, as a freshman, you have built a great relationship with throughout four years throw their cap at the final cap at the final graduation and you see them just move on and know that they’re going to have a great life ahead of them and you were a part of it. It’s kind of cool to relive it again and again with new kids each time.”

Physical Education (PE) teachers are customarily recognized as the most active within the teaching department for their subjects, and Mr. Roebuck certainly satisfies the stereotype. 

As a Health and PE teacher, Mr. Roebuck adopts the pattern of a student, venturing between Redwood’s two campuses—Main and Vista—every day. Though he is not required to cross the bridge, similar to any other Ranger, it is still a lengthy jaunt.

“I do get to cheat, and I sneak under the bridge most times, but it’s tough watching [kids go up the bridge],” said Mr. Roebuck. “I understand the pain that our students go through a little bit with that bridge, and I think I’m probably more reluctant on giving tardies because of the travels I take each day and seeing the amount of traffic that the kids have to fight against.”

Juggling Health and PE classes simultaneously has not been his job from the beginning. Mr. Roebuck instructed an entirely different class at the dawn of his career. Mr. Roebuck says, “I actually came to Redwood to be an AVID teacher. For the first four years… I was teaching PE and AVID at the same time. And then once the AVID cycle ended, I moved into Health and have been blessed to do that since.” 

Mr. Roebuck is not the only Redwood teacher to coordinate teaching multiple subjects each day, however, the distance between his classrooms demands pre-arranging lessons and the room the day before.

“I feel like I have to be in multiple places at once. A challenge would be coming from Main to Vista, just like all the students have to do, and I try to be on time to navigate and then start a new topic in a new class,” said Mr. Roebuck. “It’s just a lot of preparation ahead of time to try to avoid dead time in class.”

Integrated PE is Mr. Roebuck’s first class of the day, and on March 28th, he and his students spent it on the track. 

The class assembled within the Mineral King Bowl, where they were instructed to commence their running drills. In the meantime, Mr. Roebuck organized the equipment for the 40-yard dash. Upon completion of their warm-up, the students are ordered to take a lap around the track before gathering for testing because Mr. Roebuck “cares for his students.” Each is tested one by one, some even repeating the procedure to obtain a faster score, before the class period ends. 

As the students are dismissed, Mr. Roebuck retreats to the boys’ locker room, where he will remain until the bell rings. He then embarks on his journey to Sierra Vista.

Tardiness to his second-period class, Health, is always an obstacle, however, Mr. Roebuck perseveres. 

While the students settle in and indulge in a moment of conversation with their friends before class starts, Mr. Roebuck plays “The Pod.” After the podcast ends and the students truly begin to pay attention, Mr. Roebuck conducts a lesson discussing sleep, heart rate, and bones. Throughout class, he is very encouraging to those who may struggle with their grades and celebrates every one of their triumphs. 

“I’m very appreciative of his support,” said Elijah Jung, ‘28, a student in 4th-period Health. “He is a great teacher.”

For the third period, Mr. Roebuck is rewarded with a planning period since he coaches a pre-first PE class. He utilizes his alone time by orchestrating future lessons for both of his classes ahead of time. For the fourth and fifth periods, he repeats the same procedures for his second Health and Integrated PE classes. Mr. Roebuck is free for sixth. 

When asked how he coordinates his multiple subjects effortlessly, Mr. Roebuck responded, “I’m still trying to perfect it. I wasn’t really familiar with [Health] when I first started teaching it—I was kind of just placed into it. I’ve figured out how to navigate it better now, though. I think the biggest thing is I teach it from the perspective of a father. I think: what would I want my sons to know and what would they need to know to be healthy?”

Thoroughly engaging students in academics is quite a challenge for many teachers. Mr. Roebuck captivates his students with his unique comedic charm. 

Jung says, “He’s honestly one of the funniest teachers I’ve had. The jokes he makes during the lessons catch my attention.” 

Mr. Roebuck, however, believes the opposite. 

“I engage the students that want to be engaged, but there are some students who are really tough,” said Mr. Roebuck. “I try to make contact with them daily and have conversations. I find something that they’re interested in, and if I can find something that we both relate to, then we’ll have a better understanding as a student and teacher. I just want to make sure that my students are enjoying every minute.”

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