Eastipedia: Stephen Laird

Shawnee Mission East teacher Stephen Laird has been teaching at east for three years. But Laird is not like any other teacher, he is legally blind, but that just means he can’t drive, or be in the military. Being legally blind does not stop him from being a teacher. He teaches his class the only way he knows how too.

“I have had it since birth,” Laird said, “so I don’t know any other way to teach.”

Originally Laird dreamed of being a chef, and worked hard to become one. He went to school for a year, assuming he would one day be a chef. He worked at the Marriott, but his work took up a lot of his free time, and demanded lots of hours.

“I got kind of burned out with the long hours,” Laird said, “it’s not like a normal nine to five, it was like three to midnight, so I didn’t really have a social life outside of my friends that were cooking.

When Laird was 19, he stopped cooking and started pursuing his current career, teaching. Growing up, Laird had teachers that had a positive impact in his life, and he wanted to be the same role model to students, that his teachers were to him.

“I wanted to do something with social sciences,” Laid said, “and when I was chef, I missed [the opportunity] to get involved in social sciences and government.”

Laird started off teaching in Olathe and had a summer teaching job in California. Now Laird has been teaching at East for three years, and wants to continue teaching for the rest of his career.

“My goal is to teach for the rest of my life”, Laid said.