Comedian shares laughs, insights with Hazleton Area teachers before school starts

HAZLE TWP — "Thank you for coming to this mandatory meeting," said Devin Siebold, drawing the first of many laughs from teachers.

Siebold turned comedian after teaching for 13 years. He sat through day-long training sessions like the one that nearly 800 teachers attended on Thursday in the auditorium of Hazleton Area High School as they prepared for students to return when classes open on Tuesday.

He recalled when he and other teachers started a previous school year by wearing identical shirts, which said "I'm here for the children."

"That's a cool shirt when you're in school," he said, but not when you forget you're wearing it while driving home and stopping at McDonald's for a snack. "Why aren't they taking my order? Are the police here? What is going on?"

Laughter built trust with his students, he said, by helping them feel safe so they shared their problems.

When Siebold had a problem — he lost motivation to finish studying to become a teacher in college —  a professor helped by giving Siebold $50 to spend on others.

Resisting the urge to blow the cash, Siebold and a friend bought turkeys and handed them out to people in a poor neighborhood.

After giving away the first turkey, Siebold felt like he had a purpose — to help other people.

"That's why teachers are here," the professor told Siebold. "We're here to make a brighter future."

Teachers exited the auditorium upbeat after listening to Siebold.

"He's somebody who has been in the trenches, knows the inside story," said Judy Pavlick, who follows Siebold on TikTok and plans to wrap up her career as a physical education teacher at Heights-Terrace Elementary/Middle School this year.

Joseph Natale, who teaches social studies at Valley and West Hazleton elementary/middle schools, said Siebold reminded teachers who are setting up classrooms to prepare mentally.

"You have to get ready to teach," Natale said. "I think it's nice to start on a positive note."

Cali Solarek said she puts humorous posters on the walls of her fourth-grade classroom at Heights-Terrace.

Similarly, Siebold told about drivers posting cartoons inside school buses and cafeteria workers adding jokes to school menus.

He used to leave energy bars or water bottles for teachers who substituted him, write thank you notes to other teachers or call parents to complement them on how well their children behaved — actions that cost very little but made him and others feel better about their school.

Sharing a lesson that he learned while working after school at a restaurant where a huge order came in at closing time, Siebold encouraged teachers to tackle big issues right away.

While the other cooks went ballistic, Siebold started planning and gathering more food before his boss stopped him and told him the big order was a prank

Impressed by Siebold's calm, however, the boss gave him a raise and promoted him to head chef.

For his final lesson, Siebold recalled his middle school basketball coach, who insisted that he make his last shot before leaving practice, advice that he extended to other aspects of his life.

Even when sending a student to the principal's office, Siebold liked to make the his last words positive, perhaps by saying he knows the student can do better or that something good will come from the punishment.

During his last day as a teacher, Siebold played a prank on a principal that he liked by correcting a power imbalance.

That principal could evaluate Siebold any time, but Siebold could never evaluate the principal.

"In my last day, I did it," Siebold said. "I walked right through his office with the clipboard. I was like, 'I'm not even here. I'll just sit in the back.'"