What school did you go to?

I went to Royall Middle and High [School]. It combined [students from] Elroy, Mo. and Kendall, Mo., so that’s [the name] they came up with for the school.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Photo courtesy of Aaron Bashirian

Social studies teacher Aaron Bashirian smiles for his fourth-grade school photo. Bashirian didn’t remember taking the photo, but he did remember the shirt. “I loved that t-shirt. That's a Biker Scout t-shirt from 'Return of the Jedi,' [which] had just come out. The movie was huge. I wore that shirt more often than I should have,” Bashirian said.

How was your childhood home life?

[I had] so much freedom. Sometimes we were bored [though], so we had to get creative. We would climb the water tower or microwave tower. We had woods right across the road from the house [that] I played in a lot. We played Frisbee on Main Street. I started a band. That’s how we had to get creative.

Back then, my parents were rather heavy-handed [and] old school, [using] belts, whips. I was also raised to work; my kids do chores because they’re part of the family. We had that kind of attitude. 

When did you know you wanted to be a teacher and teach this subject? 

After I graduated school, I pursued a music career for 12 years. Then, I got down to St. Louis, where I met my wife who was a teacher. After we got married, I was still pursuing music, but I’d gotten burned out on that. I saw that [my wife] was a teacher, and I had a history degree already, [so] it made sense that I went into history.

Tell me a childhood story that always makes you smile. 

My dad collected pocket watches, and he also liked to take us out into the woods and cut firewood. One of my proudest moments as a child was when I was about 6 or 7, [and] my dad and I had been cutting wood in the woods. We’d been out there for a couple hours, [and] we were getting ready to go when my dad realized he’d lost his watch. [It was] one of his really nice, railroad pocket watches. It was fall, and there were leaves everywhere. He was really upset because there was no way we’d find it. We’d been walking over quite a large area. So, I was walking down this one area and, I remember this very clearly, I stopped because I heard a helicopter. As I’m standing there, the helicopter goes away, and then I hear ticking. I go down on the ground and start ruffling through the leaves, and I find [the watch]. The look on his face — it was one of those moments where you realize you did something really cool. [He] really appreciated it, [and it’s] one of my favorite memories.

What things make you nostalgic when you see/hear/smell/ feel them?

The sound of a typewriter. The sound of channel selectors on TVs. I hardly ever smell it anymore, but Drakkar Noir; it was a very popular cologne when I was in college and high school, [and] when I smell that, it takes me back. Every time I go back to Los Angeles, there are so many sights and sounds there that really bring back my childhood, [too].