media by photo courtesy of Emily Tremaine

Teacher Emily Tremaine sits on top of the Garbage Goat in Spokane, Washington, in 2014. It was Garbage Goat’s 40-year celebration day.

Emily Tremaine: one of 16 social studies teachers at the school. And yet, there’s no one just like her.

Get to know Tremaine through 1o fast facts and the stories behind them.

1. College:

Tremaine attended Clark University in Massachusetts, where she double majored in French and history. 

2. Degree:

Emily Tremaine got her master’s in teaching at Clark University.

“I went to Clark University. I double majored in history and French, and then I got my master’s in teaching, also from Clark,” Tremaine said.

3. Offers:

Tremaine applied to many different schools.

“I just got lucky enough that Rock Canyon was the first one to offer me a job,” Tremaine said.

4. Teaching before Rock Canyon:

Emily Tremaine taught in Massachusetts as well as Colorado.

“I went to school in Massachusetts,” Tremaine said. “I taught for five years in Massachusetts, but I’m from Washington State and my husband is from Massachusetts. Colorado was kind of our compromise location.”

5. Years as a Jag:

Emily Tremaine has taught at Rock Canyon for 11 years and spent 16 years teaching. 

6. Favorite class:

Emily Tremaine’s favorite class to teach is Economics because of all the fun things you can do during the class and the different simulations.

“When I moved here, I would have said history because it was my very favorite thing to teach, and now it probably depends on the topic. Generally, I think I like Economics the best, simply because there are so many fun things that you can do, so I enjoy that. I enjoy all the different simulations we get to do and the projects,” Tremaine said.

7. The G.O.A.T. Emily Tremaine claims to be the official number-one fan of the Garbage Goat.

“So, the Garbage Goat is a life-size goat. There’s a little button behind him and when you press the button, he starts sucking. He’s like a vacuum cleaner. You hold out trash in your hand underneath his mouth and he sucks it up. It’s pretty cool and I am his official number one fan,” Tremaine said. “The Garbage Goat was created in Spokane, which is where I’m from. Spokane, Washington hosted the World Fair. Spokane was the smallest city to host the World Fair, and the theme was the environment, so they changed the downtown, which used to be just a bunch of railroad yards, into this massive park. They commissioned a bunch of art and one of the art pieces was the Garbage Goat. In fact, he is going to turn 50 this summer, summer 2024. Pretty excited. They’re going to have a party. I’m going to be there.”

8. Hobby: Emily Tremaine loves running.

“I just find it very nice to be able to go and get out,” Tremaine said.

9. Favorite Food: Emily Tremaine loves dessert cakes.

“I love dessert cakes, they are phenomenal, as are many, many other desserts. We do our little birthday cake chains,” Tremaine said.

10. The Game of Life: Every year, on the last day of class, they play the Game of Life.

“I love the last day [of class] when we do the Game of Life. People are shocked at the things that can happen to them and say, ‘Well, that will never happen to me.’ And it’s like no, no, it will,” Tremaine said. “Or, people just don’t understand, like, ‘Wait, I have insurance. I shouldn’t have to buy new tires.’ It’s like well, no, insurance doesn’t cover that. I just find it really amusing to watch people. I enjoy watching people be like, ‘Oh, savings are really important. Oh, insurance is really important.’ I feel like it’s fun and effective.”