Whether it be his unique approach to the classroom or his My Little Pony Friendship is Magic belt buckles, Puckett stands out from the average Latin teacher in quite a few ways.

Latin is a tough subject and Latin teachers tend to be just as tough. But Zachary Puckett doesn’t think he reflects that stereotype. 

“I value effort the most in the classroom,” Puckett said. “Trying your best and giving a sincere effort to improve is more important than any one result.” 

However, Puckett still thinks his classroom style isn’t all that different from his colleagues’. 

“My method of teaching Latin is a more chill version of what my teachers did,” He said. “We work through the stories in the books, usually translating individually for the class. Sprinkle in some worksheets and myth and that’s pretty much it.”

Puckett hasn’t always taken this approach. When he first started as a Latin teacher at Free State in 2011, before joining the LHS staff in 2015, his teaching perspective was much more traditional. 

“When I first started out, I expected the students to be model students,” Puckett said. “You quietly listen when others are talking, and your entire focus is on the material at hand.”

“I wanted my students to win awards,” He said. “5’s on AP Exams, gold medals on the National Latin Exam, trophies and blue ribbons at the state Latin convention.”

When a student wasn’t trying their hardest in class or falling short on their grades, Puckett took it personally.

“Missing a homework assignment was a direct insult to me as a person,” He said. “Surely they aren’t skipping homework assignments in their other classes.”

“To put it bluntly, I was a selfish teacher early on,” Puckett said. “That isn’t to say I didn’t show grace and respect to my students, but I definitely was a bit more surly when kids weren’t giving me 100%.”

But in 2019 after drastic changes to the learning conditions at LHS due to construction, Puckett had a paradigm shift.

“I had to teach in the cafeteria for a month or two,” He said. “and that helped me refocus on what should be important, and then COVID came along and forced me to really consider where I wanted and needed to put my effort.”

Puckett decided that it was more important for the students to be comfortable and confident in his classroom, rather than be perfect model students. 

“We are all going to make mistakes in the classroom, myself included,” Puckett said. “But I don’t want that to keep kids from putting themselves out there and being engaged and interactive with the class.”

However it’s not only his modern approach to teaching the ancient Roman language that makes him stand out. 

Puckett doesn’t shy away from flaunting his interests in the classroom, even in the form of wearing his My Little Pony Friendship is Magic belt buckles to school on special occasions.

“I have three MLP belt buckles: one of Rainbow Dash, one of Rainbow Dash’s Cutie Mark, and one of Derpy Muffins.”

“Most of my merch I got as birthday or Christmas presents,” Puckett said. 

Puckett doesn’t identify as a “Brony” and doesn’t consider himself to be a hardcore fan of the show, but still liked it when he was an active viewer. 

“I enjoyed the show when I was watching it, but priorities changed, life got in the way, and it became less of a priority for me to watch. That tends to happen with fads, I guess.”

“If I had a Cutie Mark it would be teaching, gaming, or Roman inspired,” He said. “I would assume something like a laurel wreath or a game controller, maybe a chalkboard or something.”

But MLP merch isn’t the only thing separating Puckett from others in his field. Puckett also occasionally plays video games on the live streaming platform Twitch.

“During the school year I don’t stream that much,” He said. “Maybe a few times a month if I can.”

“Over the summer I tried to do five days a week,” Puckett said.“but house projects took over in July and my streaming dropped off. Last summer I was mainly streaming Genshin Impact, and my most recent streams have been primarily Sea of Thieves with my family.”

Puckett streams for fun and doesn’t put a lot of stress on the number of viewers or the popularity of his channel. 

“My chat is very non-toxic,” He said. “Partly because there’s only, like, five people in there, and they tend to be very quiet.”

Though Puckett’s lifestyle and learning model varies from other Latin educators by a wide margin, he doesn’t feel alienated by his colleagues. 

“Although I am on good terms with the other Latin teachers around the area, I don’t know much about their personal lives,” Puckett said. “So it’s hard to say what makes me stand out. I imagine not many of them ride a motorcycle or play recreational volleyball.”

Though Puckett has a few interesting fads and hobbies, he thinks his teaching isn’t really changed by them, outside of helping the kids open up to him and make them want to participate in the class. 

Puckett thinks his teaching style and learning environment helps let kids move through the language at their own comfort level, while still keeping them up to date on work and assignments. 

“The Latin will come, I just want them to enjoy their time with me.”