I would be remiss if I didn’t say I have been looking forward to this day for what seems to be a lifetime. I would also be lying if I said I was not sad about it. There is a bittersweet feeling which vacillates from day to day. Retirement is a big word. Something Americans work for their whole lives. It feels monumental to have made it to the “end” of my working career. I was just a baby when I started way back in the 80s. It seemed like it would be forever till this day came…and yet in the blink of an eye…here it is.

For as long as I can remember I have loved kids. I started volunteering to help at VBS as soon as I was old enough. I worked at the church daycare in the summers, and my first real job after a short stint in fast food, was at Kindercare. I was 16 years old and soon had seniority over everyone there. Obviously, it wasn’t a great place to work, but I loved the children and spent hours with them on the playground. In college, I worked at the Berry Child Development Center all 4 years while I was getting my degree. If I could have added it, playing would have been my minor. The closest I could find was Child Development. It was my specialty.

My original goal was to become a child psychologist and open my own practice. Then I added education to my psychology degree and became a teacher instead. Adding a Masters in Collaborative Teaching and Learning along the way was a natural progression. If you are an educator you are a life-long learner, not just because of the continuing education requirements of the profession, but because you love to learn new things.

Being a public-school teacher for most of my career, I taught ALL kids, but have always had a heart for the ones who struggle. Those who have hard situations at home, or little support. I found my voice as an advocate for elementary kids who didn’t have one. Finding ways to reach them was a driving force behind several projects I was involved in. Being creative, and making things work in new ways for the kids whom the old ways weren’t cutting it was my happy place.

I have never been paid for my psychology degree, but I have used it every day of my career. Even once I left the classroom, I found myself drawn to educational pursuits. Teaching teachers in a refugee camp in Africa wasn’t something I had planned, but there I was, still teaching. Using my Instructional Coaching Endorsement, not in an official paying position, but in a very practical way which benefited teachers and students in a faraway land. Now, I own my own tutoring business and find joy in the one-on-one and freedom to teach in a way I know works. I also work at Mtn. Ed helping to design curriculum. So, even in retirement, I will still be an educator. A calling is not something that just goes away when you turn 60. 

I think one of the things I will miss most is the comradery with other teachers. We have a shared calling. On days when it brings heartache and frustration, we have each other to lean on. On days where the light bulb moments happen, we jump for joy and dance together. I don’t think you can really understand the bond between teachers unless you have experienced it.

We are an opinionated bunch. We can be loud. We can be angry. We can be complainers. There are too many things that affect us, which are outside of our control, to prevent these frustrations. Yet, we come back again and again for the kids. For the excitement of seeing a child get whatever it is we are imparting. It’s like magic. An invisible thought or idea floating around in my head or in a book, somehow slips into another brain. The eyes light up as it finds its way in, and you know…you just know they got it.

This magic trick is not as easy as it sounds. Some kids are like sponges and, if you could see it, have a whirlwind over their heads dropping every idea like a deluge. Others live under a heavy cloud which never rains. Maybe a brief shower comes every once in a while, and when it does…oh the joy! The job of a teacher is to poke the cloud. To release the rain. To hope the brain will receive the nourishment it needs so it does not shrivel up. The unseen force is a powerful elixir that fills and warms a teacher’s heart, when it lands on parched ground.

It is why we stay despite the fact that society blames all of its ills on us. Despite the fact the legislators continue to make decisions about what we do without consulting us. Despite the fact that kids are getting harder and harder to teach. There is always this spark of hope that today will be a day where we will make a difference to a child. That hope is a powerful motivator and it can cancel all the not-so-great things we deal with on a daily basis, because the children need the hope we have and… it is transferable.

I find it serendipitous that I am ending my career as a clerk in a school counseling office. I once desired to be a counselor, and now I am working with counselors who are helping kids every day. These last 3 years at Chestatee Academy have been a joy outside of the pressure of the classroom. Turns out my teaching experience helps me know what files are needed, who to ask, and a host of other helpful skills that I use daily. Multitasking is in my blood, because I have been a teacher forever.  

There will be no big bells or whistles from all my past students at my departure. Most of the students I taught are grown now. Off living their lives. I have been out of the classroom long enough I no longer recognize the names of my students in the newspaper education posts. My own kids asked if I wanted a party and I said no thanks. So, instead of a big retirement party, they opted to send us on a retirement trip to Ireland instead!

My current school planned a sweet retirement reception for me. What a joy for them to present me with this honor. Not every school affords their employees such kindness and respect. I love them and will miss being there with the Chestatee family. I will stay a war eagle.

I have loved every minute of teaching kids and I will continue to tutor to keep my internal teacher happy. I will miss school but not so much that I desire to go back. My time in a school setting is over, but my calling remains. My career has been full. I have loved being a teacher and will continue to teach wherever I go.

Wisdom from a career in education.

• Be a bulldog when you need to be. Advocate.
• Pick your battles carefully.
• Practice healthy boundaries.
• Remember to pee.
• Nothing is more important that your own family. Nothing.
• Don’t take yourself too seriously.
• Laugh often.
• Don’t take parent calls personally.
• Everyone is their own kind of crazy.
• Remember to eat in your 15-minute window.
• Use creativity as a back door.
• You are not a martyr. 
• You are not the Savior of the world.
• Try to stay awake in meetings.
• Remember to cry when you need to.
• The paperwork will still be there tomorrow.
• Your own children will not.
• Do not quench hope, share it.
• Treat others how you want to be treated.
• Remember to walk away and breathe when you need to.
• Text jokes and use hand signals during staff meetings.
• Cultivate empathy in yourself.
• Demonstrate it for your students.
• Be a team player.
• Fun is more important than standards.
• Learning is more important than tests.
• Work wholeheartedly.
• Share. The load. The feelings. The ideas. The delight. The wine.
• Make learning exciting, but not at the expense of your own health.
• Live fully.