35 Years of Teaching: A Reflection

I am pleased to announce A DECISION! (much more difficult than you might imagine) After 35 years of teaching ... I am going to retire! I will continue to substitute ... but look forward to part time working! I thought in honor of the last 35 years to do a bit of reflection. My first year teaching was in 1979, at Madison Elementary in Coos Bay. I taught 5th grade in a portable. I was only 21 years old when I started. Turned 22 the first week of teaching.

Part 2 of my reflection of my 35 years of teaching ....I spent 3 years at Madison Elementary (2 years at 5th, one year at 4th). Each year I got "RIFed" which means I was layed off (reduction in force) I was re-hired at some point during the summer. The third year I didn't get rehired unti a right before school started and placed at Green Acres Elementary. Green Acres is a BEAUTIFUL place. 20 miles south of Coos Bay in the foothills of the coast range. It is off of Hwy 42 on your way to Coquille. I was placed in a 1st AND 2nd grade classroom..I had about 25 students. There were about 75 students in the whole school. I loved working with Lon Kirkendall and Tom Leahy. Our principal was certifiably crazy - the two men kept me sane. Up unto that year all k, 1, 2, 3 students had a shortened day. They would leave school around 2:15. 4th, 5th and 6th graders stayed an hour or more longer. Of course they changed that when I started teaching primary. My students arrived at 8:30 and didn't leave until 3:30 ......LONG day for teacher and students