Retirement Blog 2022 – 2023 School Year

A story for every student contact day during my last year and a weekly musical interlude!

I am retiring at the end of the 2022-2023 year. This blog will be a retrospective and a celebration of the things I have been a part of for the last 30 years. This is in no way intended to be melancholy or a journal of grievances. It is a celebration of the joy a teacher sees, hears, and feels over the time of a career. I will try not to preach and hope to encourage teachers and students to enjoy the time they have together. I can speak from experience that they are memories that will last a lifetime. These are my recollections and come from my perspective and I do not imply the thoughts or deeds of anyone else. As with any retrospective, I might have things a little off but I hope to offend no one or group as I undertake this adventure.

Teaching is a calling that demands a great deal from those that undertake the role of a teacher. The important thing to remember is that it is critical to look around and take all of it in as you pass through the lives of thousands of students. If someone takes on that role with anything less than the belief that it is a crusade, they do a disservice to their students and themselves. If I give the impression that this is a sacred path to walk, I will have been successful. I said in an interview in 1994 that “I go home every night exhausted but I can’t wait to get up and get to school the next day.” I have the same philosophy and beliefs today. I regularly tell students that I don’t need an alarm clock because I wake up before it goes off so that I can get to work.

I plan on having a great deal of fun with this and I encourage you to come back often and follow the escapades that I have been a party to for 30 years. I hope it will bring you laughs, tears, and joy. I want to share with everyone the value of this profession. I hear complaints and frustration with the world outside of education and I understand and sometimes have the same feelings. If I focused on these feelings I would not have enjoyed the 30-year ride. Life may not be fair but I do believe it is balanced. Your outlook is determined by the side of the ledger you choose to focus on. I choose to focus on the great, the laughter, and even the sadness that comes with working with students.

The last 30 years have been my crusade and the only fear I have is that I will not be able to continue the crusade after retiring. The time has come to move into a different phase of my crusade and let those behind me pick up the mantle and go forward. Just to be clear, over the 177 class days that I will post, I will name names and places! I will not embarrass anyone but I think t is important to the story that people know how important they have been to me. There are a few people that are worth mentioning specifically because they have had a huge impact as mentors and students. I will not list everyone because of space but I do want to mention a few people that have been inspirations above and beyond. I was recently asked in an in-service about what inspires me and without hesitation, I said that it was my students. In about year 3 of teaching, I discovered that if I was attentive that I could learn as much from students as they learned from me.

A short list of students and teachers that have inspired my journey. Please remember that this is not comprehensive and if I put the full list, it would be thousands of people long. Teachers and Educators in no particular order: Barb Smith, Cheryl Lico, Katherine Kelley, Debbie Backus, Debbie Gerkin, Susan DeCamp, Cathy Stanforth, Mrs. Truman, Mary Lou Midcap, Dorothy Carter, Marc Stine, Tammy Strouse, Sandy Scott, Ingrid Franklin, Rob Shurich, Mike Hamilton, Phil Underland, Jim Gochenour, James Laguana, Gwynn Moore, and Lisa Grosz. Students in no particular order: Lucas N, Leann W, Andres Q, Cassie M, Nabil D, Katie L, Adobe A, Sam N, Michelle H, Nathan B, Zach S,  Selena G, Chris K, and thousands more.  The most important inspiration as a teacher is my wife Dawn and as a student my daughter Kaila. Dawn has been teaching longer than I have and I can only hope to have half the compassion and love for students that she does. Kaila moved out of our house to go to the University of Wyoming and never came back. After graduation, she found a home at UW and has been an advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and has become a forceful educator in her own right.

Teaching Systems Thinking to 4th Graders
As technology becomes more ubiquitous in our world, I think back to my humble beginnings. When I was teaching Technology at Montview, I was sometimes limited by the classroom teachers' expectations. While I wanted to give the kids all they could handle, the teachers often Read more
College - Done & Now Career!
I had a ten-year career in retail that began as a part-time stock person in the toy department at the Woolco store in Greeley, Colorado. Woolco, the discount division of the Woolworth Company, operated large stores offering everything from auto services to candy. The store Read more
Conversation Starter
In social situations, I often find myself surrounded by people I don’t know, and making small talk can feel awkward. While I have plenty of stories and could talk for hours, they’re usually only interesting to me, and I tend to share them out of Read more
AK-47s to Snickers Bars
Woolworth was a five-and-dime store that started in 1879 and served as the model for variety stores offering goods at reasonable prices. We were known for carrying everything from candy to sporting goods, with a particular focus on home goods, especially sewing and craft supplies. Read more
Picture of an old Woolworth store
Woolworth Store and The Police
I’ve always tried to live my life in a way that minimizes contact with authorities. However, managing stores for Woolworths inevitably brought me into contact with local police. In the mid-'80s, there was a bit of a crime problem in the neighborhood where I worked, Read more
Are Your Players Properly Equipped?
There are a few questions asked by every umpire before a game. One of the most important question is: "Are your players properly equipped?" This is the do your players all have a jockstrap and cup on. This is critical for a few positions and Read more
Hacking The World
Creating cybersecurity classes can be fraught with concerns, as schools and districts often harbor apprehensions about the potential for inadvertently fostering hackers or criminals. It's essential that these programs incorporate a strong moral component. Fortunately, my experience has shown that many students self-select out once Read more
First Job - Stick 'em up!
People often reminisce about their first job, and the memories associated with it vary widely. Some cherish the experience, while others resent the time spent in that role. Many, however, find themselves in the middle, holding both positive and n egative memories. Over time, it's Read more
Training & Inservices for Technology
The greatest joy I have is sharing computer science, cybersecurity, & technology with others. The opportunity to share with fellow teachers has always been a highlight but it is a double-edged sword. Teachers who want to lead inservices about technology often ask me for help. Read more
Perpetuate The Non-Fiction
The following excerpt is from Seymour Papert's book Mindstorms, published in 1980, yet its relevance to current classroom practices persists. The book is over forty years old and is still as important today as it was in 1980. The passage below speaks to a project Read more
Price Matching
Working for a decade at the Woolworth Corporation gave rise to a plethora of captivating anecdotes. Amid numerous opportunities to bolster the company and foster customer loyalty, none proved as potent as the art of price-matching. However, amidst these tactics, there were occasional encounters with Read more
Day 177 May 24, 2023 Graduation Day
This is the completion of my official retirement blog. I did exactly what I said I would do. I have a story for every student contact day. I will be branching out a little bit because I still have many stories to share. Stay tuned Read more