A Teacher's Last Year
No, I'm not retiring. However, many people where I work are, people who I've known all of my teaching career. And when that happens, it makes me think about my future retirement.
When that time comes, how will I feel as I teach Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men for the last time? How about when I show no more the Bill Moyers interview with Maya Angelou, Laurence Olivier's performance as Shylock, the documentary on the Holocaust? One future retiree who is currently going through this said it is moments like these for which the word "bittersweet" was invented.
I'm not looking forward to not teaching since I still get much enjoyment and fulfillment from it, but that day will come for me as it does for all teachers. The key is to retire before you feel you are irrelevant, before you no longer get young people's sense of humor.
For those of you who have already retired, please share your "last year" stories.
When that time comes, how will I feel as I teach Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men for the last time? How about when I show no more the Bill Moyers interview with Maya Angelou, Laurence Olivier's performance as Shylock, the documentary on the Holocaust? One future retiree who is currently going through this said it is moments like these for which the word "bittersweet" was invented.
I'm not looking forward to not teaching since I still get much enjoyment and fulfillment from it, but that day will come for me as it does for all teachers. The key is to retire before you feel you are irrelevant, before you no longer get young people's sense of humor.
For those of you who have already retired, please share your "last year" stories.
I am considering retiring at the end of this year or at least reducing my time and teaching half day. I think about retirement frequently. I am also a literature teacher. I haven't had one thought all year about no longer teaching literature. I don't consciously think, this may be the final time I teach a work, a project, or a skill. I do, however, think daily, actually several times each day, about whether or not I will be able to walk away from students. After standing in front of teenagers for 32 years, what will life be like without that audience? What will life be like if I no longer feel that I am contributing to the development of so many students? What will life be like if I am no longer giving back?
I think of this often, and I only hope and pray that when the time comes to retire, I will recognize that time and leave graciously. I am just fortunate to teach in an area where students, parents, and teachers encourage me to continue to teach. I am also thankful to live at a time when I will not be forced to retire before I am ready.
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Thank you for your thoughtful comments. Not having that audience and the energy that kids exude is something I'm sure many retired teachers miss dearly.
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