School’s Out : Reflections From a Retired Teacher

Reflections From a Retired Teacher on the Last Day of School

Another school year is coming to a close. This week marks the five-year anniversary of my retirment from a 37-year teaching career, yet I still get giddy this time of year. I remember well those last few days spent with a class that had been my life for duration of a school year. The challenges, the victories. The kids that made me laugh, the ones that made me cry. The hope that I had given the best part of myself to each one of my students, knowing there were some who needed more. The lessons I taught and the lessons I learned. When my students filed out of my room on that last day of school, I was always happy and sad…but mostly exhausted.

Fortunately, teachers are a resilient lot. We bounce back over the summer and regain our enthusiasm for the next year. The butterflies build, you get your room ready and you greet your new class with excitment. The cycle repeats itself, yet each year is different from the ones before. It keeps you young, challenged, alive.

However, you can’t go on forever. Teaching is an all-consuming profession, leaving little time or energy for anything else. There comes a point in each teacher’s life when it’s time to stop. I stayed with it longer than most. It was difficult to leave my students, my friends, my profession, but I knew it was time.

So what happens next? For me, the transition was rocky. I’d been in a school setting most of my life and the world “outside of the crayon box” was a foreign place. It took several years for me to adjust to my new life. I had to get used to being in charge of my own schedule, and even little things like meeting a friend at Starbucks in the middle of the day was a new experience. I kept a journal, found a writer’s group, and turned the ups and downs of my journey into a memoir. (see link below)

Now that I have time to explore, I’m discovering many interests. Writing has become a passion, along with sewing, traveling, and finding creative ways to spend time with children and grandchildren.

Today, I honor my past as an educator, and embrace adventures yet to come. I’m reminded of a line from a favorite movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. When Judi Dench starts a new career later in life she asks:”How many lives can one person have?”

“As many as you like,” she answers.

So there you have it my friends: Reflections from a retired teacher. Enjoy life wherever you are in your journey, and (as one of my favorite authors and critique partner signs each of his emails) Go Well!