I Am Finally Graduating From High School

I spent the conventional four years in high school and then another four in college. Then I went back to high school and stayed for thirty-three years. I can now tell the world that, at the end of this school year, I am finally going to graduate. It is a strange feeling.

Of course, I have been anticipating my retirement for a long time. When I first started teaching, many of my colleagues were on the verge of retirement and their discussion of it seemed banal and boring. The younger teachers would kick each other under the table and laugh at the constant retirement talk. “Get on with it and retire already,” we’d joke. I hope I have kept my retirement comments to a minimum.

A friend had a retirement countdown clock that sat on her desk. She knew exactly how many weeks, days, and hours until her retirement arrived. I have a confession: I do have an app that does that on my phone. I look at it every so often. But I promise you, I am not reciting my countdown to anyone. and I want to see if I can slow down that clock, not speed it up.

This year is a series of “lasts.” My last first day of school. My last open house night. My last set of new students – and so on. Not that I needed a way to understand my seniors, but I am certainly identifying with them. Like first semester seniors, my post-high school plans are still in flux and I have not nailed down all the details. Unlike the seniors, I don’t see myself moving from one school to another. I don’t think I will pick up and teach at a private school or substitutes teach at mine.

I don’t know what is it like to NOT be a teacher. A great deal of my identity is wrapped up in school, and soon that will change. I have a long list of retirement goals, activities, and ideas. I have committed to giving myself at least a year (or maybe two) to try out retirement. It is different things to different people, and I want to find out who I am as a retired teacher before I grab a new identity as a something else.

Because my wife is a counselor, we did not discuss our retirement plans publically for a while. Our colleagues knew our plans. When another teacher told his students that he was retiring, kids who knew me began to put the pieces together, but I refused to confirm the rumors. Now I can tell the world!  

I am still working hard to make sure that my students learn the skills and content they need. I still want class to be fun, rewarding, and engaging for all of us. I am not becoming a different teacher or person because the end of my career is in sight, but my appreciation for the beauty of school, and of our school in particular, has been enhanced. I feel like I am having a many “It’s a Wonderful School” moments without an angel coming to guide me on the journey.

There is no doubt that I am going to miss school, my wonderful friends, and my fantastic students. There will be moments when I will long for the comfort and cycle of school. I want to boldly go into this new adventure. I will look back – a lot! It is my deep hope to stay in touch with the many people who made and continue to make my high school teaching career so rich and wonderful. That is one of the reasons I am a fervent fan of Facebook (and now Instagram). I love staying connected.

So now I will chronicle this new process. I will still be a Sunday school teacher. I will still be an educator, even if retired. And school will go on without me. How comforting and appropriate.