Posted on June 10, 2013
What a great week for an old man!

In my previous post I wrote about retiring and all of the former students who came back for a little get-together. Well, it seems things did not end there. All week was a sort of celebration. What made it great was that it was all about the kids. I never knew so many  of them cared so much.

The day after the party a group of seniors — students I taught five years earlier — came to visit me. They apologized for missing the party. These kids had to take the time to get in their car and drive about 20 miles just to stop in and see me. And listen to this line-up: valedictorian, salutatorian, and numbers 4, 13, and 14 in the class. They are heading to Texas, Texas A&M, and Harvard.

The next day a lovely young lady who was in my class my first year at the academy showed up with a dozen roses for me. Shreeya is a junior and first in her class at the school district’s medical academy.

Then the following day my geometry class surprised me with an engraved watch. Not only that, but one of the students who is a very talented young artist with numerous awards painted my portrait! I really hope the kiddos don’t think I am this scary looking.

If all this was not enough, a group of past members of my math team and their parents treated Linda and me to a lovely dinner on Thursday evening. It was a wonderful night of camaraderie.

I think every day this past week I would come home and say to Linda that I was a lucky guy. Well, it needs to be said once more. I am truly a lucky guy!

For the past 20+ years I have been in the classroom here in the Fort Bend school system. They have been fine times. But now the final bell has rung and the thing is done.

The classroom came to me late — after 25 years in the business world. My life mate, Linda, suggested it to me; then she helped me with my decision; then she helped me prepare and complete the necessary additional education; and then she helped me get through the first rocky year. I could not have done any of it without Linda. In fact, there is little I can do without Linda.

The two women in the photo above are my Alpha and Omega, my bookends. Charlotte (left) was my team leader my first three years of teaching. She also got me out of trouble more than once my first year. I wouldn’t have made it without her. Gwen (right) is my colleague and coaching partner at Quail Valley. She is just a super person, constantly going, never stopping. I will miss working with her.

My entire teaching  experience has been wonderful. From going back to college and having lunch daily with a group of young women (I was almost 50, harmless, and safe), to matching report cards with my elementary school daughter with both of us proudly sticking them on the refrigerator, to my first elementary school class room, to this, my final year, every step of the way has been fun and rewarding.

My memories are many. I will never forget my fifth graders and their Shakespeare Festival. Ten year old Romeos not wanting to kiss Juliet. And sword fights with big old plastic toy swords. All presented to an standing-room-only crowd of moms in a temporary classroom with plywood walls and creaky floors. Pure greatness.

Nor will I soon forget my 15 years of coaching math teams, complete with a few state championships to keep my juices flowing. Of course the trophies came after some serious time investment by both the kiddos and me. Four years ago we even started our own tournament which is now one of the best attended in Texas; we had over 300 kids with us this past December — imagine, 300 middle-schoolers gathering for a day of math tests on a Saturday!

How do I forget the girl who struggled for more than half a year and suddenly one day jumped up in the middle of class and exclaimed, “I get it!” Or the young man who struggled mightily with algebra (we had many an after-class session) and then just this year came by to tell me he was heading off to Yale. He sent me a t-shirt.

But there is no doubt that my proudest and fondest thoughts will be about the many notes  and thank-yous I have received from students over the years. I teach algebra and geometry to 7th & 8th graders. These are not necessarily fun subjects for young teens, and the math teacher is seldom a student favorite. But over the years I have had invitations to Eagle Scout ceremonies, valedictorian celebrations, notes of thanks from ex-students earning perfect SAT scores; invitations to teacher recognition events, and ever so many wonderful notes from past students who have remembered me.

And it is not only thank you notes. This past Tuesday I was surprised with over 75 of my kiddos, high school students, coming to Quail Valley for a little send-off party. More who could not come on Tuesday stopped by later in the week. Many of these students haven’t seen me for several years. I was thrilled.

But this year ends my run. Good as it has been, it is time to go. I am following an old show biz adage: I am getting off the stage before they send me off.

It has been great, but final bell has rung and the thing is done, and there other things that need doing. So off I go as “…I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.”