Years of Service – Part Three
During the first two years of my tenure at H.M. Arndt I taught both seventh and eighth grade math and science. I was paired with Betty Lohr, who had more than thirty years experience. The second of those two years I taught an algebra class and had a pre-algebra class as well.
The next year Betty had decided to retire and they were losing another position anyway, so I was moved to the eighth grade, where for the first time in my career I was teaching just science with no math classes. After that year I requested a move to the seventh grade and that was granted, as once again I was teaching only science. Another move was made the following year and I was switched to yet another pod within the school. This is the second year with that group of teachers and for the first time in a long, long time in addition to teaching science, I have a class of social studies.
So this is where I find myself at this day and time. The third month of my twenty-ninth year in teaching. Twenty-three years with the Hickory Schools and the beginning of my sixth year with the Catawba County Schools.
The decision to retire has in some ways relatively easy, but as the day approaches I realize this is a really big step with lots of implications for the rest of my days on earth. I’m always open to new possibilities and know better to “never say never,” but it would take some major shift in feeling on my part to abandon the idea of retiring at the end of this school year.
David Lee
Next: “So why is it you’ve decided to hang it up?”
David Lee 