Advice From an Older Teacher to the Next Generation
Words from the sage on the stage
This past June I completed my 35th year of teaching, having first entered the classroom in 1987. Sometimes it seems like I just started doing this, but other times I stop and realize the students in my first graduating class are now 52 years old. My first students are now grandparents. There is something sobering about that, and yet something heartwarming. Some days I wish I had done something else with my life, something more financially rewarding and something with less public criticism. On other days I feel satisfied with my choice.
The ones I am still in contact with (yes, I am still in contact with some) still call me “Mr. E,” which is what they called me back then.
When I first started teaching, Ronald Reagan was president. There was cable TV, but it hadn’t reached everywhere yet, including where I began my career. I had 3 television stations I could watch, but only if the weather was good. Otherwise, I couldn’t get reception, which meant that watching TV was never guaranteed on any given night. Microwaves were still a fairly new thing, and I rented movies and watched them on my VCR (video cassette recorder).
