Member-only story

Unconventional Things I Want to Try in Retirement

None of them involve riding around a trailer park in Florida in a golf cart

John Egelkrout
6 min readJan 19, 2022
Photo by Ivan Tsaregorodtsev on Unsplash

People keep asking me when I plan to retire. My hunch is a lot of people think I am going to retire at the end of this school year. Who knows? I might. The numbers do paint that picture. I will be 64 at the end of this school year, having just completed my 35th year teaching. If that doesn’t scream retirement, what does? Add to the mix this never-ending COVID plague, trying to teach through an N-95 mask, and the constant threat of getting sick no matter what I do. I’ve actually had other teachers tell me they wish they were as old as I am. Some people would think I was foolish if I kept going.

I’m one of them.

There are only so many more years I can keep doing this, both physically and mentally. I am currently older than any teacher I have ever had, and I have been teaching more years than any teacher I ever had. I am no longer that hip, energetic 30-something teacher with the brand-spankin' new master's degree. I’m not even that seasoned veteran with 20–25 years of solid classroom experience. I’m Gramps. I don’t teach history. I remember it. I used to use a chalk board. I remember when the Apple IIe was new. I wear the clothes I want to work. I don’t give a damn about teacher…

--

--

John Egelkrout
John Egelkrout

Written by John Egelkrout

I am a sanity-curious former teacher who writes about politics, social issues, memoirs, and a variety of other topics. You can also follow me on Substack.

Responses (31)