Herm Card blogs his final year of teaching before retirement. NYSUT - New York State United Teachers


'My last year' HOME \| HERM CARD'S BLOG \| ABOUT HERM \| ARCHIVE \| POETRY \| YOUR LETTERS \| NEW YORK TEACHER
UPDATE: Aug. 9, 2006 Aug. 9, 2006 I used to be a teacher The final sign that it is over — it is over. My replacement has moved in. I have received my first retirement check. You-know-who has sung. Once around and in. That final lap has been run, plus a bit of a cool-down jog. See also: Herm's Poetry See also: Your Letters May 19, 2006 IMPACTS II: The accidental teacher Things I learned about teaching without even trying Since 1951, when I entered kindergarten in George Washington Elementary and Junior High School in Endicott, there has not been a year in which I was engaged in some type of formal education, either as a student or teacher. I have been in school for 55 years. [read on] May 2, 2006 Q and A (FAQ for you online types) In the last week, 17 people have asked me some variety of the question, "How many days?" Apparently they haven't been reading this series enough to know that it's faculty meetings that are my mileposts. Following the last faculty meeting I posted a picture in my room of Frank Crosetti, the former Yankee third-base coach, shaking Mickey Mantle's hand following a home run. Crosetti's number 2 is prominent, to indicate that I have two faculty meetings left. The frequency of that particular question has left me to ponder the other questions and comments that my impending retirement has brought forth. [read on] March 24, 2006 The Big Dig The "big dig" has begun. With the aid of two students working to avoid potential detention time, I began to clean out my classroom. I straightened out two large cabinets and discarded enough extraneous paper to fill the large recycling barrel in the hallway twice. This was remarkable for two reasons. One, it's only March, with the end of the school year still three faculty meetings away. Two, I was relatively ruthless, throwing away things I hadn't used for years, but rationalized keeping them by thinking that I might use them in the future, or that they might be good workshop material, or they might be a good backup in case my computer died. [read on] March 1, 2006 We're off to see the wizard During my teaching career I've been asked, not just a few times, if I do any acting. "Every day" is my usual response. While the people asking are referring to the stage, I am referring to my classroom: my daily performances for my students. It's an interesting question and an interesting response, and lately I've done a bit of thinking about both. I mentioned a few chapters back that I was a cast member of our faculty/staff production of The Wizard of Oz. [read on] January 20, 2006 Smoke at the tips of my wings On Dec. 20, I submitted the following letter to my superintendent of schools: “I am submitting this letter as notice of my intent to retire from my teaching position at Driver Middle School, effective July 1, 2006, my first opportunity to retire in accordance with the district’s retirement incentive plan.” [read on] November 28, 2005 Impacts, Part 1 I have been making a list of things that I would not have been able to do if it had not been for my teaching career. As with any occupation, there is great impact on the rest of one’s life – the “other” part ... [read on] November 17, 2005 Energy transfers Of the energies I have experienced and expended in my life, the potential for doing work - the work of teaching, the work of writing, the work of motivating, the work of caring - all have come from the position or condition in which I operate from day to day. This position, this teaching position, has put me, for 30 years, in the center of the most amazingly energy-based situation one could imagine... [read on] November 3, 2005 A renewed appreciation of structure So why am I doing this? Why am I writing of my last year, taking up time that I could be using to pack up my 30 years worth of material or apply for post-retirement work. Partly, I'm writing this because writing is one of the things that I do. Possibly, I'm operating on the theory that "if it's in the paper, it must be true." If I see it in print, I must mean it.... [read on] October 20, 2005 Once around and in One of the most comforting, most welcome phrases that an athlete can hear, or that a coach can say, is: "Once around and in." "Once around and in." It's the signal that practice is over, that one last lap will do it. All the bumps and bruises, mistakes made and corrected, praise received * all forgotten. Job well done. Time to hit the shower. [read on] About Herm Herm Card, a member of the Marcellus Faculty Association, teaches English at Chester S. Driver Middle School in Marcellus. [read on]	About Herm Herm Card is a 30-year veteran English teacher who is writing this column to share his thoughts throughout his final year of teaching - as he puts it, "once around and in." Herm is a teacher at the Chester S. Driver Middle School, located in the quiet village of Marcellus, which blends elements of rural New York state and bedroom community for nearby Syracuse... more Write to Us Send your comments to retiring@nysutmail.org. Please include your full name and street address. Select letters will be posted here at Herm's blog. Archive May 19, 2006 Things I learned about teaching without even trying. "Since 1951, when I entered kindergarten in George Washington Elementary and Junior High School, there has not been a year in which I was not engaged in some type of formal education, either as a student or teacher. I have been in school for 55 years." May 02, 2006 Q and A (FAQ for you online types). "Beyond whatever grand statements might be made about the effect teachers (me, in this case) might have on students and the future, I just plain enjoy coming to work every day. I don't really know what my students think of my retirement, because I haven't asked. In fact, I haven't even mentioned that I am retiring. They know, of course, but it really shouldn't matter. They won't be here. They will have had their year in my class and, good or bad, that's all they really should be expected to think about it." March 24, 2006 The Big Dig. "I have often been asked why I read so little fiction, being an English teacher, and I know that it is because I have a belief in eliminating the middleman as much as possible. One sign on my wall says, "Literature is a reflection of life." So why bother with turning fact into fiction just to make it more interesting?" March 1, 2006 We're off to see the wizard. "... we cannot just perform. We must understand our roles — who we are. We cannot be a person who is just taking on the role of a teacher, or a teacher who happens to have other roles outside the classroom. We must be both — we must meld the roles into one, one person, one teacher." January 20, 2006 Smoke at the tips of my wings. "... on Wednesday there was a letter in my mailbox notifying me that, "with regret" they had accepted my letter of retirement. Again, all I could come up with was “yikes." November 28, 2005 Impacts, Part 1. "Teaching is a job that is said to be ideal for those of us who are "hyper-vigilant," a clinical term my school psychologist daughter uses to describe me and my fellow ADHD individuals." November 17, 2005 Energy transfers. "This position, this teaching position, has put me, for 30 years, in the center of the most amazingly energy-based situation one could imagine." November 3, 2005 A renewed appreciation of structure. "So why am I doing this? Why am I writing of my last year, taking up time that I could be using to pack up my 30 years worth of material or apply for post retirement work?" October 20, 2005 Once around and in. "One of the most comforting, most welcome phrases that an athlete can hear, or that a coach can say, is: 'Once around and in.'" See also: Herm's Poetry Page
NYSUT, the largest union in New York State, represents more than 525,000 classroom teachers and other school employees and retirees; academic and professional faculty at the state's community colleges, State University of New York and City University of New York; and other education and health professionals. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. NYSUT.org. Copyright New York State United Teachers. 800 Troy-Schenectady Road, Latham, New York, 12110-2455. 518.213.6000.