Following are your letters in response to Herm Card's chronicle of his last year of teaching before retirement. Keep them coming - send an e-mail to retiring@nysutmail.org.
July 17
Orchard Park Teachers Association retiree reflects on union, career
Alice C. Roberts reflects on her thirty-three year relationship with her union, her career and the camaraderie she shared with her colleagues. [more]
May 21 , 2006
No goodbyes
I am a firm believer when someone touches your heart, there will be NO goodbyes.
For the last thirty years I have had the pleasure to work with Herm Card at the Marcellus Central School District. With mixed emotions I wish him the best life can give him in his new career...RETIREMENT.
I will miss his sense of humor (which gets us all through faculty meetings), his great stories from his life on the diamond as a baseball umpire, his sincere love for dogs, his passion for poetry, his ability to put a smile on your face, (no matter what kind of mood you're in), his way of telling it like it is, his caring for youth beyond the classroom, and most of all the friendship he has given me.
As I stated in my opening line, I am a firm believer when someone touches your heart, there will be NO goodbyes. Herm has touched my heart. He may be leaving the halls of the Driver Middle School, but he will never leave the walls of my heart.
So Herm — when that day in June comes around there will be No goodbyes just SEE YA LATER ... in your next career!
Your friend always,
Kathy "K"
April 26, 2006
Advice from a Retiree
Hi Herm,
I retired 5 years ago from my 33 year chemistry teaching career at H C Williams HS in Canton, NY. What really amazes me are the activities I am involved in that I did not even have in my plans when I retired.
I joined a local Writers Group and discovered I had an interest in nonfiction writing. I have created over 100 "slice of life" stories about my career and family. In addition, the fall after I turned in my chalk, a local elderhostel, SOAR (Stimulating Opportunities After Retirement), was starting at SUNY Potsdam. ( soar@potsdam.edu) At first I was taking classes there, then teaching ones, joining the BOD, and chairing the Curriculum Committee.
I guess if I were to give you advice about retirement it would be to reach out and grab new opportunities when they present themselves. That, rather than preplan what you will be doing, like the lesson plans we have been filling out for over 30 years.
Best wishes,
Jim Barry
46 Farmer St .
Canton, NY 13617
April 2, 2006
A Former Student Says Farewell
Herm (well, Mr. Card…..yes, those formalities stick with you even some 20 years later) was my high school English teacher.
I am the now infamous student written about in one of his earlier poems who vocally critiqued one of his class assignments with a four letter expletive.
It's true, I did it. To my amazement, and perhaps to his amazement too, other than a polite request at the end of class to refrain from such openly public criticisms of his assignments in class again, he not only didn't send me to the office, but he let me do the assignment the way I wanted to, and we were both happy.
He could have reacted very differently that day. A lot of teachers would have dismissed my comment, and me, and tidied up the deal with a jaunty trip to the principal. Instead, he seized an opportunity both to learn and to teach. He took a risk and he gambled on someone most would have labeled as a smart-ass teenager, and it worked.
Since that time, he has over the years, continued to review and encourage my writing (complete with corrections of grammatical errors---ever the English teacher!), and has and always will be a good friend and mentor.
When I learned of his retiring, I wrote him a note asking where was the fanfare? Where are the t-shirts with his photo, bumpers stickers with lines of his poetry and oversized foam novelty hands signing #1! marking this historic event? Why isn't there more of an uproar at his leaving his post as teacher and mentor?
Upon reflection, I realized, it's probably because all of the many students who would be doing those things, don't know that they should be. They haven't had him as a teacher yet, they won't know what they are missing. They won't know that the loss is all theirs. Those of us who have had the experience of having a great teacher like Herm (and I define “great” as a teacher who somehow changes your life, challenging you to be better than you thought you were, supporting you, helping you find your inner voice, in addition to “teaching you”) have already reaped all the benefits that he could bestow upon us. We could only protest on the behalf of those future students. Of course, having two teenagers of my own now, I know that would only result in a lot of exasperated sighing and eye rolling on their parts, not exactly rounds of applause and resounding gratitude.
A number of years ago I was privileged to sit in on one of his classes while visiting my old school. The time flew by. He used a combination of humor, creativity, dry wit, and excitement that engaged the students, even the reluctant ones. He was fully present. Instead of spewing out the mundane details of dangling participles, he was getting kids excited about writing, but not just about writing, not simply reporting mindless data back to those in charge. He was teaching them about writing out of themselves, exploring what was inside, putting into words all the drama, angst and joy of those difficult years. From personal experience I can say, it's a skill that will serve them well throughout their lives, whether it be a personal journal, an autobiography, a newspaper column, or these days, a blog.
So, to Herm, I say: Mr. Card, you will be missed. Thank you for having been a great teacher and thank goodness it is only a farewell and not a goodbye.
Sincerely,
Mrs. June A. Bartos (formerly Eastman)
P.S. The author is solely responsible for any grammatical errors including but not limited to spelling, sentence structure and proper use of punctuation. Mr. Card has not reviewed and corrected this entry for perfection and she blames it entirely on her “mommy brain” having a 19 year old, a 13 year old and a 3 year old who have claimed any and all available intellectual brain cells.
March 28, 2006
"Retiring Hah"
I imagine retirement will only be a transition to a more self-directed but ultimately busier life. It is my great hope that we will see you at the Committee of 100 meeting in May.
Hope you are feeling better.
p.s. lunch wasn't the same without you.
Pc
March 12, 2006
I am a firm believer when someone touches your heart, there will be NO good-byes.
For the last thirty years I have had the pleasure to work with Herm Card at the Marcellus Central School District. With mixed emotions I wish him the best life can give him in his new career...RETIREMENT.
I will miss his sense of humor (which gets us all through faculty meetings), his great stories from his life on the diamond as a baseball umpire, his sincere love for dogs, his passion for poetry, his ability to put a smile on your face, (no matter what kind of mood you're in), his way of telling it like it is, his caring for youth beyond the classroom, and most of all the friendship he has given me. As I stated in my opening line, I am a firm believer when someone touches your heart, there will be NO goodbyes. Herm has touched my heart. He may be leaving the halls of the Driver Middle School, but he will never leave the walls of my heart.
So Herm........when that day in June comes around...there will be No good byes...just SEE YA LATER...in your next career!
Your friend always,
Kathy "K"
January 14, 2006
I am anxiously awaiting Herm's next piece!! I am addicted to his writing!
Anonymous
January 7, 2006
Loved your blog....but we need a new post!
Anonymous
December 24, 2005
Hi Herm,
Although the message on your blog indicates that the ending of your
thirty year career in Marcellus is a happy culmination of an adventure
with young students, I detect a bit of melancholia, too.
Retiring from a long devoted career is a little bit like dying because
one realizes that one can't go back and change any part of it.
In a very special way, teaching is different. It made me feel as if I
were working for a not-for-profit "company" whose earnings could not be
put in a cash register. The treasury is filled with alumni that you may
never see again. Be assured, however, that you have influenced many
lives. They are your legacy.
Now you will embark on a career of retirement. It is alright to look
back now and again but mainly keep your eyes on the future. I have seen
it and it is great.
Tom Petro
Retired 1987 from Marcellus Elementary
November 12, 2005
I met Herm at a Catskill Regional Teacher Center program a year ago. He
shared some of his poetry which delighted me immensely. He graciously signed
his book The Poetry of Teaching for me. I have since moved to Hudson,
Florida and have taken a part-time position at Pasco-Hernando Community
College working with folks who are considering career changes into teaching.
I have shared Herm's poetry with them and they have enjoyed it, too. So,
Herm, your words are making their way around the county. Enjoy your last
year of middle school teaching. I don't believe, however, that this will be
the end of your teaching career. There is more to life and teaching after
public school!
Congratulations on your upcoming retirement.
Sincerely,
Sara E. Brundage, Ed.D.
November 8, 2005
I was alerted to Herm Card's wonderfully revealing thoughts in the November 3, 2005 New York Teacher. When I read the comments, I was taken back to the year I retired, 1990-91. Like Mr. Card, I had mixed feelings about retiring.
However, I must warn Mr. Card, even though he protests that he doesn't have nightmares, he may have many more "teacher" dreams after he retires, perhaps more than he has bargained for. Like Mr. Card, I also was a teacher of English, but my nightmares for the first few years after retirement were about trying to teach a math class, being totally unprepared, and totally frightened. Where did that come from? Perhaps long-ago math anxiety from my own high school years? I don't know.
For the first few months of retirement, I found myself looking at the clock and saying, "Well, that's first period, or now it 's time for a department meeting," etc. The structure followed me into retirement.
Those first few months were paradise, though, as I spent lots of time doing research on Edith Wharton. This involved many trips to the Skidmore College library and reading nearly everything she wrote, along with several critical biographies. I actually thought I might submit for publication some of my findings. Alas, in December, I received an offer I couldn't refuse, a position as an administrative assistant in a church. So my fledgling research project never got off the ground, but I enjoyed a wonderful four years in a "second" career.
Since we have moved to Georgia, I have put my teaching skills and experience to good use by being a docent leading tours of school children through our local art museum, and by teaching Sunday school and Bible study in our church. Very rewarding volunteer work and a pleasure to do.
So I wish Mr. Card a happy, fulfilling retirement.
Grace C. Walter
Savannah, Georgia
November 7, 2005
I am very much enjoying the inner musings of Herm Card regarding his upcoming retirement. His thoughts reflect mine.
When I was in ninth grade, I participated in a "group standardized IQ test", and my score was so low that I was told I couldn't take college prep courses. I was to take business courses and be a secretary... which I did. I went to business school and became a secretary and failed miserably at a job that just wasn't "me."
I enrolled in a two year college, then on to a State University. I have been teaching for 38 years. So much for standardized tests.
I couldn't believe my luck when I started teaching. What challenges, fun and rewards. Where else could I "entertain" an audience all day? Where else could I break out in song whenever I wanted? Where else could adoring little eyes tell me I'm special.
Thirty eight years of watching students grow and succeed. Thirty eight years of graduations, weddings, births, new jobs. Thirty eight years of having a channel for all those creative energies.
It's not easy to retire... but, it's time. Things are changing fast. I am now teaching to tests, which I don't do well. My educational philosophy is being hammered. It's time to retire. Time to say goodbye to a "job" that brought so much satisfaction to me.
With a heavy heart.....it's time. It will not be easy, but it's time.
Lorrraine D'Agostino
Lakeshore Rd. School
No. Syracuse School District
North Syracuse Education Association
Herm Card