This week I am re-posting my favorites from 2009. This one first appeared March 29."Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now"
-- from My Back Pages by Bob Dylan
This year, I have frequently been asked the question, "When are you retiring?" The main reason for this question is fairly obvious. My good friend and office mate announced his retirement early this school year. Never mind that I am seven years younger than he is. What with my balding pate, I probably look older. Besides, I have taught 34 years and for many teachers it's "30 and out".
But I'm not remotely ready. As I told Ann J, early this year, I have the sense of being on top of my game like never before. I've always sought change in my professional life. At first it was new preps in the English Department (at least 11 different courses). Then in the mid 1990s I began teaching American Government. And as this blog attests, the latest version of me is that of Web 2.0 evangelist. My new favorite thing to do at school is conducting staff development workshops on the magic tricks which I have discovered. Being selected as an '09 Apple Distinguished Educator is not the culmination of that new obsession, but the beginning of something even more radical and exciting in my life. I'm not sure where it will lead, but certainly not to early retirement. I've never felt more excited about my professional life.
This post was adapted from a recent Facebook note.
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"Carnival Father Time 2" Flickr Creative Commons Photos by dou_ble_uou
1 comment:
Larry --
Very similar situation for me. I have four more years. Although I feel like I'm still growing as a teacher after 30 years, especially in the tech domain--which is a big surprise to everybody, including me--they're throwing a lot of money at me to go away. It would be financially irresponsible of me to not retire from my current job in 2014.
So, I'm trying to lay the groundwork for whatever comes next. I still have a lot to offer, and I'm always up for an interesting challenge that makes a difference in the world.
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