Yes , I spent my whole career teaching. I loved it most of the time!
So , today kids here started back to school. When I first retired this tie of year held a lot of emotion and I thought I should be there doing something to get ready for school. It took a long time before the feeling left me.
Now I'm aware of what time of year it is but it doesn't get me thinking about preparation.
When I was teaching I would spend time at school in August getting books and material ready. When I was department head I had the responsibility to help teachers find materials. It was a time of year that I enjoyed even if the Micro Manager didn't enjoy it.
So today I thought about how long I've been retired. I've been retired for 26 years. I'm approaching retirement time that is equal to teaching time. I taught for a little more than 37 years.
So today I gave a quick thought to school starting, looked out the window to see kids walking by on the street. Then it was back to retirement.
I know what you mean. I sometimes miss teaching skydiving, but it's been so long now, almost twenty years, that I am mostly over it. :-)
ReplyDeletehe public system was a routine. Things changed slowly.
DeleteAnd I think of this time of year as the time the children do go back, and it will be unseasonably hot for a bit. I do have "children" going back; but they are grandchildren, returning to college.
ReplyDeleteand did you take pictures of your kids at the beginning of the year?
DeleteI worked for over twenty years as a care worker. When I retired I'd wake up in the middle of the night with a strong feeling that I'd not administered anyone's drugs the previous evening. Nowadays I'm over that and only have my own medication to worry about!
ReplyDeleteWorking with kids is the same no matter where you are.
DeleteThe schools here started the last week of August. Take care, have a great day!
ReplyDeleteI still get back to school feelings a little bit.
ReplyDeleteIt takes a while to lose it.
DeleteI always liked the preparation, but in universities you could innovate and not be a slave to imposed curricula. It was the marking that used to get me down, especially when the management imposed lots of hoops to jump through, fearing student litigation.
ReplyDeletethis old boy was a bit of a rebel and as you say go off course.
DeleteI also spent time in school at the end of the summer preparing for the school year ahead. I have never looked back!
ReplyDeleteWe spent a lot more time at the job than the public realizes.
DeleteI used to really miss it, but I retired in 2007, and it is a memory.
ReplyDeleteUnless you purposely recall it , the memory is gone.
DeleteI don't miss my job at all and I am so glad I retired just before Covid came. I do feel guilty sometimes and think I should be busier but then I don't do much about that! :)
ReplyDeleteI'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.
DeleteIt is so interesting to look back in time like that. I sometimes remember what it was like to be an adviser at the university. I wonder how I got those students to actually listen to me.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to look back.
DeleteSchool is so different these days.
ReplyDeleteIt's the kids that are really different.
DeleteWhat a relief, to have this time to yourself! That's what I'm imagining, anyway, as a still-working person. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, you have time for yourself but then you quickly get into volunteering which is a great part of retirement.
DeleteMy grandchildren have now graduated and only my daughter is going back to school, and she has a new job, mostly in an office. No classroom to prepare. I don't think much about school any more, although I am excited that my granddaughter will soo be going off to university.
ReplyDeleteOn a day to day basis I don't think about it much
DeleteMy brother and his wife teach middle school.
ReplyDeleteMy whole career was with middle school.
DeleteThe difference between being a hard working teacher and a retired human being is quite remarkable. However, for me some of the after-taste remains.
ReplyDeleteRetirees soon get pulled into community volunteering.
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