57 Years Flew By
The beginning of my school career… 
The end of my school career…
I loved school which is a good thing since I was in school for 57 continuous years. I was really fortunate to discover my passion early on.
Learning was exciting. As a toddler, my mother allowed me to select a Little Golden Book during our weekly grocery shopping trips. The summer before I started kindergarten, my mother took me to the public library where I got my first library card. I truly don’t remember ever learning to read; I just always could. In first grade I enjoyed the Dick and Jane series as well as the orange phonics book we used. In elementary school, everything was fun and stimulating. I had great teachers in Beaumont, California. At some point, my grandparents in Oklahoma sent us a set of Childcraft books that had belonged to my uncles. I devoured those books and used them to play school. Of course, I was the teacher and my sister and brother were forced to be the students.
With a great foundation, I was off to a successful school career (sixth grade in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and junior high and high school in Coffeyville, Kansas).
My parents had never gone to college and our family didn’t have much money so college appeared to be an impossible dream. Auspiciously, we went to church with the dean of Coffeyville Community Junior College and he personally introduced me to the financial aid director. The trajectory of my future changed at that moment. He helped me navigate the system and since our family was financially poor, I received total financial aid for my year at CCJC and at Oklahoma Christian where I majored in education.
College was an amazing experience. I got a first rate education with lots of experience in a variety of classrooms and met absolutely terrific people. Yes, there were stresses too, but I persevered and this experience launched my 40 year career. (I later went on to earn two Masters’ degrees – one at Pittsburg State University and one at San Jose State University – and about a gazillion other units.)
Unfortunately, shortly after graduation in July 1977, I was diagnosed with mononucleosis. I was able to move home where my family could support me and help me recover. During this time, I got my first teaching job as reading specialist (I also taught seventh grade reading) in Delaware, Oklahoma. I considered the Delaware School District (K-12 in one building) to be a rural ghetto. There were holes in the walls and the school building had been condemned every year for the past 20 years or so yet nothing changed. (At one point we had no water for several hours every day.) My classroom space was partitioned off of the boiler room (we were heated by coal) and next to the cafeteria. During the winter I had to wipe off the coal dust before I could have class. I used to joke that I would end up with Black Lung Disease. I had no budget so I had to create all of my own teaching material. Fortunately my college career prepared me for this and I already had a repertoire to draw on.
I (understandably) only stayed in Delaware one year before moving on to Green Country Christian Academy in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I really grew as a teacher and living in Tulsa was a wonderful experience for a young, single woman. I had great friends and we had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, private schools don’t pay much and I quit when we were told that we weren’t going to get a raise and that it was our “duty to sacrifice.”
That propelled me to look for a public school job and I ended up in Chanute, Kansas where I taught ninth grade English and Journalism. At this time, ninth grade was part of junior high. I loved teaching English and since every period but one was the same subject I could really focus on in-depth knowledge.
During my time in Chanute, my father died and my mother remarried which totally changed our family dynamic. It was time for a drastic change. I moved to Palm Springs, California where I got a job teaching at Corsini Elementary in Desert Hot Springs where Jack Shupe, a family friend from way back, was principal. I ended up spending 32 years in Palm Springs Unified. During these years, I was honored with being site Teacher of the Year three times (once at Corsini and twice at Desert Springs Middle School) and PSUSD District Teacher of the Year once.
At DSMS, I started out as a sixth grade teacher then became the school’s teacher librarian which was truly my dream job. No day was ever the same and I was able to focus on reading and research (and later on technology). I was able to do the fun teaching without the grading. I loved all the projects and getting students excited about learning.
I had an enriching and satisfying career. I feel extremely fortunate that I became a teacher when teachers were respected as professionals. We were encouraged (and really expected) to be creative and were trusted to make decisions that benefited our students.
All in all, my 57 years in school has allowed me to have a fulfilling retirement where I still get to read and research. Gary and I are living our retirement dream.
