In September 1978, I was a fresh-faced 22-year-old from Wisconsin, eager to begin my teaching career with a group of second graders in Redmond.
My first principal, a wonderful man named Harold Horchover, asked me what I saw myself doing in 10 years. “Teaching a classroom of students,” I responded. Little did I realize I would go on to teach for well over four decades.
This month I’ll be leaving the classroom and heading off into retirement. Teaching has been a wonderful adventure, but a lot has changed in education over that time.
The biggest change, like many industries, has been in technology. When I started teaching, chalkboards, overhead projectors and typewriters were in every classroom. Cellphones and computers wouldn’t appear for another decade. When the office received a phone call for you, you would get a pink note in your school mailbox.
The economic environment, particularly on the Eastside before Microsoft, was certainly very different. I was renting a Kirkland studio apartment for $110 a month; my Pacific Northwest Bell landline phone bill was $7. I was bringing home $620 a month on my first salary, $10,000 with the Lake Washington School District. The new VW Rabbit I bought that summer had cost $3,100. My friend laughed when I asked her how to get a credit card.
I loved teaching children and collaborating with dedicated, hardworking colleagues and administrators. The hours were long, with much preparation and planning for effective instruction. That has not changed. We had a lot of fun and persevered to make learning happen for all students.
Our district was committed to helping teachers learn the latest, most effective teaching strategies. We were incorporating research and data into our practice. That was very new at the time.
Now, data is everywhere in every business, and informs our teaching to help all students succeed. At times, it can seem like we lose focus on the human element of instruction, but data does have its place.
Another change: We are doing much better at educating students with special needs, who speak other languages, have different ethnic backgrounds or who have very specific learning challenges. Including all these students in general education classrooms is our present focus.
But teachers are finding the job much more stressful and challenging. Over 300,000 teachers left the profession between 2020 and 2022. We are still recovering from the deleterious aftermath of remote learning. Teachers are often criticized, yet we strive to help students be successful. Change is the nature of education.
Not many college students are preparing to become teachers. We need bright young people to join the profession and make a difference. That will always be true.
I was very young when my father died. His estate paid for my excellent education at Pacific Lutheran University. I’ve always felt I had a debt to repay for that opportunity. I have done my best over the years to help my students achieve their potential. I think perhaps the debt is repaid.
I estimate I have taught over 1,100 students in my 46-year career, responsible for their academic and social-emotional well-being. Perhaps some of those former students will read this and remember old Mr. Johnson.
In fall of 1961, my mother walked me into my kindergarten classroom. Every September since that day I have been in school. This autumn, on the first day of school, my wife and I will be in Paris, drinking morning espresso at Café de Flore.
There’s an old rock song from the ‘70s by a band called Ten Years After, with lyrics that state, “I’d love to change the world, but I don’t know what to do …” I know what young people can do. The world will always need teachers. They can change the world.
