Retired From Harrison, Not From Life

Have you ever wondered what happened to your teachers after they left or retired? At Harrison, a few beloved teachers have retired in the past few years. I managed to reach out to two of them to see how they’ve been doing and what they’ve been up to.

The first teacher I contacted was retired English teacher Mr. Eric Weber. He taught Classical Mythology, Creative Writing, and English 10 CP. He retired just last year and is absolutely loving it. Since he’s been retired, he’s been doing whatever he wants too. He golfs and hangs out with his wife, family, friends, and dogs. Something he’s especially enjoyed about retirement is playing gigs with his band that he was in years ago! Weber is excited for more gigs in the future. His favorite part about retirement is absolute freedom. Weber enjoys being able to wake up whenever he wants too and not being forced to be somewhere every day.

But he doesn’t enjoy everything about retirement. He misses seeing his colleagues, students, and his mural every day. But not a day goes by where he misses grading or professional development.

I also interviewed former history teacher Mr. Todd Sams. He taught WWII History, Rock n’ Roll History, 7th Grade Social Studies, American Government CP, Financial Literacy, America in Global Conflict, and Ancient World Religions. Since retiring Sams has done quite a lot. He’s worked at his second job in the military multiple times serving at the famous Fort Knox. He’s traveled to 19 of the 50 states in just the few months that he’s been retired. Sams has been to Yellowstone, New Orleans, the Smokies, and countless other desirable locations. He’s seen grizzlies, eagles, sharks, buffalo, dolphins, wolves, and all kinds of wild animals. His favorite part of retirement has been all the travelling and vacationing he’s done. 

But is there anything he misses? Sams said that while he does miss his teacher friends and a handful of students, there’s not a single part of retirement that he truly dislikes. He doesn’t miss grading or state testing or ACTs or anything like that. In fact, he wishes he could have retired even earlier!

Together, these two show that retirement doesn’t mean just lying in bed and sitting around playing bridge, it means moving onto a new chapter. Even if they miss some things about teaching, they’re happily enjoying the next stage of their lives. Years and years from now, when you’re able to retire, how will you spend it?