This year at Harrison High, teachers such as Mr. Sowders and Mr. Weber are retiring or planning to retire within the next few years. In Ohio, teachers can retire once they have taught for thirty-four years or retire at age sixty-five when they have taught for at least five years. Retirement is a great time, especially for teachers. After working hard for years educating the next generation, they finally have a chance to relax. Mr. Meibers had this to say, “They’re lucky. They get to work a great job and retire.”
We talked to Mr. Shawn Sowders, and he said that he plans to retire this year. Mr. Sowders has taught history for over two decades teaching all sorts of classes like AP United States History and Advanced American History. What he wants most is for students to remember his class as challenging (which it most certainly was) and fun.Students will never forget the Forrest Gump Project, where you spent a few days watching a beloved Tom Hanks movie and got to be as creative as you wanted. Mr. Sowders plans to travel to all fifty states and eventually Europe, where he taught for many years. When asked further about his travels he had this to say,“If I want to go home, I’ll go home, if I want to keep going, I’ll keep going.” Mr. Sowders loved to teach all different levels of history, whether it be college prep, advanced, or even AP. Sowders always made sure to stay in regular contact with his former students, so much so that he has dinner with a few of them every month or so. Most of all, Sowders will miss interacting with the students.
We also managed to talk to Mr. Eric Weber. For years he’s taught English, Creative Writing, and shared his love of mythology by teaching Classical Mythology. He wants students to remember his class as informative and fun, a break from harder classes like AP Chemistry or Calculus. “It’s cool to know stuff,” is what he had to say. His favorite class is a toss-up between Creative Writing and Classical Mythology, but he leaned towards mythology. He’ll always miss interacting with students. After he retires, Mr. Weber plans to do nothing, when asked further about this, he had this to say, “As little as possible, I’ve mastered the art of doing nothing.”
Many students got a chance to learn from the former physics teacher and head of the science department, Mr. Marc Cron. Nowadays, Mr. Cron has built a new life down in North Carolina. He spends some of his time working on his new house and exploring his new area. Just like Weber and Sowders, Cron misses interacting with students and his fellow teachers, as well as his classroom. Mr. Cron doesn’t miss the “extra stuff.” According to him, sometimes it felt like “Meetings, meetings, and more meetings.” Now that he’s retired, he hopes that students remember him for being dedicated to his job, as well as working hard every day to teach them, and help them learn more about science.
Though you may not always realize it, teachers have a massive impact on our lives. Teachers will see students come and go and leave lasting impressions on them. However, it’s not every year that some of your favorites retire. Always be sure to let teachers know how much of an impact they made on your education. For most teachers, hearing their former students talk about how they loved being in their class every day is enough to put a smile on their face for the rest of the day. There’s always at least one teacher who made an impact on a student’s life, and it’s important to let that teacher know this. So, if one of your favorite teachers is close to retirement, let them know how much of an impact they made on you.
Make sure to say goodbye to these teachers before they’re off traveling the country or just sitting back doing nothing.
