Ruminations of a Retiring Teacher

Daryl Byklum was in the first graduating class from Grygla High School in 1975. He is the son of Dorothy and the late Harry Byklum. Daryl is currently teaching at John Adams Middle School in Rochester, MN, but is preparing for his upcoming retirement. Over the course of his 37 years, Daryl has taught in Alexandria, Pine Island, Watertown, SD and Rochester. He has taught every grade in social studies from 7-12, but currently teaches 7th grade US History in Rochester. Pondering his upcoming retirement on June 7th, Daryl sat down to write what he titled “Ruminations of a Retiring Teacher.” ENJOY!

Written by Daryl Byklum

Can this really be accurate? It’s been 37 years since I first set foot in a public school classroom. Hold it, right there, buster. That’s not exactly true. I’m counting in teaching years. The truth is almost every year of my life, since age 6, has involved going back to school in September and gaining a more quiet reprieve come June. Still, it’s been 37 years since I entered a public school as a teacher and I can still see merit in the tenets of education that made me want to be a teacher in the first place.

And now I retire. I walk aimlessly off into a crimson sunset to ponder what all this means and whether this has been a life well-lived and served in a worthwhile capacity that I can reflect upon in a way that gives me a deeper appreciation of the human soul. You and I both know that the above sentences are bologna of the highest degree and I would delete them if I were not so amused by the grandiosity of the words that I have written. Ah, the simple pleasures in life.

I have no regrets about a career in education. What I do regret is my inability to fully understand the casual way that the general public views an education and educators, in general. In a perfect world, teachers would be cherished for what they do. The dissemination of knowledge is not for the faint of heart and the inherent qualities of a good educator may very well be born in your DNA. I would like to believe some of those intrinsic qualities reside in the author, but I must assert that I have had the good fortune to work with some of the best educators that that I could ever hope to call colleagues. But students and parents alike are often unable to view the big picture and the necessity of qualified people that create an educated populace. The reasons why a well-rounded education is important in a democratic society is critically lost among the more trivial aspects of public school education. Some parents and students see only a grade point average or a total lack of caring thereof. Serving the needs of self over the needs of each and every child is a default often made among the general population. Interfering from the shadows as opposed to confronting issues head-on is devastating to morale in our schools. The list is endless.

Now let me illuminate the flip side of the issue. In a career of 37 years I have seen thousands, yes, thousands, of truly amazing students and parents. A collective of people who want to make their schools great--for everyone. Parents who donate time and dollars to accommodate shrinking budgets and economic shortfalls. Parents who anonymously donate money for scholarship dollars so that less-fortunate students can share in extra-curricular activities that should be available to everyone in a world where all things were equal. Parents who honor you throughout the year as if every day was Teacher Appreciation Day. I come away from this job with a hopefulness that all is not lost in a polarized world.

Yet, I have grown weary of the lack of respect that is shown to educators in a sometimes thankless job. It is not to be taken for granted that the best educators have dedicated their lives to the ideals of education. There are far more people in the educational community that truly believe they can make a difference than the handful of naysayers who make more noise than they are entitled to. Unfortunately problems exist within our system that are out of a teacher’s control. Fortunately, a great many educators are willing to fight on.

Tragically, the fight is not always carried on. Increasingly, too many great, young teachers are not willing to stick it out for the long haul. Frustrations over discipline, endless parades of standardized tests, substandard wages, and a sometime ungrateful public spells out a short career for many of our best and brightest newbies. It is not hard to understand why the career-span of an average new teacher is under 5 years! Experience is the secret weapon of any teacher—it is the bridge that takes you to a long-term career. There is no substitute for experience. But we are not preparing teachers at a ratio necessary for future generations unless we find a way to retain the qualified people that want to be part of the teaching community. I am afraid that we will reap a bitter fruit in amassing the needed numbers of teachers that will enter this profession in the future.

This has really turned into a downer. Sorry. (He quietly steps down from the soap box.)

Let me leave you with 5 pearls that I have taken away from a lifetime of teaching:

1. Dwell on success.

2. Most students have more good qualities than bad.

3. You will never remember the names of every student you have taught.

4. Summers are a time for the necessary rejuvenation of a teacher’s brain.

5. Train your bladder well; bathroom breaks are few and far between.