The Teacher

                As I neared my planned retirement, I began to think about all the students I had taught in 33 years.  There were so many and I enjoyed getting to know all of them.  (Yes, ALL, even though some won’t believe that.)  I wrote a piece which may seem self-indulgent but I share it because I think all teachers wonder what happened to their students, and none of us are good enough at going back to teachers that made a difference in our lives.  I have talked to some but not all of the difference-makers in my life.  Take the time – you will gain much from it.

THE TEACHER

By John M. Skogstoe

Year after year they come into his life

Some bring joy; some bring strife

The ones he remembers brought both it seems

But they also brought their character,

Their exuberance and their dreams.

He thinks often of the students he knew

The ones who shared their hopes and fears

Their laughter and even their tears

The students who became like sons

Loved and cared for, those special ones.

As he nears the end of his teaching career

He wonders if they still hold him as dear

Do they think of the times, good and bad?

Do they ever miss him, do they ever get sad?

For all those times they shared from the past.

Do they wonder how he's doing

Like he wonders about them?

Or is he just a part of the past

With memories grown dim?

He still cares and he wants to know.

If you think of a teacher from somewhere out there

Get in touch now and tell him you still care.

Retirement Discoveries

                I knew I would like retirement because I had the luxury of time to think about it before I actually retired.  I discovered some nice things about retirement that I hadn’t anticipated and I had a lot of fun listing them in a series of retirement “tips”:

RETIREMENT TIPS

By John M. Skogstoe

1-To avoid 5 o’clock shadow, don’t shave until noon.

2-Save laundry.  T-shirt and comfy pants – all day, every day.

3-Have at least 4 video or computer games available so you don’t have to play one for more than two hours.

4-Record your favorite morning news show so you don’t have to get up at 7 to watch it.

5-Coffee with retired guys is like CNN, Fox and MSNBC – when you run out of stories, just make stuff up.

6-Don’t be caught without a home base – get your recliner overhauled BEFORE you retire.

7-Keep your snacks and candy far away from your recliner and only take one on each trip.

8-Don’t worry about exercise – you’ll get plenty looking for lost articles and making back and forth trips between rooms trying to remember what you wanted to do.

9-Practice saying “no”.

10-Keep your eyes open for things you couldn’t do before like “Minnesota Day” on the Big Ten Network.

11-"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."   ~George Bernard Shaw 

12 - Play video games!  http://mashable.com/2013/09/04/video-games-older-brains/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-main-link

13-"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."   ~Marthe Troly-Curtin 

Tying Them Together

                Well, I've been discussing transitions, change, communication and relationships.  What do they have to do with each other?  I think that communication and relationships are critical in adjusting to change.

                The first task when a new situation or problem occurs is to be certain you understand it.  Communication skills allow you to gather information, check your understanding of it, and find alternative solutions or answers.  If you have built strong relationships with several people, you can also get another view to help you decide how to respond.  Without communication and relationships, you are left to adjust alone in whatever way your limited skills and perspective can stumble upon.

                Adjusting to some changes is pretty easy and straightforward.  When those more difficult, and more important, changes come along, you need communication skills and relationships skills to help smooth the transition.

                Communication and relationships will be the subject of multiple entries on this blog in the near future.  Before that, I have some thoughts about the transition to retirement.  It’s been over a year and I think I’m finally ready to present some of my thoughts on this big change.  Stay tuned.