Thank you Mr. Hodge for all of your efforts and all that you have done for us throughout your time here at Toll Gate. You have left a lasting impact on all of your students and coworkers. We will of course, miss you dearly, however we wish you the best and can’t wait to see you continue to succeed in your future. On behalf of all your students, thank you and see ya’ later!
Q: How do you feel about retiring? Do you feel you’re ready to say goodbye?
A: “Yes I do. It’s great, it’s the job I love, but I’m excited about not having all of that responsibility and pressure and being able to do more things I want to do. Pursue more…not that I have specific things in mind, I haven’t made a bucket list, I haven’t lined up anything else, but I’m going to make room for the new folks. The school has changed, I haven’t changed as much as school changed so it’s a good time for me to get out.”
Q: What’s the most exciting part of retiring for you?
A: “I have a granddaughter I could see more of, my son’s out in California, could go visit him, do some traveling and watch the spring arrive in all of its’ glory, this time without having to work work work.”
Q: What’s the scariest part of retiring?
A: “The scariest part is I’ve been working for 44 years at one job or another and it’s like, I don’t know what it’s like not to have a job and it’ll feel very strange. I will miss all of the friends that I’ve made in this building, these people that I’ve bonded with, for decades some of them. Suddenly they won’t have much contact, I’ll reach out and all that, but it’s not going to be the same.”
Q: What do you think you’ll miss the most about working at Toll Gate?
A: “Well, I love teaching, but I don’t know if the students love it as much as I love it. On the delivery end, I love doing it. On the receiving end, your mileage may vary. I love explaining things and I love elaborating on things. I love taking students from where they’re working. I love all of that stuff. I’ll have to bore my granddaughter with that stuff now. And I’ll also miss all of my friends. Another thing is the unexpected, happy, change that happened for me in 2016. After twenty years of being in this building, I, along with Ms. Netcoh, was dragooned into being a co-advisor of the Drama Club. I had had lots of highlights over the years, but working with those talented, passionate, and quirky kids gave me renewed energy, and a full heart. Working for months, sweating out the last rehearsals, and finally seeing it all come together on the show nights is exhausting and exhilarating. As teachers, we always urge our kids to get involved in extracurriculars, and I strongly believe that this advice flows both ways. By the way, I am very excited about this year’s production of the Wizard of Oz. It may turn out to be the best yet! I am aiming to run one more half-marathon, knees permitting, and also to sail across the Atlantic as a passenger even after my retirement.”
Q: What kind of preparations have you made to help the teacher coming in after you?
A: “Nothing, a smoking crater, no you can delete that, or leave it. Mr. Brown is coming in, and he has full access to all of my materials. He’s coming in with a lot of stuff of his own. He’s under no obligation to do my stuff of course. It’s there, he’s got all of my Google Drive stuff, my curriculum, guides and all of that stuff. It’ll be good for him to have something to fall back on as he cracks his own way through.”
Q: Is there anything you would like to say about your current coworkers and fellow staff members?
A: “I’ve been very proud to be a member of the Toll Gate Faculty by the way. I think we have a lot of really good teachers, and I think that’s been the case for a long time. It’s been less of a case during some years, but I think we’re in a really good place and people tend to overlook that. People have a knee jerk negative attitude towards school sometimes. Most of the teachers I know in this building work hard everyday and are giving their most to do the best by the students. I’ll miss a lot of that, I’ll miss the interactions everyday, and I’ll miss being in touch with what’s going on with young people.”
Q: What message do you have to leave behind for the students?
A: “You mean my imparted wisdom to everybody? Know yourself. Know what you value. Know what’s important to you and see how that translates to the wide world. I know this sounds cliche but be kind to everybody because you want kindness, project kindness. Accept people for who they are. You get to be you, you don’t need to make everybody else you. Just be yourself and let other people be themselves.”
