Teachers Providing a Good Lesson
http://www.csa.us/email/spirit/ssarticles/0413SeniorSpotlight.html
Rose Gilbert just retired at age 94 from teaching, while Agnes Zhelesnik, at age 99, intends to continue until 100 at least. Both said their commitment to the profession stems from their love of children. Click here to view article.
The average age of teacher retirement is 59, but Rose Gilbert just retired from the Los Angeles school district at age 94. While it might be rare to manage a classroom at that age, it’s not unheard of. Another teacher, Agnes Zhelesnik (pictured left) in North Plainfield, N.J., is 99 and still teaching.
Gilbert began her teaching career in the 1940s. “I’m going to be 95. I looked in the mirror and said, `I better do it now before I get too old,'” she told theHuffington Post. “I didn’t want to leave, but I didn’t want to be carried out on a stretcher.”
In her 63 years of teaching, Gilbert has seen a lot of changes. Her fondest memories are of the 1960s, when student protest was at an all-time high across the country. She recalls one demonstration at her school where students and teachers declared a strike and walked out to protest U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
Another demonstration took place when the school principal mandated boys’ hair length. When several boys were suspended for exceeding that length, both the students and teachers walked out. Today’s kids are more self-centered, Gilbert told the Huffington Post, “It’s the entitlement generation,” she observed. “‘I’m entitled to an A, I’m entitled to go to Harvard.’ I think it emanates from their parents.”
Yet she must love her school charges, because she didn’t need to work. When her wealthy developer husband died in 1987 and left her a fortune, Gilbert used part of the money to fund her favorite education projects, including scholarships for high school and college students.
In contrast to Gilbert’s long teaching career, Zhelesnik didn’t starting teaching until she was 81. Her main job, for 60 years, was a stay-at-home mother and wife. She began teaching part time at the Sundance School, a private preschool through fifth grade academy, in 1995. Eventually, she became a full-time teacher, instructing classes on cooking, sewing and costume-making. She still comes to work every day.
“I love them. They’re my best helpers,” she told CNN. “That’s the only reason why I come here, is the children.”
Her students seem to be equally enamored with the woman who they affectionately refer to as “Granny.”Not only is she a good cook, pointed out one 9-year old, “she’s still out and about.” His twin was impressed that she didn’t need a wheelchair or even a cane.
Unlike Gilbert, Zhelesnik has no plans to retire. When asked how long she’ll continue teaching, she answers, “Till I’m 100. I feel good enough.”