Teacher retires after 41 years

As Denise Shears led her first grade students through the hallways of Monroe Elementary this week, the children followed her dutifully, repeated whatever words she jokingly told them to say, and expressed their love for their teacher.

"I wish you were my big sister," one girl said as she hugged Shears before going into the next class.

"We're all going to miss you," a boy called out as Shears mentioned her upcoming retirement.

"It's gonna kill me to leave," Shears said, fighting back tears as she sat at a small blue table in her classroom. "I still get that joy and that excitement every day from them."

Shears plans to retire this spring after teaching first grade for Sweetwater County School District No. 2 for the past 41 and a half years.

"I've always loved working with kids," Shears said, explaining she knew she wanted to be a teacher from the time she was little. "It's what I've always wanted to do."

Her dreams came true when she started her teaching career Jan. 14, 1981, and she's been living the dream ever since.

"I love what I do," Shears said. "Love, love, love what I do."

Starting as the seventh first-grade teacher hired at Harrison Elementary and teaching out of a modular unit in the parking lot, Shears eventually ended up at multiple schools in the district. In addition to Harrison, she also taught at Jackson and Monroe, moving as needed so she could stay in an elementary setting.

Although she's done some other teaching, including tutoring third and fourth graders and teaching summer school for 25 years, the focus has always been on first grade. Shears admitted teaching the same grade all throughout a long career is "a rarity."

"I love teaching this age because a lot of people don't realize that in first grade they learn all of the spelling patterns that you need to know to be able to read for the rest of your life," she said.

She said she thinks one reason she's stayed for so long is because of the joy of seeing kids have "aha" moments when they sound out a word, look to her to see if they got it right, and realize they are readers.

While she teaches a variety of subjects, Shears' favorite thing is teaching kids to read, which is why she got her National Board Certification in reading.

"There's nothing like it," Shears said. "To watch them, holy cow, and listen to them read with expression. You can't put a price tag on that. And that's that joy that I get every day."

Teaching kids to read also has taught Shears important lessons, particularly watching their patience and perseverance to keep going and keep trying until they get it. She said her students have taught her to take her time and realize things will come together eventually.

For both the students and Shears, the time in the classroom is rewarding.

"There's just no words that can express how it feels to work with kids and watch them learn and grow and to have them see themselves in that positive light," she said. "You have that chance to instill in little kids by the end of the day that you're important, you're successful, and you're loved."

While the joy of teaching has remained the same throughout the past four decades, other things have changed with time.

"There were no computers when I first started teaching," Shears said with a laugh.

Other changes have come in curriculum and teaching styles and philosophies throughout the years, but Shears has always been focused on analyzing what works and doing what's best for the kids.

Spending her life in SWCSD No. 2 has also given Shears unique opportunities to see things come full circle. After she graduated high school in the district and returned as a teacher, she got the chance to work alongside teachers she'd previously worked under. Now in recent years she's had the same experience as her previous teachers once did.

"Some of the kids that I have worked with and that were my first grade students are teachers in the district, and I have been able to work with them as colleagues, and that's been amazing," Shears explained. "And they're amazing, as they were as first graders."

Shears has gotten used to the opportunity to see her students again, even from year to year. She explained her students become "her kids" each year, and she hugs them and cries as she says goodbye each May, but she can always reassure them and herself that she'll still see them at school the next year. But she knows things will be different this year.

Shears already had the experience of hugging one of her students and having to explain she wouldn't see her next year. Seeing the young girl's despondent face made the reality sink in for Shears.

"That final forever goodbye is going to be really hard," Shears said. "Because I know I won't be back."

Despite how difficult she knows leaving will be and not feeling ready for it, Shears also believes it is the right time for her to retire and switch her focus to spending more time with her family and her grandsons.

"In retirement, I'm looking forward to that new beginning, not that forever goodbye," Shears said. "It's time to just be a grammy."

Retirement will bring other benefits as well. Shears said she's told people one of the main things she plans to do after being retired is sit inside on a cold, blustery winter morning, look out the window and think - "I don't have recess duty today."

Even as she enjoys her retirement and her time with her family, Shears knows her years of and love for teaching will always stay with her.

"I hope I never quit being a teacher of something," she said.