Celebrating All the "Lasts" | Reflecting on My Recent Retirement from Teaching
There aren’t too many things in life that end with a clear timeline. The only thing I can really come up with are school years…those are pretty set in stone. But other things in life—childhood, careers, relationships—don’t always have a clear “end date” that you can see coming.
At the end of this school year, I retired. I have planned to retire this year for the last few, so I knew it would be my last year teaching.
The End of an Era. The Final Chapter. A New Beginning. These are all the “titles” I have placed on this last year. And because I knew exactly when my “ending” was going to take place, I got to celebrate all the lasts!
The last time I had to get my classroom ready for students.
The last time I had to fill out a long-range plan or submit an SLO.
The last time having to take a school yearbook photo.
The last time experiencing the chaos on the last day before Christmas break.
The last time creating e-Learning plans for inclement weather days.
The last time presenting at a educational conference.
The last time having to arrange childcare for my own children on a teacher workday.
The last time I had to create sub plans at that last minute because of a sick child.
The last time working a bonfire or lock-in.
The last time chaperoning a field trip.
The last professional development day.
The last day of standardized testing.
The last IEP and 504 meeting.
The last time grading a set of essays.
The last last week, when students know grades have already been submitted and we’re just hanging on for dear life before that final bell.
I retired because I could, not because I had to. Teaching in the public school system is difficult, and it has become more and more challenging each year, especially in the middle grades (more on that in a future blog post). For so many years, I put other people’s children first—even before my own family, because that is expected of teachers. We sacrifice early mornings, afternoons, and nights working games, attending meetings, hosting parent nights, and participating in committees, because we have an otherwise easy schedule and get our summers off, right? But after so many years, that expectation becomes a burden, especially when it takes you away from your own family. And because I can, it’s time to put them first.
Thanks to my photography business, I don’t have to worry about our finances being chopped. Realistically, I can make more money in this second career than I could teaching, and now, it’s much more fulfilling. Plus, I can set my own schedule and work when I want to work, not when I have to!
Everyone keeps asking me how I am enjoying retirement, and honestly, I haven’t truly felt it yet. Leaving the school building on the last day was fairly anticlimactic and felt like the beginning of any other summer. But when my coworkers return to work and my kids go back to school this August, I am sure I will feel it! I’m not sure what will happen, but I am trying to prepare myself for a mix of emotions. There are things I will miss, but there are a lot of things I am not going to miss…at ALL:
The constant interruptions from fire drills, pep rallies, surprise assemblies, and random announcements in the middle of class.
The constant chaos and noise, which has become more and more overstimulating as I have hit perimenopause.
Parents who think their children can do no wrong.
Apathy amongst students, yet being required to pass them or give them credit for doing basically nothing.
Disrespect (from students, parents, the moms on Facebook groups who don’t have anything better to do than complain about teachers and public schools, and politicians/legislators).
Constant changes to policies, standards, curriculum, best strategies, and pacing guides. It’s impossible to get good at anything when there is constant upheaval.
Never having enough time for deep reading or thoughtful conversations with my students.
The never-ending competition for attention with students who would prefer to game and watch YouTube shorts.
Trying to teach children how to write and think for themselves when they have unrestricted access to AI tools like ChatGPT.
The constant feeling that I’m never doing enough and that I’m never good enough.
But there are so many things I will miss:
Helping connect students to books they love and ultimately, the joy of reading.
Working with real authors (like Gary Schmidt, Jerry Spinelli, Caroline Cooney, and Amy Rossett).
Sweet little notes and drawings from students showing up on my desk.
Hugs from former students just coming back to visit, thanking me for preparing them to handle the rigor of the next grade level.
Working school events, like bonfires, lock-ins, and games, and getting to engage with students outside of the classroom setting.
Tapping into my creativity to “shock and awe” my students, like when I used Suno to create a song for them about how irritated I was that they kept breaking my pencils. (And it worked!)
Dressing up in ridiculous outfits during Spirit Week.
Running my after-school photography club.
Chaperoning field trips.
Mentoring new teachers.
Brainstorming and creating engaging lessons and curriculum with other passionate and creative teachers.
And MY COWORKERS. The little conversations that happen in the in-between moments. The looks across the table during a faculty meeting. The laughter during our lunch break at something a student said or a teacher saw on TikTok. The fact that no matter what, we have each other’s backs. They are the sole reason I made it through 28 years! I will miss them desperately.
I’m grateful to have my photography business to throw myself into, because I am not one who can sit around and do nothing—I have to be productive to feel fulfilled! And I’ve already been asked too many times if I will be coming back to sub. I know how middle schoolers treat substitute teachers, and there’s a part of me that wouldn’t subject that on my worst enemy! I’ve told my team I would sub for them, but other than that, I don’t know if I want to go back into classroom as an employee. I’m planning on doing all the things I haven’t been able to do with my own kids for their last eight school years: chaperoning field trips, attending field days and class parties, and volunteering with their PTSOs. I am already serving on the Clover LEAF board, a fund-raising organization for the school district I have worked in for 25 years and where my children will continue to go. I’m excited about doing things on my own terms, on my own schedule.
I am sure there will be a time of adjustment where I feel a bit lost, especially when the school year begins and my coworkers move on without me. I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in the 2nd grade, so it’s something I literally worked towards or did for 42 years. It’s a huge part of my identity! I will continue to educate, just not in a public school classroom. I have my own children to raise and my photography education YouTube channel I can continue teach through! And I still have my photography mentees, who I hope will continue to seek out advice and want to get together to learn. But it’s hard typing “former teacher” in the employment line of paperwork now.
So, to answer that question: how is retirement? I don’t know yet! I am excited about all the opportunities and reinventing myself! The world is my oyster. Ask me again in a couple of months. I’m sure I’ll have a more solid answer.
Kimberly Cauble…
…is a former middle school teacher and wedding & portrait photographer in the Charlotte, NC area who has been photographing families, seniors, and weddings since 2012. She has photographed over 100 weddings and loves people, the art of photography, and sharing what she has learned about photography and running a small business with others!
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