Madison Teacher Retires After 40 Years In Same Classroom
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Madison Teacher Retires After 40 Years In Same Classroom
By David [email protected]
Sixth-grade teacher Jerry Ryman started teaching at Madison in January 1970. Since then, he's taught in the same classroom. He's never taught at any other school or in any other classroom.
With the current Madison location closing at the end of this school year, Jerry also has decided to hang up his hat.
"I've never had a different room so the room and I are retiring together," he said in an interview Wednesday afternoon with his wife, Cheryl, by his side.
Teaching in the same classroom for more than 40 years isn't the only thing Jerry has kept consistent in his life. He and Cheryl have been married 45 years, and they've lived in the same house for 39 years.
"We don't seem to change a whole lot," Jerry said.
Before Jerry became a teacher at Madison, Larry Mohler taught in that classroom. Larry's brother, Gary, taught across the hall from him. When Larry went to border patrol, Madison teacher Doug Hoffert's wife asked Jerry if he was interested in Larry's job. He was, so he interviewed for the job, and landed it.
Hoffert retired from Madison last year after 44 years of teaching, with 40 of those years at Madison. Over the years, Jerry said, he and Hoffert not only became co-workers but very good friends as well.
Though Jerry might not change much, he said education has changed over the years. Every year, there's a whole new group of students. They're all different with all new personalities.
"That's interesting," Jerry said. "As I get older, I appreciate differences more. If everybody was the same, that would be boring."
A bit of a shy guy, Jerry said he's always been more comfortable around kids than adults. "Maybe I've never grown up myself," he said.
"I was very shy in high school. No one who knew me in high school would ever guess that's what I'd be doing," Jerry said. "I can't think of one job I could have had that I would have been doing for 40-1/2 years. I would have gotten bored. It's been an awesome experience. I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing."
Cheryl said they've made many new friends over the years. Some friends, like Baker Youth Clubs Director Tracy Furnivall, are former students of Jerry's. Jerry said it's neat to see what some of his former students end up doing.
Asked why he decided to retire now, Jerry said, "Things are changing fast and I'm not a big technology person. It's not that I can't change, it's just something I'm not used to. It was just time. I'm ready."
He may be ready for retirement, but he said he never gets tired of the kids. He rarely missed a day of work because he feels better being around them than staying at home.
Only once were his students able to really surprise him, he said.
In his first full year of teaching, his students collected money and had a parent take them at lunchtime into town. When they returned, they came back with a little outfit for his youngest daughter. Cheryl was expecting at the time.
"I don't think I have ever been surprised. I usually can tell when they're planning something, but they surprised me that time," Jerry said. "It was sweet."
"I just think kids are fun. They're full of life. They're corkers sometimes. You wish you could save all of them sometimes, but you can't," he said.
At home, Jerry has a memory box full of cards, letters and other items he's saved over the years that are special to him. Some day, he said, he can pull them out and look at them for encouragement and to remember.
"It's a pretty big box. It's going to be interesting to go back through them," Jerry said.
Besides the children he taught at Madison, Jerry and Cheryl have two daughters that make them proud.
Angela was valedictorian in high school and now teaches business classes at the high school. Nicole is a sixth-grade teacher at Washington.
When Jerry coached girls basketball at Grace College for seven years, both of his daughters played for him. When Angela graduated, she became one of his assistant coaches. Together, Jerry and Angela coached Nicole for three years.
Cheryl said when Jerry coached boys basketball at Madison, there were two periods of time when his teams won the city tournament three years in a row. Hoffert and Ryman were boys basketball coaches together during one of those stretches.
Jerry also served as a boys basketball assistant coach at Warsaw Community High School for two years under former coach Al Rhodes, including the year when the team won the state championship in 1984. Jerry later served as assistant coach under Doug Ogle for two years at the high school.
But more than anything, after retiring, Jerry said he will miss the people most.
"The kids and the people I work with. You work with a nice group of people in education because they're there to help kids," Jerry said. "I love kids. I'll probably go in and help Nicole, volunteer a little, in her classroom."
Jerry and Cheryl also have five grandchildren, who Jerry is eager to spend more time with whenever possible.
"It's going to be different," Jerry said. "Come next fall when everyone is going to school and I'm not, it's going to be a little different."
One constant Jerry will have though will be Cheryl.
"We do everything together. She's been my best friend," he said.
They met in high school. After Atwood High School closed, Jerry went to Mentone and that's where they met. They started dating and that was that.
"The greatest gift God ever gave me was my wife," said Jerry.[[In-content Ad]]
Sixth-grade teacher Jerry Ryman started teaching at Madison in January 1970. Since then, he's taught in the same classroom. He's never taught at any other school or in any other classroom.
With the current Madison location closing at the end of this school year, Jerry also has decided to hang up his hat.
"I've never had a different room so the room and I are retiring together," he said in an interview Wednesday afternoon with his wife, Cheryl, by his side.
Teaching in the same classroom for more than 40 years isn't the only thing Jerry has kept consistent in his life. He and Cheryl have been married 45 years, and they've lived in the same house for 39 years.
"We don't seem to change a whole lot," Jerry said.
Before Jerry became a teacher at Madison, Larry Mohler taught in that classroom. Larry's brother, Gary, taught across the hall from him. When Larry went to border patrol, Madison teacher Doug Hoffert's wife asked Jerry if he was interested in Larry's job. He was, so he interviewed for the job, and landed it.
Hoffert retired from Madison last year after 44 years of teaching, with 40 of those years at Madison. Over the years, Jerry said, he and Hoffert not only became co-workers but very good friends as well.
Though Jerry might not change much, he said education has changed over the years. Every year, there's a whole new group of students. They're all different with all new personalities.
"That's interesting," Jerry said. "As I get older, I appreciate differences more. If everybody was the same, that would be boring."
A bit of a shy guy, Jerry said he's always been more comfortable around kids than adults. "Maybe I've never grown up myself," he said.
"I was very shy in high school. No one who knew me in high school would ever guess that's what I'd be doing," Jerry said. "I can't think of one job I could have had that I would have been doing for 40-1/2 years. I would have gotten bored. It's been an awesome experience. I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing."
Cheryl said they've made many new friends over the years. Some friends, like Baker Youth Clubs Director Tracy Furnivall, are former students of Jerry's. Jerry said it's neat to see what some of his former students end up doing.
Asked why he decided to retire now, Jerry said, "Things are changing fast and I'm not a big technology person. It's not that I can't change, it's just something I'm not used to. It was just time. I'm ready."
He may be ready for retirement, but he said he never gets tired of the kids. He rarely missed a day of work because he feels better being around them than staying at home.
Only once were his students able to really surprise him, he said.
In his first full year of teaching, his students collected money and had a parent take them at lunchtime into town. When they returned, they came back with a little outfit for his youngest daughter. Cheryl was expecting at the time.
"I don't think I have ever been surprised. I usually can tell when they're planning something, but they surprised me that time," Jerry said. "It was sweet."
"I just think kids are fun. They're full of life. They're corkers sometimes. You wish you could save all of them sometimes, but you can't," he said.
At home, Jerry has a memory box full of cards, letters and other items he's saved over the years that are special to him. Some day, he said, he can pull them out and look at them for encouragement and to remember.
"It's a pretty big box. It's going to be interesting to go back through them," Jerry said.
Besides the children he taught at Madison, Jerry and Cheryl have two daughters that make them proud.
Angela was valedictorian in high school and now teaches business classes at the high school. Nicole is a sixth-grade teacher at Washington.
When Jerry coached girls basketball at Grace College for seven years, both of his daughters played for him. When Angela graduated, she became one of his assistant coaches. Together, Jerry and Angela coached Nicole for three years.
Cheryl said when Jerry coached boys basketball at Madison, there were two periods of time when his teams won the city tournament three years in a row. Hoffert and Ryman were boys basketball coaches together during one of those stretches.
Jerry also served as a boys basketball assistant coach at Warsaw Community High School for two years under former coach Al Rhodes, including the year when the team won the state championship in 1984. Jerry later served as assistant coach under Doug Ogle for two years at the high school.
But more than anything, after retiring, Jerry said he will miss the people most.
"The kids and the people I work with. You work with a nice group of people in education because they're there to help kids," Jerry said. "I love kids. I'll probably go in and help Nicole, volunteer a little, in her classroom."
Jerry and Cheryl also have five grandchildren, who Jerry is eager to spend more time with whenever possible.
"It's going to be different," Jerry said. "Come next fall when everyone is going to school and I'm not, it's going to be a little different."
One constant Jerry will have though will be Cheryl.
"We do everything together. She's been my best friend," he said.
They met in high school. After Atwood High School closed, Jerry went to Mentone and that's where they met. They started dating and that was that.
"The greatest gift God ever gave me was my wife," said Jerry.[[In-content Ad]]
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