Teeple Retiring After 43 Years
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Different teaching methods also have come and gone, but at the end of this school year, the fifth-grade Leesburg Elementary School teacher is retiring.
A public reception is planned for Teeple from 4 to 6:30 p.m. May 17 in the Leesburg Elementary media center.
“I would love to see former students and the public come,” he said during an interview Thursday afternoon.
Over the years, Teeple taught every grade from third to sixth, and sometimes combinations of grades. He’s now teaching grandchildren of people he went to school with, and grandchildren of former students.
Teeple started out at Washington Elementary School, teaching there for his first eight years after graduating college. At that time, schools had Individually Guided Education, so Teeple taught students in fourth through sixth grade together. Sometimes he’d have third-graders in the same class with sixth-graders. Students weren’t divided by age but by skill.
The school board was appointed at that time and not elected. There was a book burning, and the board was against IGE, saying it failed. Teeple said it didn’t fail, it just wasn’t supported.
Leaders of the IGE group were moved around, and Teeple got moved to Leesburg in 1977. He has taught there since.
“My grandkids joke that I never get out of the fifth grade,” Teeple said.
Teeple’s history with Leesburg School goes back before he started teaching. He was born and raised in Leesburg, and attended Leesburg from first through 12th grade. Before consolidation, Leesburg was a 12-year school.
His uncle and father also went to Leesburg. His dad broke in the gym at the old Leesburg school.
“It’s always about the kids,” Teeple said of teaching. “It’s a real treat when you see the lights in a kid’s head turn on. It makes the hair on your neck stand up. It’s a good feeling.”
Of the many changes Teeple has seen over the years, technology has been a big one.
When he first started, Teeple said they were using ditto and memio machines. When the school got its first copier, it was exciting for everyone.
“You had to be careful with it,” he said.
Now, computers are hooked up to copiers, and most of Teeple’s students have iPads, e-Readers or other pieces of equipment in their hands.
Teeple remembers sitting at the first computer he ever saw. It wasn’t in the school, but at Radio Shack. He went to the store and sat at it. Everything had to be programmed in it in those days.
Today’s kids can just do about anything, and it’s all in the palms of their hands.
In 1985-86, Teeple wrote a grant to get a Macintosh computer. The purpose was to see if it could be used by teachers to make their own teaching material. The one problem though was there was no way to print anything off at the school. Any material had to be put on a floppy disc, taken to the central office and printed. If there was mistake, the process had to be started over.
Like technology, teaching methods have evolved over the years.
“There’s been so many different things,” Teeple said. “There was ‘New’ math in the ’70s. Now it’s Singapore math. We’ve got Apangea math where kids go online with it.”
Fifth-graders may all have the same book, but they’re split up. Some students need more help with skills, while others are more advanced in their studies.
Today’s kids are so much more advanced than previous generations, Teeple said, so they can move ahead quicker in their studies. It used to be hard to find materials for those kids, but now it’s not. There didn’t used to be time to help kids who were behind, but now those students are getting individualized assistance.
The No Child Left Behind Act approved during the last Bush administration has some good things about it, but it also has unrealistic expectations, Teeple said. By 2014, 100 percent of students are suppose to be at level, but that’s not possible.
“Teachers have some control over students, but if the kids aren’t learning their math facts and their parents aren’t helping, that’s beyond our control,” he said.
There is money in education, Teeple said, and politicians get involved because of that. However, politicians are not in the trenches so they don’t always understand the ramifications of what they’re doing.
“It seems to me that education is looked at with some aspersion now,” Teeple said. “I feel down the road, it may be hard to get people into the profession.”
With all the mandates and test requirements, there’s been a lot of joy taken out of teaching.[[In-content Ad]]Teeple said he doesn’t think the standards are too high, but at age 11, not every child is going to be 5’11” and not all children are going to be at the same standards.
“It’s not realistic to proceed that way. We need to look at each individual. If we have a kid in a classroom that is not ready for a certain standard, we need to realize that and (work with them),” Teeple said.
As far as parents go, Teeple said there’s a real wide range. Some are very involved, while others are working 12- to 14-hour days because of financial difficulties and have a hard time spending a lot of time with their children. Some parents don’t show a real concern for their kids, but that could be due to the hard economic times, he said.
In his retirement, Teeple said he is looking forward to seeing the grandkids, traveling and enjoying his wife Pat’s company. He also likes fishing and playing golf. He’ll help Pat with their business, Creative Floral Designs.
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Different teaching methods also have come and gone, but at the end of this school year, the fifth-grade Leesburg Elementary School teacher is retiring.
A public reception is planned for Teeple from 4 to 6:30 p.m. May 17 in the Leesburg Elementary media center.
“I would love to see former students and the public come,” he said during an interview Thursday afternoon.
Over the years, Teeple taught every grade from third to sixth, and sometimes combinations of grades. He’s now teaching grandchildren of people he went to school with, and grandchildren of former students.
Teeple started out at Washington Elementary School, teaching there for his first eight years after graduating college. At that time, schools had Individually Guided Education, so Teeple taught students in fourth through sixth grade together. Sometimes he’d have third-graders in the same class with sixth-graders. Students weren’t divided by age but by skill.
The school board was appointed at that time and not elected. There was a book burning, and the board was against IGE, saying it failed. Teeple said it didn’t fail, it just wasn’t supported.
Leaders of the IGE group were moved around, and Teeple got moved to Leesburg in 1977. He has taught there since.
“My grandkids joke that I never get out of the fifth grade,” Teeple said.
Teeple’s history with Leesburg School goes back before he started teaching. He was born and raised in Leesburg, and attended Leesburg from first through 12th grade. Before consolidation, Leesburg was a 12-year school.
His uncle and father also went to Leesburg. His dad broke in the gym at the old Leesburg school.
“It’s always about the kids,” Teeple said of teaching. “It’s a real treat when you see the lights in a kid’s head turn on. It makes the hair on your neck stand up. It’s a good feeling.”
Of the many changes Teeple has seen over the years, technology has been a big one.
When he first started, Teeple said they were using ditto and memio machines. When the school got its first copier, it was exciting for everyone.
“You had to be careful with it,” he said.
Now, computers are hooked up to copiers, and most of Teeple’s students have iPads, e-Readers or other pieces of equipment in their hands.
Teeple remembers sitting at the first computer he ever saw. It wasn’t in the school, but at Radio Shack. He went to the store and sat at it. Everything had to be programmed in it in those days.
Today’s kids can just do about anything, and it’s all in the palms of their hands.
In 1985-86, Teeple wrote a grant to get a Macintosh computer. The purpose was to see if it could be used by teachers to make their own teaching material. The one problem though was there was no way to print anything off at the school. Any material had to be put on a floppy disc, taken to the central office and printed. If there was mistake, the process had to be started over.
Like technology, teaching methods have evolved over the years.
“There’s been so many different things,” Teeple said. “There was ‘New’ math in the ’70s. Now it’s Singapore math. We’ve got Apangea math where kids go online with it.”
Fifth-graders may all have the same book, but they’re split up. Some students need more help with skills, while others are more advanced in their studies.
Today’s kids are so much more advanced than previous generations, Teeple said, so they can move ahead quicker in their studies. It used to be hard to find materials for those kids, but now it’s not. There didn’t used to be time to help kids who were behind, but now those students are getting individualized assistance.
The No Child Left Behind Act approved during the last Bush administration has some good things about it, but it also has unrealistic expectations, Teeple said. By 2014, 100 percent of students are suppose to be at level, but that’s not possible.
“Teachers have some control over students, but if the kids aren’t learning their math facts and their parents aren’t helping, that’s beyond our control,” he said.
There is money in education, Teeple said, and politicians get involved because of that. However, politicians are not in the trenches so they don’t always understand the ramifications of what they’re doing.
“It seems to me that education is looked at with some aspersion now,” Teeple said. “I feel down the road, it may be hard to get people into the profession.”
With all the mandates and test requirements, there’s been a lot of joy taken out of teaching.[[In-content Ad]]Teeple said he doesn’t think the standards are too high, but at age 11, not every child is going to be 5’11” and not all children are going to be at the same standards.
“It’s not realistic to proceed that way. We need to look at each individual. If we have a kid in a classroom that is not ready for a certain standard, we need to realize that and (work with them),” Teeple said.
As far as parents go, Teeple said there’s a real wide range. Some are very involved, while others are working 12- to 14-hour days because of financial difficulties and have a hard time spending a lot of time with their children. Some parents don’t show a real concern for their kids, but that could be due to the hard economic times, he said.
In his retirement, Teeple said he is looking forward to seeing the grandkids, traveling and enjoying his wife Pat’s company. He also likes fishing and playing golf. He’ll help Pat with their business, Creative Floral Designs.
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