Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Nevada teachers plan retirement

Nevada School is losing almost a centurys worth of teaching experience with the retirement of three educators.

Patricia Stewart, Monica McKamie and Linda Waller will each retire at the end of the current school year. The things theyll miss most include their co-workers. The thing they miss least is the stress of educating a generation that has vastly different attitudes from those of decades gone by. According to Stewart, both children and parents have changed.

Stewart is the school librarian and said she has taught English. Shes been employed with Nevada School since the districts consolidation almost 20 years ago and has been teaching more than 39 years.

Stewart said shes expecting to move soon after her retirement.

Im going to see what else there is to do, she said.

Stewart said there was little doubt what shell miss most.

My co-workers.

And she said theres also little doubt about what shell miss least.

The stress that accompanies the job, that wasnt there when I started teaching, Stewart said.

Ditto, said McKamie.

McKamie is a paraprofessional with the district and said shes done a little bit of everything. That included helping teachers and administrators by running copies and running errands. She said shes also substituted for absent teachers and worked with children who needed extra help. Shes been working in education 20 years and said she will miss her fellow educators.

Like Stewart, McKamie said the stress is something that she wont miss.

Waller teaches seventh and eighth grade English and said shes been teaching for 27 years. She said she believes the changing attitudes of children can be at least partly attributed to the youth of parents. She said there are some very young girls having babies and those mothers arent equipped to handle the duties.

While the stress of the job is top on the list of things Stewart and McKamie said they wont miss, Waller had a different opinion.

The paper work, she said. I wont miss all the paper work.

She said the thing shell miss most is daily contact with the kids.

Waller said she hasnt made any definite plans about what shell do after retirement.

Im looking for a part-time job, but Im not going to do anything full time, Waller said.

McKamie said shell be headed off to see her grandchildren.

Im going to go and watch my granddaughters and my grandson, McKamie said. And just enjoying being with my husband.

Because family, according to all three retiring teachers, is the most important thing.

You havent got anything without them, Waller said.