Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

21 years of teaching history

Ann Clingan has worked in the Gurdon School District for 22 years, teaching in three different middle school buildings, working under four principals and even four superintendents. However, when the last bells ring on May 31, shell be heading in a new direction  retirement.

Clingan recalls the early years of her careen when she taught at Gurdon Middle School when it was located on 5th Street. Although the building was not in very good shape, it was all they had at the time.

The building leaked terribly, she recalled.

After a new high school was built, Clingan remembers making the best of the old high school which was temporarily used as the middle school. She said the real joy came when the current middle school building was constructed.

Even before the walls were painted or the ceilings were in place, Clingan said she made trips to what would become her new classroom. Sitting on the bare concrete floors, she planned out where things would go and how the room would be arranged.

They changed four or five times after that, she said.

After the new school became a reality through the generosity of the Cabe Foundation, Clingan said she took a piece of butcher paper from the teacher workroom and had students sign it as a petition to the school board to change the name from Gurdon Middle School to Cabe Middle School. The vote was unanimous, and the school board asked that the piece of paper be framed and placed in the school.

Today, the framed petition hangs in the schools entryway.

If I would have known it was going to be framed, I would have used a better piece of paper, she said.

Many things have changed over the years, Clingan said. Some changes have been for the better, but some have not.

The students are still the same, however. Clingan said she often has the opportunity to teach the children of her former students, and the opportunity provides a unique experience.

Its like Im teaching their parents all over again, she said.

Just like the early days, she said students still enjoy receiving praise from their teachers. Although she doesnt feel like it is always given enough, Clingan said the praise helps students have respect for themselves and a little more self confidence.

Students also know that there are certain things they are to bring to Mrs. Clingans class: respect for self and others as well as great expectations. These requirements are listed on a bulletin board in her classroom.

Theyre here to learn, and learning is not just out of the books, she said.

Clingan has become known not only for her teaching, but for her weekly column titled Classy Moments which appears almost every week in the Gurdon Times. She said she first began putting the column in the Times 18 years ago.

Of all of the subjects Clingan could have taught, she said she is glad she spent her career teaching social studies and history.

History is just a part of us, she said. Its something we make ourselves. History is a never-ending study.