We heart teachers

Congratulations to Amanda Koepplin, third grade teacher at NR-S, on her selection as the Eddy County Teacher of the Year for 2023-24.

I have the utmost respect and admiration for those who pursue teaching as a career, and even more so for those who dedicate their lives to teaching young minds. It’s a noble profession.

When I was in elementary school, I often said that I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. I had three younger siblings and four younger cousins to look after, and teaching seemed like a profession I would enjoy. I also loved school and most of my elementary teachers.

I got my first taste as a seventh grader, when I agreed to help my mom teach a five-day Vacation Bible School at the Bowdon Lutheran Church. On day four I decided that teaching was probably not the career for me.

The final straw came after a short outdoor play break. We were ready to go inside, and I realized I was missing a student. I frantically searched the church grounds for that innocent little guy. When I found him, he told me quite matter-of-factly that he simply wasn’t ready to come inside yet!

In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have started out with 4-year-olds!

I have also considered teaching college classes as an adjunct or associate professor. Perhaps I will relate better to older students, I surmised. Then, I realized that I needed more education than my bachelor’s degree offered, so I dropped the idea.

Now, as a mom of teens, I spend as little time as possible in a classroom. I’d much rather email my kids’ teachers when there’s an issue so I can “get the facts in writing,” in case my kid tries to put words in their mouths.

In this week’s guest editorial, we hear from Nick Archuleta, President of North Dakota United, the state’s largest professional union of teachers and public employees.

The issue is teacher retention, a topic we’ve covered on this page before. This fall, Gov. Burgum convened a task force to figure out just what we need to do so that we can keep teachers in the classroom.

According to a poll conducted by DFM Research on behalf of North Dakota United, less than half of North Dakota teachers (40 percent) see themselves retiring after a full career as a teacher. Only 24 percent of educators in their 30s see themselves retiring as a teacher.

Of respondents under the age of 30, only 19 percent said they expect to retire in the education field.