EudoraNews.com / Teacher of the month retiring after 31 years

May 8, 2008, 12:00 a.m.

Updated: May 7, 2008, 3:00 p.m.

The students of Nottingham Elementary School kindergarten teacher John Woodward are fully engaged Monday morning as they work in small groups on a math activity.

As Woodward visits each group, he takes the time to get down on both knees to talk with them and his assuring voice seems to be a calming presence over the group of students.

Woodward has been teaching for 31 years, with 22 of them spent with kindergartners. He has been named the Eudora Chamber of Commerce’s Teacher of the Month for April.

“I was quite surprised when I heard about the award because we have a really good staff here and there are a lot more deserving teachers,” Woodward said.

He initially had no interest in teaching when he entered college, focusing on math and science classes, but he took some classes at Highland Community College that dealt with physical activities of young children.

He then transferred to Emporia State University with the intention of majoring in community recreation but it didn’t have such a program, so he entered the teaching program.

“Basically, they put me in elementary ed. and added special ed. and early childhood development to it and I just thought ‘I’ll give it a try.”

It helped that teaching was the family profession, as his father still and two of his brothers also are teachers.

After teaching third grade for seven years in Admire, he moved to Eudora after his brother — who was living in Eudora at the time — told him there was an opening for a fifth-grade teacher.

“I didn’t really like it,” he said. “It wasn’t bad, but I just didn’t enjoy it.”

He transferred to third grade after another third grade position in the school district was added. But he wouldn’t stay in that position long either.

“It just so happened that Eudora was up and down in numbers so they didn’t need a third-grade teacher that year, but they did need a kindergarten teacher,” Woodward said. “I had early childhood (classes) in college and I liked little kids so I tried it, and it stuck ever since.”

During his tenure as Nottingham principal, Jim Lauer has been impressed with Woodward.

“He’s been a very important part of the faculty in the seven years that I’ve been here, and I’m sure he wasn’t any different before I got here,” he said.

The award comes during a time of transition for the 54-year-old husband and father of two, who will retire at the end of this school year.

“I don’t think it’s really set in, but it’s starting to hit me in the face that this is it,” Woodward said. “I’ve been here 24 years and even though it’s not all been the same, there are certain things that I don’t know how I’ll handle once it’s over with.”

But Woodward doesn’t plan on being inactive during his retirement.

“I haven’t decided what I’ll be doing once this is over, but I’ll be doing something,” he said. “This is not a retirement where I’ll be sitting at home. I’m just getting out of the classroom.”

He hopes to work a job with more regular hours, which would allow him to spend more time with his wife and two grandchildren.

“I do look forward to maybe not having a job where I have to put in after-hours time, which I do a lot of now — a lot of weekend time, a lot of evening time,” he said.

After working in the same job for more than three decades, it’s hard for Woodward to say what he’ll miss the most. But he thinks it will be those he worked with.

“I’ll miss the people more than anything — the kids, the teachers, parents, people in the community.”

Lauer said the feeling was mutual.

“We’ll miss him a lot,” he said. “He’s not only a teacher and a co-worker, he’s a friend.”