Example of retirement speech
Thank you Mr. Harris {the director} for your wonderful introduction.
Have I really been here 25 years? That sounds like a long time ... about the same length as a double spell of English grammar on a Friday afternoon when the sun shines. That may also seem to follow and follow.
Fortunately for you I will not do it.
I remember coming here with my new teacher kit. I was full of ideas, things to do to make a difference. I thought I was the teacher and you, the students were my students. How bad it was.
It took me a while to understand why I was a reluctant apprentice. My head was so full of how things "should be," there was very little room for how things were. "The gap in those early days between what I thought I needed to teach and what the students really needed to learn was broad. Moments when it was difficult to build bridges.There were times when it seemed impossible and I wanted to give up.
Mr. Harris has been kind enough to say that I gave a gift of myself; My energy, enthusiasm, honesty, respect and love, to you. But I want to turn it around and give it back, because this is precisely what I feel you have given me.
I have had the privilege of having many young people in my classroom. 25 years ago some of them started teaching me how to teach.
They helped me build the first bridges. From them I learned that true teaching is a special association. It only really works when the teacher goes beyond the outer image, looks at the heart, understands and respects what he sees. The student's role is to let oneself see, not only for what they are, or have been, but also for what they could be.
Over the years the fashion has had short, long and short skirts again. Low wear has become excessive wear. Hair has arrived, gone, been large, trimmed, technicolored, bleached, curly, straightened, extended and dreadlocked. The names have not been exempt. They also reflect changing times; Featuring the emergence of new influences, whether pop, TV, film or sports stars, or perhaps an inspiring leader capturing hearts and minds.
Despite the alteration of external appearance and what people call it, it has always been and always will be a constant. That is the inner need to fight for what is true and right.
I look back with gratitude. I entered a profession dedicated to helping young people reach their potential, reveal or find their best self. By leaving it, I am taking many of you with me. You will live in my memories. I will always remember the things we have achieved together: the many successful works we put on, the speeches he gave, the debates and the concerts at the end of the year.
I've been asked what I'm going to do now. I will do many things and very few of them will fit the notion of retirement as a time-out for the inevitable end. Helen Hayes expressed it this way: "People who refuse to rest honorably on their laurels when they reach the age of" retirement "seems to me very admirable.
I'm going to travel to places I've always wanted to go and have not been. I will read books that have been waiting on my "must read" list of years. I go to the garden, learn new skills, play with my grandchildren, visit art galleries, enjoy being close to friends ... In short, I plan to live.
I want to pay tribute to my colleagues for their support, friendship and exemplars of what it is to serve faithfully and humbly. I will always remember our shared laughter, our joys and our struggles. Thanks for the endless supply of black coffee in the teachers room to keep me awake and alert. Thank you also for the notes of appreciation, words of encouragement, sharing resources and time, but above all for your sincerity and confidence.
And finally, I leave you with this thought. There is only one of each: one from Jane Smith or one from Harris. We are unique. We are neither better nor less than anyone, but rather the best or least important of ourselves. I'm still working on finding the best of me. It is an exciting journey in progress. Thank you for being my traveling companions along a large and important part of my journey. I am eternally grateful for your stimulating endeavor and the huge collection of shared experiences imprinted on my mind.
Thank you. Happy Holidays!