Master Teacher Gets a Standing Ovation
My favorite English teacher, Frank Dippery, retired after 51 years of teaching last week. Mr. Dippery was a teacher unlike any other. (I blogged a bit about him in 2008. Click here to learn a little bit more about his teaching style.) He was the teacher whose class you looked forward to every day since he had a great sense of humor. He kept us entertained while we worked our way through some of the great books like 1984, Animal Farm, and Our Town. He pushed us to think critically and to do our very best when we wrote papers for him. My vocabulary also flourished due to Mr. Dippery’s persistent focus on vocabulary instruction.
In addition to being an excellent English teacher, Mr. Dippery was my adviser. He provided me with guidance when I picked high school electives. He wrote many of my college recommendations and then served as a sounding board once I was accepted to most of my top choices.
Teachers like Mr. Dippery don’t come around often, but they’re out there. Maybe that’s why 700+ people gave him a standing ovation after he taught his last English class last week. (Click here to take a look at the photos.) As someone who was fortunate enough to have him as a teacher, the pictures brought teachers to my eyes. You may not know Mr. Dippery, but his storied career is one worth sharing. I guess that’s why the Trenton Times, which is one of the local papers near my high school, chose to feature Mr. Dippery’s retirement on the front page of the paper this past Sunday.
How has your school sent-off some of its great retiring teachers this year or in year’s past? Please share a bit by leaving a comment.
We have a talent show the last day of school and at the end all of the teachers sing a song for the retirees. This year 6 people retired so we sang a song in their honor to “The Brady Bunch” theme.
The first time I retired my colleagues and students gave me books that I donated to Reach Out to Read! I felt truly honored.
We just did a memory jar for a colleague retiring next week. Each of her current students wrote her a little note on colored (pretty) paper. We folded each one and put them in a hand-painted glass jar. It looked so pretty!! I would definitely do it again.
@Kim: That’s really sweet!
We also do a memory books with personal anecdotes, recipes, jokes and ditties. Class pictures and year book photos get interspersed with personal and professional milestones. It’s a work of love by busy, tired teachers to honor one of our own.
You are so lucky to have had the chance to spend your formative years learning with a teacher like this, Stacey! I loved all the pictures that went along with the celebrations – what a lot of love and joy in all the faces: Mr. Dippery and all his lucky students.
@Tara: I’m glad you saw the same joy I saw in the photos. Had Mr. Dippery retired 20 years ago (when I had him), I guarantee there would’ve been just as much joy. Lucky for all of the students who’ve had him ever since that he stayed on another 20 years!
@Diane: That’s a beautiful (albeit time consuming) way of showing someone just how special they are!
What a special, special person he is, Stacey. I loved that the whole school lined up to say goodbye. It’s really great that this is your teacher. As for my school, we say goodbye in various ways, like last year our head of 7 years left for another job, so there was an evening party & among other things, we put together a book of pages from everyone who wanted to contribute. We usually do something like that for those who have been at the school. Although I didn’t leave, when I moved from the classroom two years ago, the school hosted a party for me, with a wealth of family, colleagues and students (current & former) there. The surprise was that many gave me a book they thought I would like to read, in the new time I was supposed to have! With those books & special notes, I felt honored & loved. They also placed a plaque outside my office thanking me for my years and gifts to the school. We take saying goodbye seriously!
@Linda: Thanks for taking the time to look read about Mr. Dippery!
I love the idea of a plaque outside of someone’s office. What a lasting reminder of the good you do every day!