Johnsie Cooper looked a tad melancholy as she walked into her classroom at Knight Elementary School in Gwinnett County.
“This is where I’ve lived for the last three years,” Cooper said.
A week earlier, Cooper, who taught second-grade at the school for the past three years, had completed her 50th — and final — year teaching. Cooper, 72, is retiring after a lengthy career teaching public and private school in Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia and here in Georgia. She spent her final 23 years teaching in the Gwinnett school system.
Cooper returned to her classroom Thursday to discuss her career, from unzipping snowsuits as a kindergarten teacher in Michigan to spending more time with her eight grandchildren. Here are some excerpts from five questions we asked during the interview.
Q: What were your first years like teaching?
A: "My first year teaching was in 1964 and I did not know what I was doing … (The superintendent) had confidence that I can do it and I wanted to live up to his expectations so I worked really hard. I studied. I watched other teachers. I went to other teachers. I constantly asked 'What do you do here?' 'What about this?' 'How do you discipline?' "
Q: What was the most difficult part of teaching?
A: "My most difficult part, I think, is the discipline. I'm a pretty firm disciplinarian and I want to make sure that my kids know that I love them. When I discipline them I'm doing it in love. I'm trying to help them grow. I'm trying to help them mature. For instance, when they turn in things sloppy and not written well, I don't accept it. I say 'Is this your best?' And if they say no I say go back and give me your best."
Q: What would say is the biggest change you’ve seen since you started teaching?
A: "Technology is good. It's really good. I enjoy learning all the new parts of technology but sometimes I felt like it was overriding things and I wasn't up with it yet. And I was hurrying with the program and I think it took up some of my time away from the actual part of teaching."
Q: What is your biggest concern about education today?
A: "The overload being put on teachers. I felt very stressed at times because so much was required of me and I wanted to do the best for my kids. There were times I felt 'Is this really for the kids? Is this something I really need to be doing for the kids?' "
Q: Would you consider a career in teaching today?
A: "Oh, definitely. Look, I'm not even happy about retirement. But I know it's time to go … I love it when kids would do stuff and they write a sentence that's legible that you can understand and it's something really cool and they go 'I got it!' I love that. I love that feeling. I would do it again in a heartbeat."
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