Retirement Speech - Lele

My fellow faculty members,

I leave you in sadness, but I leave you with hope. I feel I must leave you purely due to consequence of my age. One of the most important qualities a teacher must possess is an overabundance of energy, and then some. As this degree of physical energy fades within me, a new kind of enthusiasm arises. An enthusiasm for spending time with my children and grand children, traveling the world, finding a new home to retire in with my husband, taking up some new hobbies, and generally having the time to do things leisurely. This may not seem like much of a plan for the rest of my life, but just wait until you are my age. My plan is to have the time to do whatever it is that spontaneously grasps me.

My 17 years here in the Math Department at Potomac have been truly remarkable. It has been an amazing opportunity to work at the high school that I went to. I cannot say that my initial dream in high school was to come back here as a teacher, but eventually it did. In fact, in high school, all I wanted to do was get away from Potomac. But as soon as I spent a few years away, I had to come back to send my 4 kids here, and then teach once they all graduated. I think that that is a real testament to Potomac’s core values and priorities.

As teachers, we are supposed to uphold these values in our classrooms everyday. But how does one go about this? How can you teach English, Algebra, or Biology while keeping a constant undertone of “Generosity of Spirit,” and the values of honesty, respect and community? I have realized that these are things that have to come naturally and somewhat subconsciously from each individual teacher. It is our unwritten duty to devote our free time to individual students, to be honest with our students by sharing our life experiences with them and by putting schoolwork into perspective. We must respect each student by trusting them and by looking beyond their past work to see that each class can be a new beginning for anyone who needs it. And community but be formed by humor: laughter between teachers and students. I hope that if I leave anything last here, that it is that crucial bond of a tight community between teachers and students because this is what encourages a happy learner.

It was years before these qualities came to me naturally. The people I must thank who helped me get to that point are my husband, John, my four kids, Erin, Conor, Bennet, and Helena, my sisters, and each of you. Individually, in somewhat or other, you have all been there to help me deal with difficult situations with students or by supporting me when I needed it most in my life, when my parents passed. Going into this job, I never thought I would get so personal and close with all of you because I was still thinking of Potomac teachers and authority figures from my high school. Although I came into this job well into adulthood, I have grown up so much through this career experience. I have enjoyed working with you all immensely and I will be sure to see you all around campus form time to time next year.