Joyce Atkinson will miss her students.
But theyll leave anyway, the retiring Iola Middle School art teacher said. I guess I wont get to play with the new kids.
Shell also miss her colleagues, but again, many of her closest friends have already retired.
So what will she miss about her 45-year teaching career?
Ill miss my room, she said with a chuckle. I love my room. My grandkids wont get to come visit on spring break and create things.
Atkinson, whose teaching career started in the fall of 1972, hung up her paint brushes for good Tuesday, the final day of classes for IMS students.
Atkinson entered the teaching world considering one of two disciplines: music or art.
Im glad I went this way, she said.
Art, she explains, offers students an outlet to express their creativity.
They get to do things with their hands, she said. Its a social thing for them, too. They can visit while they work.
IT TOOK few years of teaching before Atkinson entered the hallways of what was then Iola Junior High School.
Thats because the art classes couldnt fit in the old building, and instead were held in a small room next door to the high school.
She was there for about 3 ½ years before school officials converted a portion of the school basement into an art room. There she remained until the school underwent a massive renovation in 1995. From there, she moved to the first floor, and eventually to the more spacious Room 209.
ONE educators observation about middle school is that students enter as children, and exit on the cusp of adulthood.
Atkinson agrees.
Really fun to see how the kids grow, she said. Im lucky about that. A math teacher or a music teacher may not get to see that.
You never know what to expect. Usually its for the better, she said with a laugh.
ATKINSONS retirement will include going with husband James to spend time with their grandkids, who live in Goddard.
Shell continue working with youngsters at Iolas First Baptist Church, where she teaches Sunday school, including arts and crafts, and at Bible school each summer.
