Terry Lower isnt certain what his plans are yet for retirement.
He figures to be busy. While his last day of teaching physical education at Iola Middle School was Tuesday, Lower will continue working for USD 257 through the summer as part of the maintenance and mowing team.
My grand plan after Aug. 1 is to do whatever I want to do, he joked.
Wife Lisa, he explained, will continue teaching in the Auburn-Washburn school district near Topeka. So Ill have some spare time, he said. Ive got to work part time somewhere. Im not going to quit working.
Lower as been at IMS for the past 33 years as a PE teacher. Hes also coached the middle school track team since the early 1990s.
Ill miss the kids, he said. I know when the kids leave for the summer, its like whew, the kids are gone. But youre ready for them to come back.
Ill also miss the camaraderie with the teachers, he continued. Ill keep track of them.
LOWER, a Humboldt native, earned a degree in recreation at Pittsburg State University, then spent the next five or so years running fitness centers in Missouri and Oklahoma.
He moved back to Allen County from there, doing substitute teaching for a year, until friends convinced him to get his teaching certificate.
From there, he was hired at Iola Junior High School in 1985.
LOWER knew from the outset he wanted to work with middle-schoolers.
When I subbed, it was for K-12, he said. You can sort of joke with high school kids, and you cant with grade school kids. With middle school kids, you can be as sarcastic as you want, and theyll be sarcastic right back at you.
It was a natural fit, he said with a laugh.
I wouldnt go with any other age group, he said. Some people say youre crazy, but thats what Ive liked the most.
The added benefit, he continued, is watching students develop into young athletes.
