As June comes around teachers and students get antsy to see the end of the year. The coming of goodbyes starts to creep up on them slowly, and the emotions fill up until they are finally let out.
Students and teachers experienced this Thursday at the awards assembly as an honorable teacher was announced for retirement; our very own Rick Anderson.
Anderson has been teaching in the Lakeland school district for twenty-three years now, and after being in a financially stable position and paying his loyalty to the school, his time to retire has finally arrived.
“My wife and I wanted to be able to retire when we were in good enough shape to still do the things we wanted with our retirement. Like travel, work on the ranch, etc.” Anderson said.
While Anderson takes off into this next part of his life and leaves behind the halls of Lakeland High School (LHS), a dim glow and a hush of silence fills the school.
Anderson has been the light to a lot of teachers’ and kids’ lives for the last 23 years.
While announcing his departure at the Lakeland awards assembly, led by an emotional, heartfelt speech by Jimmy Hoffman, students and teachers of Lakeland clapped and even shed a few tears while watching him accept his plaque.
“Watching him accept the plaque made me feel happy for him, and I am glad he decided to go at the same time as my class graduates,” Austin Howell said.
Many students who have come and gone throughout the years can recall Anderson always making the learning environment fun and creative.
Whether it was him lecturing about another lesson or even just teaching the class what to do when they get pulled over, his teaching style got through to most students and showed an exponential increase in test scores and life lessons.
While Anderson has gotten through to many students over his years of teaching, he has also gotten through to his colleagues.
“Mr. Anderson is a very great teacher and an even better person. He puts a lot of passion into his job, and Lakeland will have a huge gap to fill in his retirement,” Michael Dunn said.
Anderson is one of the many teachers who shines at Lakeland and can make someone’s day better by showing up.
With his fun stories and impressions, to his serious talks and lessons, there is no doubt that Lakeland is saying goodbye to a big part of what makes it so great next year.
“I could have retired last year, but Hoffman asked me nicely to stay for one more, and I agreed because it felt like a sense of loyalty to him and the school,” Anderson said.
Although it is sad to see him leave, Anderson has some big retirement plans.
“My wife and I wanted to retire while we are still in good shape to do things. I plan to work on my ranch to fix things right away, travel to California to see the grandkids play football, and travel all over the U.S. and Europe. I do not think I am going to be bored,” Anderson said.
While Anderson has big plans and is excited about this new portion of his life, he still has mixed feelings about retirement.
“I have been doing this half my life, and I fear that I might be one of those grouchy old men that does not have anything to do and gets mad at people who step on his lawn. I do not want to be that,” Anderson said.
Anderson has a lot of great memories here at Lakeland, and it can be hard to choose, but one that stuck with him would be the most recent one from when he presented his plaque for retirement.
He appreciated the energy the crowd gave him when his name got announced and the emotions shown by his coworkers.
Anderson would like to remind the seniors who are leaving with him to do something that they love, that it will never feel like they are going to work every day, but that it will make them happy rather than irritated or sad.
He would also like to remind students in general to have fun in school, being happy helps the learning and makes it go by better. It does not cost anything to be a good citizen.
While Anderson walks across the stage with the seniors this Wednesday and says goodbye to Lakeland at the end of the month, he does not want the students and teachers to mourn, as he will still be around at games and other events.
“I tell the seniors if they ever need financial advice to call Hoffman, and he will call me or find a way to contact me, and we can get a cup of coffee,” Anderson said.
While Lakeland’s school year comes to an end, and we all get ready to say our goodbyes, the last thing we would like to say to Rick Anderson is thank you for everything you have done these last twenty-three years, and we hope you know how irreplaceable you truly are.
