by Denise Tucker

After an education career spanning 35 years, Mrs. Tucker has finally decided to put down the chalk and settle into some well-deserved rest and relaxation. We asked Mrs. Tucker is she'd share a few thoughts about her time as a teacher and in typical Mrs. Tucker fashion, she didn't let us down.

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Back in 1984, when I first began teaching, the idea of retirement seemed an extremely distant concept; however.....BLINK…..and here I am!!!

To give a little background on myself, while attending Judson University, I met my spouse of 35 years, Trace Tucker, also a soon-to-be-retired special education teacher. The two of us were blessed with four truly amazing children: Trent, a Boston Scientific territory manager residing in Fishers, IN; Tanner, a young man who positively touched more lives in his seventeen years than I could hope to reach in 97 years. He resides in Heaven; Ty, a double science major at Purdue University and also an Airman; and Toria, a biochemistry major at DePauw and a recently-licensed EMT. Without Tori’s earning of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship in 2018, our retirements would have been delayed another few years.

Fortunately, this timing allows my husband and I to relocate to our new home in Fishers where Trace will continue to provide respite care to special needs teens and adults, and I will be caring for our new grandson, Cole Tanner Tucker.

While I look ahead at the next chapter in my life, reflecting back on my thirty-five years as a South Dearborn teacher is only natural. No doubt, while some of the required “grinds” (ie….tests, IEPs, paperwork, and more paperwork) evoked an occasional stress headache, any negatives have been far outweighed by the simple joys I experience daily as a teacher.

So much has changed throughout my tenure; we have gone from mimeograph machines and filmstrips to high-speed copiers and videos on demand. However, I will forever miss those unchanged entities, such as an unprompted compliment or the genuine, sweet hugs from students.

Mrs. Tucker strove to structure her classroom as a “Safe Zone,” which was a loving place a kid could go, where he/she knew they would never be yelled at by soft-spoken Mrs. T., and where put-downs were not allowed. Also, Mrs. Tucker *might* be known for having a rather well-stocked candy stash. I challenge students to pay forward sweetness, for kindness is always the right choice!

Considering that in the past 35 years, my school staff and I have survived an arsonist’s fire, a moderate earthquake, the blizzard of 1996, the flood of 1997, and even a hurricane in 2008, changing some dirty diapers will seem like a piece of cake…….chocolate cake! (Sorry, but it was inevitable that exposure to 35 years of junior high humor was apt to rub off on me!)

Farewell, SDMS!!! I will miss you!!!