DIDSBURY - Ross Ford Elementary School Grade 1 teacher Bev Hohenwarter still looks forward to the first day of school after 38 years of teaching, including the last 34 at the Didsbury school.
"I guess that's a lot of back to school outfits," said Hohenwarter. "I still get excited for school to begin each year, because I just love being with these kids. But I always feel a bit apprehensive at the same time, with all the same concerns that a first-year teacher deals with. No matter how long we have been in schools, every teacher wants to do the very best for the kids."
Ross Ford principal Brent Runnett said that Hohenwarter is a master teacher whose steady approach is a huge influence at the school.
"She is an example of a strong lifelong team member who has continually stretched her skills to bring her very best to students every day," said Runnett. "She is grounded and focused on what is important in a classroom and in a school, instead of getting caught up in distractions. In the end, her students clearly know what she wants and they move forward together wonderfully."
Hohenwarter knew she wanted to be a teacher from a young age. After graduating from high school, she went to school at Red Deer College and then finished her teacher training at the University of Alberta. After graduating from U of A, she jumped right into teaching at an elementary school in Edmonton.
"I've always just loved kids," she said. "I volunteered as a candy striper and decided being in a hospital wasn't for me. I thought I liked kids better. I'd taught skating and that kind of thing."
Hohenwarter said she's been blessed to work with great staff members at Ross Ford throughout her 34 years there.
"We've had changes through the years but they've all become like family," she said. "Many of us raised our babies together. We've lost our parents together. You're like sisters and family. It's an easy place to stay. That relationship factor is important."
It's safe to say that teaching runs through Hohenwarter's blood. Her grandmother taught at Olds Elementary School for many years and her brother currently teaches there. Both her children are also teachers in the area with her daughter teaching at Hugh Sutherland School in Carstairs and her son at Didsbury Career High School.
"You have to really like children and being in a leadership role," she said. "I think all of them had some leadership skills whether they were coaching and that got them into it."
Hohenwarter said she has seen plenty of changes at the school and in teaching in nearly four decades.
"The dynamics of the whole family has changed quite a bit," she said. "Everything is a very fast-paced life," she said. "You see huge language delays. Children aren't doing some of the things we did growing up. You might not play as many board games. That social interaction; there isn't as much visiting."
Hohenwarter said kids just don't have the same language or social skills coming into Grade 1 as they did before.
"The articulation and all that is weaker because of the lack of interactions," she said. "You might not see as many grandparent doing the same things. You're off to whatever sport. Instead of visiting in the car you might put on a DVD. It's easy to give your child an electronic device and let them play by themselves. It's not the same as sitting and reading with your child every night or doing the nursery rhymes. They need to sit with you and visit with you."
Hohenwarter said that kids still have that natural desire to learn.
"They're very enthusiastic and everything is fun for them," she said. "Kids are kids. They still want to be nurtured and loved and have a sense of belonging."
Hohenwarter has no plans to retire any time soon.
"I still love it," she said. "People ask when I'll retire; I say 'when it's not fun.' Every day is fun."
