TEACHER RETIREMENT INTERVIEWS

By: Allyson Hampton
Staff Writer
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   This year Elizabethtown Area High School is saying goodbye to two of its teachers, Ms Petersen and Mrs. Gustafson. Ms. Sue Petersen has been working at EAHS for 32 years as an English teacher. Mrs. Gustafson has worked at EAHS since the fall of 2000 and has taught the Family Consumer Science classes.

What have you noticed about education and our school throughout the years you have worked here? 
   Petersen: The technology: it’s a double-edged sword because it brings us together and separates us at the same time. It takes away the human touch. With my Creative Writing classes, you need to be with people and experience those relationships. I’ve taken online writing classes and they are not the same because you lose the one-on-one relationship that is needed with writing. 
   Gustafson: There has definitely been an emphasis on technology, and we have to do more with less space.  
What are you most excited for during your retirement?
   Petersen: Travel and writing… specifically traveling to the west and seeing the Northern Lights from Iceland. I also want to rest, read and reread my favorite books, and go on long walks in the sunshine.
   Gustafson: Being able to make my own schedule. I want to travel with my husband and visit all 50 states… we are already halfway there. 
What was your favorite thing about being a teacher?
   Petersen: The students at EAHS; its always been the students. 
   Gustafson: I love watching students develop new skills and become confident with those new skills.