The Rewards Of Arline Lathrop’s Teaching Career Are Felt By Colleagues And Students Alike

By Susan Coney

Longtime teacher Arline Lathrop will retire this year from the Newtown School System. Ms Lathrop has taught all subjects but specializes in social studies. This well-loved instructor has been teaching since 1969, beginning her career at the middle school where she taught for more than 34 years. Most recently she has been teaching sixth grade at Reed Intermediate School.

Ms Lathrop related some interesting stories about how the school system operated years ago when she first began teaching.

“When I started at the middle school the building was housing grades 5 through 12. The high school students went in the morning, seventh and eighth grades attended the afternoon session, and fifth grade went all day. I taught fifth grade, which did not share any of the rooms with the older students. It was very confusing and crowded at the school,” she said.

Ms Lathrop was hired to work on one of the new interdisciplinary teams. “I love working in teams, sharing ideas and responsibilities. Throughout the years I have worked on two-, three-, four-, five-, and six-person teams. My first teammates were two very experienced teachers and Margitta Savo, who had taught for a year. We worked together for about six years. She went on to teach seventh and eighth grade. And ironically, we were placed back together for the past six years and I could not have been more pleased. We began our careers together and will finish our careers together,” she said. (Ms Savo is also retiring this year.)

Over the years Ms Lathrop has witnessed a great many changes in education. She said that more and more emphasis is placed on working in cooperative groups and that the children get along much better with one another now. “They are more tolerant and accepting of each other,” she said.

Another change in the teaching profession is the amazing advances in technology. “Attendance use to be kept in a ledger that we needed to balance and it made a simple job complicated. At Reed, we take attendance on the computer and that task is accomplished in seconds,” she said. “There has been an explosion of knowledge due to the technology of today and Reed is way ahead in technology,” Ms Lathrop commented. “When I began teaching, we had to petition to have a pay phone installed in our wing. It took several years. Now we have a phone in each room. It is all pretty amazing to me,” she said.

When asked what she would miss about teaching, Ms Lathrop paused and reflected, “The everyday things, like hearing kids laugh; it’s such a great thing to be around that kind of energy. If you come in with the right mind-set it is very rewarding. Some students really want to share their lives with you and that is touching.”

Sixth grade student Cody Fischer said of Ms Lathrop, “She’s really nice and she is dedicated to teaching students.”

Newtown Middle School social studies teacher Shari Oliver not only worked with Ms Lathrop when she first began teaching but also had her for a teacher.

“She was my teacher, my mentor, my idol. She mentored me my first year of teaching and continues to mentor. The thing about Arline is she is so smart and creative but also a very humble person. She is always willing to help. She is so giving. Arline has a wonderful, self-deprecating sense of humor. She is special, there is no one else like her,” said Mrs Oliver.

When asked what her future plans are, Ms Lathrop said she had not made any long-term plans. “Right now my family is planning a reunion and I have been working on researching our ancestry for our family tree. I also love scrapbooking,” she said.

“My family has started a new business, which creates digital video and photo scrapbooks. I plan to take an active part in that. Although I will definitely miss being in the classroom, I am very much looking forward to turning that alarm clock off,” she said.

Another area of interest that she may pursue after retiring would be to mentor or supervise student teachers. Ms Lathrop commented throughout the interview that she had been so fortunate to have the opportunity to teach in the Newtown community.

“I’ve learned a lot and I would love to share it. The culture of Newtown is wonderful; it is a caring nurturing environment. Everyone is so helpful. I love that,” she stated.