By John Trout
Fourth Grade Teacher, Lakehill Preparatory School
This is my fourteenth year teaching fourth grade at Lakehill. Same hall for fourteen years. Same room for fourteen years. Same desk for fourteen years. It’s been my home away from home. In fact, I’ve “lived” in room 110 longer than any of my actual homes over the years! It has been a familiar, comfortable place for me even when other parts of my life have been in transition.
Of course, the room itself has changed. New windows, new desks, new tiles, and every year, a new crop of eager learners to share this home away from home with me for a year. Together, we’ve created memories of adventure, realization, and triumph. Together, we’ve enjoyed days of excitement, accomplishment, and determination. And, peppered in amongst them, there have been days with frustration, setbacks, and uncertainty. But, like a family, we’ve been there for each other through thick and thin, making the best days even better and even the lowest days less intimidating. That’s what families do, and Lakehill has, since day one, felt like my extended family.
Fourteen years of memories, home, and family. That’s going to be hard to beat! Part of me yearns for a fifteenth year (and a sixteenth, and a seventeenth) in room 110. But, a bigger part of me is excited at the notion of new adventures, new challenges, and a hike down the road less traveled. And, that’s exactly what I’ll get next year as I take on my new role as Head of Lower School. And, I’m not losing my home-and-family-away-from-home. Instead, it’s growing! It’s always a little scary leaving behind the comfortable and familiar. But, I’ve got a huge and loving family to help me along the way.
