Excerpts from your letters:
I wish that I could convey to potential educators the joy of teaching in a rural setting. Bob and I met in college in Greeley. We had the same goals. Our first teaching job was in northeastern Kansas at Horton. The little city with fantastic, dear people. We left there for Bison, a town of 500. The neighbors all came when we moved in with food, advice and love. People were wonderful. Thirty years later we still kept in touch.
If a teacher wants a quality of life, lifelong friends, respect for the job they do in the classroom, then a rural school is the place to be. I guess, Once a Bear, Always a Bear. So proud of our education at UNC.
–Mary Ann Tanking (BA ’59)
As a rural educator of 37 years, I read with great interest your article on the Teaching Crisis in Rural Colorado. I was very proud of UNC and all that they are doing to address this crisis. Unfortunately, we seem to be up against some very stiff headwinds on the local, state and national fronts.
Thanks to UNC for continuing one of its core missions to develop high quality teachers for all the students of our state. I hope as part of that work they continue to advocate to get teachers into classrooms and keep them there.
–Martin L. Lamansky (BA ’80, MA ’90)
Thank you for a wonderful experience these past five years! I have truly grown in my career and as an individual. I am grateful for all the support I received in many different forms throughout these years to make my time at UNC so successful. I recently graduated summa cum laude and anticipate a full-time teaching offer soon. Once a Bear, Always a Bear! Thank you again!
–Rebecca Hoover (BA ’17)
Editor’s note:
We received several letters and emails in response to the Spring/Summer 2017 cover story, The Teacher Crisis in Rural Colorado, written by Jaclyn Zubrzycki.
One email raised concern over sentence structure, asking whether “students...are in the midst of building four new apartments for teachers” meant that students were, in fact, building apartments for teachers. Yes, according to Custer superintendent, students in the construction trades program have built apartments for teachers.
