When children first start elementary school, they are typically 4 or 5 years old. At this age, they are still learning how to tie their shoes, how to write basic letters and how to interact with other people. Kids at this age need a person of great patience and understanding to be able to teach such basic skills that many people overlook as needing to be taught. For Hackmann teacher Terri Hastings, this was something she excelled at.
“I didn’t want to be a teacher, believe it or not,” Hastings said. “My mom was a teacher. My sister was a teacher. I was not going to be a teacher, but something just drew me to kids… Just being with kids, they’re just so vibrant, and I mean, there are some that aren’t. There are some that it’s like, well, am I even going to make it through? But just working with kids was a big thing. It showed me that, wow, it’s not all so bad in life. They make life worth living.”
Hastings first started out teaching preschool, which she taught for 13 years. Then she moved to teach kindergarten for 22 years, most of which were at Becky-David. While at Becky-David, she formed many amazing relationships with the students and staff.
“We worked together in kindergarten for quite a few years,” Melody Glenn, a Becky-David teacher, said. “She’s always been kind of a mentor to me. She’s that kind of teacher that cares about you, and so she’ll check up on you. And she really makes sure that you have everything you need. Or she’s always a person that her classroom door is always open, even when she’s teaching, you can go in there and check on her, and she’ll do the same to you.”
After her time at Becky-David, she made a quick change to teach middle school math at Saeger for two years before she retired. And even retirement couldn’t stop her from being a part of early childhood education.
“I was subbing when I retired, because you can sub, and it just kept me involved with kids, because I did miss it,” Hastings said. “And Mindy Hopper, the principal at Hackmann, reached out to me and said, ‘Are you interested in this job? I have this job, and retired teachers can go back and work. You could work for two years in the same capacity and get paid the same amount, plus you get your retirement.’ I mean, it was a no-brainer. I get to work with kids, and she only wanted me to work half days because she had someone in the afternoon, so I get off at 11:30 a.m. It’s the perfect job. I only have six kids right now, so it’s amazing.”
Even though Hastings has moved on from different grades, she always leaves fond memories and positive impacts on her students, touching their lives in more ways than she could ever know. From learning to solve math problems to learning to work with others, she had a part in making each of her students into the people that they are today.
“In Mrs. Hastings’ class, I remember when we raised baby chicks and we all got to name them,” junior Marguerite Lepper said. “I remember a lot of collaborative play. She was very big on, like, having all the students work together… She was also really funny, and she was very easy to talk to. She was always there when we needed her, and she was a teacher that even as I got older, I would still go by her classroom and say hi, because she really made an impact on me. She was very personable, so she got to know each and every one of her students, and she also let us get to know her personally.”
