To Lessen The Teaching Shortage, A 68-Year-Old Comes Out Of Retirement

At a time when school districts are encouraging retired teachers to return to the classroom, one man chose to take the plunge.

At Jefferson Terrace Academy in Baton Rouge, 5th-grade students deliver presentations on historical individuals in the hopes of instilling in them the belief that they can achieve anything if they put in the effort.

โ€œI love themโ€ฆlike these kids right here, I love them. I want to show them that thereโ€™s a better way,โ€ Reginald Pitcher tells WAFB.

Pitcher is still teaching social studies and science at the age of 68, but he resigned five years ago after working as a social worker in the foster care and juvenile justice systems for numerous years.

He’s now unhappy with the state of the world.

โ€œLooking at the TV and watching the news seeing so many of young people killing each other, you know, going to jail and I remember the kids that I come in contact with. If they would have gotten a solid foundation early on in life like in elementary school what difference would it have made for them had they gotten that,โ€ Pitcher explains.

It is for this reason that he is lecturing today, to remind pupils that they can accomplish more with their life without resorting to violence.

โ€œIf I could help five keep them from falling in that path then my work is not in vain,โ€ Pitcher explains.

He claims that he can relate to some of his kids since he, too, had a difficult childhood.

โ€œI have experienced a lot of the things that theyโ€™ve experienced. Iโ€™ve been in gangs, Iโ€™ve robbed, Iโ€™ve stole and Iโ€™ve sold drugs. You know, Iโ€™ve done all of that growing up in the projects. So, there is not a lot of things that theyโ€™re doing or have done or going to do that I havenโ€™t already done.โ€

Pitcher says this has been the most satisfying job he has ever done, despite a 30 percent reduction in individuals wanting to be teachers in Louisiana. He says he will continue to fight to make a difference in his kids’ lives.

โ€œI want to at least try to save some kids. I know I canโ€™t save all of them, but I can make a difference with some of them. If I can make a difference with some of them, maybe theyโ€™ll grow up and do the same thing for somebody else that I am doing for themโ€ says Pitcher.


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