FeedsEducation, to a science
Long-time educator among district retirees
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Jon Childs retired after a 36-year career at Miller Elementary in Canton.“After 36 years, I thought it was time to go,” said Jon Childs.
It was Tuesday afternoon and Childs had just finished cleaning out his classroom at Miller Elementary School in Canton—for the last time.
Childs, who has taught at the school for his entire educational career, was one of dozens of teachers and a few administrators the retired from the Plymouth-Canton Community School District at the end of the year. Childs took a retirement incentive offered by the district earlier this year, one of 88 who did so.
His last week was a nostalgic one, he said, and one where he witnessed young teacher hopefuls come into the school to interview for his job.
“I felt like saying: ‘I’m doing my part; I’m getting out of the way so we can give one of you a job’,” he joked.
Childs said teaching was in his blood. His grandmother was a teacher, as well as his mother—former City of Plymouth mayor Mary Childs—but he always thought he would teach at the secondary level. His bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University was geared toward middle and high school education, but a student teaching stint in the River Rouge School District changed his mind. Back then, he said, students at the secondary level still had trouble reading basic text and he decided to teach younger children. A student teaching assignment at Miller led to a job offer. He took it—although the first day was a little tense.
It was 1974, two years after Miller Elementary opened, and district teachers were on the verge of a strike over an Extended School Year plan. Childs, obviously at the bottom of the union ladder, wasn’t sure how safe his job was.
“It was a funny way to start out,” he said.
Nearly four decades later, he’s glad for the chance to teach in the Plymouth-Canton District. He said through the years, he’s always tried to teach a consistent message to youngsters.
“I always thought it was the love of learning new things,” he said. “To go home and tell your parents something they didn’t know—that can be exciting.”
His philosophy has changed a little bit—he said he was a lot harder on parents until he became one—but his love of the job never did. He said he frequently runs into past students. Some of them, in fact, were among those interviewing for his job. Others are college professors.
“They’ve gone on to do great things,” said Child. “That’s a good feeling.”
Most of the teachers he started with have since retired, and Childs has outlasted five principals at the school, too. He said he intends to go back next year and visit, though.
He said he’s glad, too, that he decided to focus on elementary education, too. When asked to sum up a long career in education, he refers back to something his mother told him.
“People will tell you that you won’t get rich, but that’s not true. You just won’t make a lot of money,” said Childs. “I always thought there’s a lot of truth in that.”
