As snow drifted past the classroom window, students paused to marvel at the white landscape outside. Several of the students have never seen snow before. The teacher persists through the lesson, but she decides, “this [the snow] is just more important than whatever’s on the page right now.” She leads the class to the window and initiates a conversation between students who have seen snow and those who have not. Retiree Mrs. Rita Flaherty recalls this moment as a fun, memorable part of her career.
In February 2000, Mrs. Flaherty started at South as a teaching assistant in the Special Education Department. This year, she finishes her South High career as an English teacher, who instructs ENL and ninth grade classes. Throughout thousands of lessons and even more memories, Mrs. Flaherty reflects on her time at South as a “great place to spend my entire teaching career.”
However, Mrs. Flaherty explored the law field before transitioning to teaching. After graduating from Stonybrook University with a bachelor’s degree in English, she worked in a law office. “An English major prepared me for law school, because that’s really what lawyers do, right? You speak, you read, you write, and you listen,” she explained. She intended to work as an attorney and pursued a law degree from St. John’s University. Yet, Mrs. Flaherty’s degrees equipped her for more than just one profession.
After having her daughter, Mrs. Flaherty evaluated the demanding workload and extensive hours at the law firm and then reconsidered her career path. This career change began when her daughter entered middle school. “It was like, wow, these kids are fun to be around. And why don’t I do more of this?” Mrs. Flaherty never seriously considered working in education up until that point, but realized that her background lent itself to becoming an English teacher.
Mrs. Flaherty discovered her niche with the ENL students. During her first year, Mrs. Flaherty taught transition classes, which are a student’s first English class outside of ENL. “It’s fun to be involved in that process of somebody doing things for the first time. And you know, young people often do it with a fresh eye and excitement,” she said. Through the ENL program, Mrs. Flaherty works with students across all grades and levels, ranging from students who have been in the program since elementary school to those just arrived to the US in high school. After 23 years of teaching ENL students, Mrs. Flaherty considers the program a highlight of her career.
Despite the positive memories from her teaching career, Mrs. Flaherty has experienced unexpected difficulties. ”What I’ve learned is that we all learn more when things go wrong,” she said. With support from her colleagues, Mrs. Flaherty embraces an organized mindset. “Be prepared, be open, and realize that they’re [students] still changing and growing.”
Mrs. Flaherty stated that working as a teacher taught her several other life skills. “[Teaching] gave me more compassion, more empathy. It gave me many kinds of tools in my toolbox to deal with people.” She attributes these traits to working with teenagers, a student population that is constantly growing and changing.
Mrs. Flaherty already looks forward to staying active in retirement and having more flexibility in her day-to-day routine. A self-proclaimed amateur, Mrs. Flaherty began playing golf two years ago. After “putting [her golfing plans] off” due to work, she plans to spend more time with her golf league. Stepping away from the classroom, she can now shift her focus to a retirement filled with family, golf, travel, and mahjong.
