As the seniors at Greeley West High School get ready to graduate and move onto new things, so will some of our beloved teachers who are retiring. English teacher Ms. Amy Tuttle is one of them.
Tuttle started her journey a little bit different than your average teacher. She said, “I was originally a Communications Major and was looking toward going to law school, but I was asked to TA for an introductory level class. The professor was often late driving between campuses, so I wound up doing the majority of the lectures, and I loved it. So,I switched my major to English/Secondary Education (and minored in Communication). The rest is history.”
She went on to talk about her students and how impactful they’ve been for her.“Students inspire me with their enthusiasm, their goals, and their questions, and that challenges me to keep being enthusiastic about my work, setting new goals for growing as a professional and a human being, and staying curious,” Tuttle said.
Tuttle said that teaching was the best career. “Being able to actively improve someone else’s life every day is a gift that I never take for granted. Helping students to become happy and contributing adults has been all the motivation I need to keep working hard as a teacher. They truly are my biggest inspiration,” Tuttle said.
Tuttle is very excited about retirement but those bittersweet feelings are still there. “I want to get some projects done at home, play video games, do more cooking, and begin writing some non-fiction and fiction books. I also plan to travel, spend time with family, and read for fun,” she said.
She also has been so grateful for all of the memories she has made with her students, but one in particular stands out. “When I was teaching IB juniors several years ago, I remember telling them that I would never want to be a world dictator because I would rather be a world figurehead. I want all of the pageantry with none of the work. At the end of their senior year, the students gave me a tiara and a scepter at their IB Matriculation,” Tuttle recounted.
She went on to talk about another memory she very much loves to look back on, saying, “Once in class I kept seeing a student putting her hands in her hoodie pocket. I thought it was odd, but kept teaching. Suddenly I remembered one of the student’s hobbies and asked, “Do you have a sugar glider in your hoodie pocket?” Sure enough, the student pulled out a baby sugar glider from her hoodie.”
Tuttle went on to share some advice for her beloved coworkers and friends. “Keep an encouragement folder,” she said. “When you have a hard day because of fatigue, a difficult student interaction, or a lesson that did not go smoothly, pull out a message from a student or colleague in your encouragement file to remind you why it is important to persevere.”
Tuttle hopes the legacy she left behind included compassion. “I hope to be remembered as kind. Students won’t necessarily remember the books I have taught or the rules for the proper use of a semi-colon, but I hope they remember that I truly wanted the best for their futures,” Tuttle said.
Tuttle provided one last message to all of her students and fellow colleagues. “Thanks for the beautiful journey. Don’t sleepwalk through your time at Greeley West because it is an amazing place to learn and grow,” she said.
