Couple chalk up decades of teaching
When they had been around long enough to teach the third generation of a family, Foxton teachers Kevin and Sandy Brown decided it was time to retire.
The husband and wife finished up at Manawatu¯ College last week, after a combined 82 years. Kevin was at the school for 47 years and Sandy for 35.
They plan to travel and visit family, and go overseas again.
Kevin was an English teacher and long-time deputy principal, while Sandy, an assistant principal for nine years, worked in the Gateway programme.
‘‘When I started teaching the grandkids of students, I thought it might be time to retire,’’ she said.
The pair, who wouldn’t divulge their ages, loved being part of the community, getting on well with the children and their parents.
‘‘We lived in Foxton for 43 years and we’ve lived in Palmerston North for the last three. Our three sons were born [in Foxton], just over the road at the maternity centre, went to Foxton Primary School and then Manawatu¯ College.’’
Kevin had mixed feelings about leaving the only school he’s taught at. It’s not his first go at retirement, either. He was deputy principal from 1989 to 2008, then retired, but was coaxed back.
‘‘When you do stay in a school for so long, the community and the kids are really engaging and you become fond of the area,’’ he said. ‘‘The staff is the other big attraction as well.’’
Kevin said teaching was different now to when he started.
‘‘There’s been revolutionary change in the whole school system. When I first became deputy principal, all of Tomorrow’s Schools came in and schools became self-managing.
‘‘In the classroom now it’s far more facilitating and helping with school work.’’
Kevin is a life member of the Foxton fire brigade, serving for 22 years, has been involved with the Foxton Little Theatre and is a justice of the peace.
He coached multiple sports teams and helped organise an exchange with their sister school in Narita in Japan for 23 years.
Sandy coached numerous teams over the years too, mainly tennis, squash and netball.
‘‘You can never ever get bored in teaching and if anyone gets bored teaching, they shouldn’t be in the job.’’
The couple met in Christchurch while at university.
Sandy first taught at Castlecliff School in Whanganui for a year, then had two years at Coley Street School in Foxton.
She had a 10-year gap to have children, then Kevin asked her to relieve his class and she never looked back. They both started under former principal Ted Irving, the original college headmaster after it split from the district high school in 1961.
Long-time colleague David Allan, who has been at the school for 38 years, said the Browns had a terrific partnership.
‘‘A defining feature . . . is their commitment to the underdog. Social justice is the flash term, but they’re about making sure people with the lesser opportunities are valued and have access to a life beyond school.’’