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After 38 years, Ron Moen retires |
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By Daniel McGonigle
Argus Managing Editor
He’d thought that he’d be walking away four years earlier. Ron Moen, who for most of his 38 years at Caledonia schools has taught social studies until recently when he taught some phy. ed., thought he had it set up so he could farm full-time.
“I wanted it to get to a certain point,” he said of his ‘side job’ in raising beef cattle. “For personal reasons I couldn’t step away until now.”
So for the past four years, Moen has essentially worked two full-time jobs, as a teacher and farmer.
The highlights of
a meaningful career
Moen coached football and wrestling for many, many years.
“It was always a lot of fun,” he said of the experience of coaching.
While an assistant football coach, the Warriors twice made it to state, once winning it all, once being designated runner up.
The teacher who was a coach, found many benefits in becoming the coach who is a teacher.
“It was an interesting transition,” he said of his time moving away from coaching. “I found I had a lot more time to devote to kids. It was a challenge giving up coaching and at the time was extremely difficult because it was how I got through to some kids. But when I was done I found that with the time that I was spending in trying to recruit and motivate athletes, I was too narrow in my scope. In viewing all students that I had, once I was no longer trying to coach a kid, or motivate a kid, I could take a greater personal interest in all aspects of their lives. It was an exciting transformation for me professionally.
“That is not to suggest that coaches cannot be great teachers,” he added. “For me coaching was all encompassing at the time.”
What will he miss most?
“The kids,” said Moen. “Watching the kids grow to become good people, good adults. Watching them be kids while they’re here and trying to help mold them in subtle ways.”
Moen gave two examples.
“This year I had one student who I became familiar with when he was in the 10th grade. He walked around with his head down and did not interact with anyone. My goal was to get him to greet me in the hallway. Now he is a junior and not only does he talk to me but he’ll stop by a piece of pie that he made for me in another class and things along those lines. Far more important than anything I might have taught him about history is he learned an important social skill that will help him in his career one day.”
The second example Moen gave is:
“Another student I became familiar with when he was a 10th grader was a young man who is a pretty good athlete. Because he was a good athlete he was always pretty cocky, and thought he belonged on a pedestal. I spent the whole year working with that aspect of his personality. Well, I knew he had grown up when I saw him talking to the student I mentioned before who struggles socially. He was more tolerant and went from being selfish, to selfless. He is a senior now. That is what I’ll miss the most about teaching.”
He’ll be missed
“He’s given a lot to this district,” said superintendent Mike Moriarty. “As a teacher, and a coach, he’s added a lot to the lives of our young people over the years and we appreciate that.”
Many to thank
Moen expects to be very busy in the coming months and years after his retirement. He figures to have more time to spend at Caledonia athletic events and expects to devote more time to his farm. Of course he also expects to spend more time with his family and grandchildren.
He points to the many colleagues and educators who helped shape his career over the years and along the way, but remembers one in particular.
“Pat Forschler,” he said of the now deceased former teacher who helped shape his career. “She passed away a couple of years ago now, but she taught me how to help kids read and I am still using her methods today. She was a reading specialist. She treated every single student as if they were her own child.”
Moen named several other former and current colleagues who “helped shape me into the teacher that I am today.”
He also thanked the community of Caledonia.
“Sometimes in my classes I would talk about how my student loans were being forgiven by the federal government because Caledonia is considered a poverty area and they would ask me ‘so why do you stay?’” said Moen. “I said ‘because the people are like the people are where I grew up, farmers, hard working, strong family values. All of the things that were important to me. I always felt comfortable here and that’s why I chose to stay.”
You can contact Daniel McGonigle at
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