The Alexandria Country Day School is hosting a special celebration Thursday in honor of Suzy Tacktill and Jim Girard, two teachers in their 20th year with the school.
Tacktill, an art teacher drawn to the subject by the contrast inherent in visual art with colors and light, recalled how far Country Day has come in her time as a member of the school community.
I remember, when teaching across the street in the basement of the Del Ray Baptist Church, I had to go out into the parking lot every day to find a drain grate so that I could dump out my buckets of dirty water, she said. Weve come a long way.
Girard, an 8th grade teacher who has also taught history and Spanish, said that he got into teaching on the advice of a college adviser.
I thought I would try teaching for a year or two, fill out my law school applications, and move on, he said. Once I got into the classroom and started working with kids I knew that was where I wanted to be.
Both teachers noted how much the lives of children have changed since they began, speeding up with advances in technology and communication, but that the core of teaching the relationships built with students has not.