BY CLIFF SMELLEY
If Susan Knight’s truck could drive itself, it would’ve known exactly where to go to every morning, Monday through Friday.
Now, though, she and her truck will have to learn a new routine, or perhaps adapt to a life without routine.
The end of this school year marked the start of Knight’s retirement, bringing an end to a 30-year career in education, with all but one of those years spent as a teacher at Lawtey Elementary School.
“I live almost in Raiford on 225,” Knight said. “I’ve driven (to Lawtey Elementary) so long, it’s like my truck, I can just turn it loose, and it’ll go to work.”
Work is now a thing of the past — at least the work of being an educator. Knight said she and her husband of 46 years, Andrew, have land that will keep them busy.
“There’s just so much work to keep the farm up,” she said. “Good gracious, I probably have three months’ worth of fencing and bush hogging and stuff like that that I can do.”
That sounds more strenuous than fulfilling the role of teacher, but Knight said being an educator is more difficult today than when she began, so she’s looking forward to stepping into her new phase of life.
“I’m very excited,” she said. “I know I’ll miss it to a certain extent, but things have really gotten difficult. Our world is not what it used to be. It’s really hard. The children really have so much to deal with, and they struggle.”
Knight said a lot of discipline and patience are required in the educational setting of today. Laughing, she said, “At my age, patience is not at a premium.”
“It’s time,” she said of retiring.
Early experiences led to teaching
Knight, who’s lived in Bradford County all her life, said the responsibilities said she was 5 when her mother died. Though her grandparents were a big help during that time, Knight said that because of her father having to work, she basically filled the role of mother.
“I kind of raised my family,” Knight said, adding, “I think I have that mother gene in me. I think it was something in me from the beginning.”
She believes that had a lot to do with her wanting to become a teacher, which would give her the opportunity to help raise children in a different way.
The desire to teach was also born of the fact that she had “some wonderful elementary school teachers.”
“They were all just really inspirational,” Knight said.
How bad did she want to be a teacher? So bad that she was willing to put in the extra time, having to work a job to pay for college. She began working at Starke’s Winn-Dixie while still a student at Bradford High School as part of an employment program. It was the start of 18 years at the store.
“I was the first one in my family to go to college,” Knight said. “It was one of those things where, financially, I had to take it in spells, but I made it.”
She also took time off from going to college for a while when she gave birth to her and Andrew’s son, Jacob.
Knight, who started at Santa Fe College, said it took approximately four years for her to get through two-years’ worth of work at the University of North Florida.
“It was a slow process,” she said, “but I finally made it.”
It, of course, took dedication and determination on her part, but she also had the help of her loved ones.
“My whole family supported me through my college career,” Knight said. “My mother-in-law was a teacher at the time, so that was kind of neat, too.”
The ‘little ones’
Knight said she wanted to teach at the elementary level because she felt that she could “handle the little ones better.” She also liked the fact that the younger children are excited about learning new things as they start their school careers or are in the midst of their early school years.
“They’re open. They’re ready,” Knight said.
Her career began with filling in at Southside Elementary School for teachers who went on maternity leave before she became a teacher at the Lawtey school, where she taught second, fourth and fifth grades before serving as the reading interventionist the last four years.
Knight’s Lawtey Elementary career began with teaching ESE students. She didn’t have an ESE degree, but she enjoyed the experience.
“I think my thing was just seeing how so many special-needs children just need love and somebody to care about them, push them and let them know they can do it,” Knight said.
For Knight, it’s all about the children, whether they’re in the ESE population or the regular-education population.
“I really loved the kids. There are so many personalities,” Knight said, adding, “You better be in it for the kids because the money’s not great.”
Knight said she went into her career thinking first grade was what she wanted to teach more than any other grade, but she eventually found out that she enjoyed teaching second grade the most.
“My second-graders, I think, are my heart,” she said. “They are beginning to read. They are very interested. They want to please you.”
What she enjoyed teaching the most, regardless of the grade she worked with, was reading. She wanted to instill in her students a love for doing so.
“I tried to explain to my children that you go places when you’re reading,” Knight said.
As reading interventionist, Knight worked with students in all grades who struggled to read. The key to becoming a better reader, she said, is to practice, which isn’t something those who are struggling want to do.
“That was the number-one problem with my children,” Knight said. “They did not practice reading because they didn’t read well.”
Knight said the reluctance to practice reading isn’t the only thing hindering children. She said it’s hard for children to even have the desire to read because it requires a patience that’s lacking in today’s world of instant gratification.
“To read, you have to imagine,” Knight said. “We have ruined them with cell phones and technology.”
As for herself, Knight said she’ll read “pretty much anything,” but admitted she was “more of a romance type.” She also enjoys books by Charles Martin.
“He’s actually from Jacksonville,” Knight said, adding, “He writes about home, about Florida. I relate to the places he writes about.”
Future and memories
Besides working on her property, Knight said she looks forward to traveling with her husband.
“We just want to see some of the country while we’re still able,” she said.
She can also enjoy devoting time to her hobby of gardening as well as continuing to be active in her church, Starke’s Northside Baptist.
Spending time with three grandchildren will also be something to look forward to. One of her grandchildren is attending the University of Florida. The other two are ages 16 and 9.
Knight can look back with fondness on memories from her time at Lawtey Elementary School, such as the fun times that Water Day brought or the joy she helped give to ESE students by taking them on field trips.
“They didn’t get out a lot,” Knight said.
She was reminded of some of the things she experienced at the school as she went through the process of preparing to leave and enter retirement.
“I’ve been cleaning out my room and going through pictures,” Knight said.
She’ll remember how special it was to work with so many people she already knew before teaching at Lawtey Elementary — people she grew up with and went to school with.
“We were like brothers and sisters,” Knight said. “You might fight amongst yourselves, but don’t let anybody from the outside mess with anybody. I think that was probably the highlight. We were all family (at Lawtey Elementary).”
Teaching may be something she puts behind her, but she’ll most likely have chances to be reminded of it by bumping into former students of hers.
“That is a really nice part of being in a small town,” Knight said.
She remembers one of her former students who lost her stepfather and “had a terrible time when she was young.” That student “made it,” said Knight, who stays in touch with the now adult via Facebook. The former student tells Knight she thinks about her when she does certain things as part of her life.
“It makes you feel like you accomplished something,” Knight said.
Knight once saw a former student who was waiting tables in a restaurant. That person was succeeding in life, which is all any teacher wants to ultimately see.
“She’s got a job. She has a family. She’s happy,” Knight said. “You don’t have to be a millionaire. You just have to make a life for yourself.”
Knight made a life for herself. Now, she enters a different phase with excitement, but that’s not to say she hasn’t experienced other emotions. Knight was interviewed for this story before the school year ended and asked what she anticipated feeling like on her last day.
“I think it’ll be a little sad in some ways,” Knight said. “I’m ready (to retire). I’m definitely not regretting it or anything, but (teaching)’s been so much of my life. It’ll be sad.
“It’s like kids graduating. They cry and carry on. I may have to shed a few tears, too.”
