Mrs. Rollings

In the art room, decorated with brightly painted walls and clay covered floors, Mrs. Rollings shared some of her thoughts about her lengthy teaching career. Although she hasn’t been teaching her the longest, she is still one of the most senior veteran teachers.  Mrs. Rollings started all the way back in 1995.

Over the years Sartell has changed and Mrs. Rollings believes that, “the student body is so much larger, when I started here class size ranged from say 80-120. It was very easy to know each and every student in the class.”

Mrs. Rollings also enjoys going to graduation if she’s able to but she explains it has changed:  “When students would walk across the stage, whether or not I had the students, I knew the kid. I go to graduation still and there are many many students that walk across the stage I’ve never heard their name before, never seen their face before.”

Mrs. Rollings was asked about her first year of teaching at Sartell and what her experience was back then.

Mrs. Rollings shared one of her most memorable moments:  “My first job was in a rural farming community, and on Halloween, I went home to Mankato where I lived… and I came back and some of the kids had spread liquid manure on my porch steps, and I was horrified, I did not grow up on a farm. I told the principal about it and his reaction was ‘Well that’s good they like you, they’re just having fun’.”

After a bit more thinking, she added:  “I cried a lot my first year.”

Every teacher has some pet peeves when it comes to students, and Mrs. Rollings exposed a few of her own, “‘I didn’t have enough time’ because every person in the class has the same amount of time; it’s how they choose to use it. I’ll give you another one, ‘I’m a perfectionist so I didn’t get it done’, in my opinion, that’s a ridiculous excuse.”

Mrs. Rollings also shared some things that she enjoys doing in her free time or on the weekends, “I really enjoy painting, I love ceramics as well… those are things I like to do for art. I really like my dog, and I like to walk my dog. I really enjoy gardening which is so typical but I like it. I like being outside as much as I possibly can because I love the sun.”

Mrs.Rolling’s idea of what she would like to do after retiring gets her dancing, “I have 9 quarters left of teaching, I will graduate with this year’s sophomores. I have my retirement home waiting for me in Arizona… all the teachers know about that because I talk about my retirement home all the time.”