Schools
Lindbergh Elementary Teacher to Retire After 44 Years in Dearborn
The Dearborn Public Schools employee says teaching children is his passion.
When Jim Fisher began his teaching career at Dearborn Public Schools, The Beatles were still topping the charts, the Internet didn’t exist and cell phones were more of a science fiction oddity.
Today, Fisher's hair might be shorter and a little grayer, and technology and music have changed dramatically. But one thing that hasn’t changed is Fisher's love of teaching and the students he taught during a span of nearly four decades.
Fisher is wrapping up his 44th year at Dearborn Public Schools, 23 of those years he has spent at Lindbergh Elementary School teaching third grade students everything from geology and math, to how to handle bullies and family problems.
"You have to be a teacher, counselor and social worker all rolled into one," he laughed.
That comes natural for Fisher, who said his father, a firefighter for the city of Detroit, instilled in him the passion for helping others at an early age.
"I was too laid back to go into business, but I knew I wanted to help people," Fisher said of his decision to teach.
After earning his bachelor's and master's degree from Eastern Michigan University, Fisher applied for a job at Dearborn Public Schools as a special education teacher for hearing impaired students. Over the years, he has worked at Lowery Elementary, Fordson High School and Dearborn High School.
"I love working with kids and seeing them progress," Fisher said. "Kids sometimes think that they can't do something. I want to show them perseverance will pay off and give them the experiences to be successful."
In order to do that, Fisher uses a variety of tactics in the classroom. A point of pride for Fisher is a program he implemented aptly called "fish dollars," which teaches students how to be responsible with their money.
"I do not give them prizes for doing well on their test. They are expected to do well. They are awarded for completing a task, or being the top team in the classroom for the week," he explained.
Students can cash in the "fish dollars" for a pizza party, or opt to buy individual pieces of candy at lunch time.
"It teaches them about the consequences of their decisions and about the importance of communicating with each other and with me," he said.
Leaving a legacy
Fisher has seen many changes in education over the course of his career. Technology has made it possible to supplement texts with the Internet, explore distant lands with 3-D models, and download new media tools."Not everyone learns the same way," he said. "Some kids excel at visual learning, and others can memorize a passage of text. I've always been a very visual person. If you can get a student excited about something, they are much more likely to work harder at it. My goal is to embrace the Internet to get students to think outside of the box."
A recent example, he said involved a lesson on mealworms beetles that required students to research the life cycle on the Internet.
"When kids feel confident about certain classroom subjects, we've pretty much won the game," he said.
He also encourages students to bring in items that they find outside of the classroom or talk about topics that might interest them.
"We had a lesson on fossils, and these kids were coming back to class with a lot of neat fossils they found," he said. "Just to have them look at something differently that they may have passed up before is an accomplishment."
Still, after 44 years, Fisher acknowledges that it's getting harder to fulfill the state's expectations for teachers.
"There's increased demands for math, science and social studies with little support coming to the classroom. It's difficult to make sure all of our kids get across that finish line," he said.
Passing the torch
The decision to leaving the job Fisher's come to know and love has not been easy, he said."The hardest part is leaving the students," he said. "You spend five days a week with them, so it's like you become part of a family. Knowing that I won't see most of them after I leave is hard."
Despite his decision, Fisher said he's confident it's the right move for him and for Dearborn Schools.
"Dearborn has always been a community that is very supportive of its educational system," he said. "As long as parents continue to be informed about what their child is learning, I believe I'm leaving Lindbergh Elementary in good hands."
His advice for new teachers is simple:
"You have to understand why some students are successful and why some are not," he said. "Let the kids know that you enjoy being there at school and that you are happy to see them. You have to be flexible to change, too."
Fisher said he has no immediate plans for retirement, but will be able to spend more time with his wife.
"I'm sure it won't be long before I start tinkering around with something else," he said. "I like to be constantly learning. Everything intrigues me."
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