East Noble High School was founded in 1966. The current teacher who has been here the longest began teaching in 1968. For those of you who are mathematically challenged, that’s forty-five-and-a-half years. How different are things nowadays, compared to back then? We didn’t have cell phones, computers were rare, and the internet didn’t even exist. So what was it like? Read on to find out the inside scoop from the five teachers who have been a part of the East Noble family the longest.

Mr. Rickey is on his 35th year here at East Noble High School. He decided to become a teacher when he was a sophomore in high school and had some inspiring sociology, psychology, and English teachers. “They looked like they were having fun, and I wanted to do the same thing and get paid for it,” he says. The biggest change that Mr. Rickey has seen in his time here is within the family unit. “The number of students coming from single parent families has increased.” He has also witnessed more AP classes and similar college-preparing opportunities become available since he’s been here. His personal teaching has changed drastically since he began his career. “It went from strictly out of the books to almost exclusively online.” His favorite thing about teaching here is the “relaxed atmosphere” he creates in his classroom with his students. He loves his job because, “the kids help keep me going. I get along with them.”

Mr. Hoffar has been here for 35 years. He was motivated to become a teacher by some of his own teachers and coaches. He says the most inspiring thing was “seeing people try to get the most out of me.” For those of you who have Mr. Hoffar in class, you may have noticed that he isn’t the most tech savvy teacher. “Honestly, my teaching hasn’t changed all that much. The emphasis definitely moved away from the textbook, but for me, not nearly as much.” As for change he’s seen within the school, he says, “The availability and acquisition of information for the students has changed.” Many students who have had him think he is a very characteristic teacher. One student wanted to know, “Where do you go when you randomly leave the classroom?” He replied, “I walk across the hall to the cafeteria to try and get my head together, because if you stay in the wrong place for the wrong time and you get too frustrated, the wrong things are going to happen. I walk away so I can regroup and not say or do anything stupid.” Another student asked, “Do you act the same way around your family at home as you do in school?” To which he replied, “I think I do. My idea of educating is by having a relationship with students, and that’s also how I should parent.”

Mrs. Lear has been teaching here for 37 years. She became a teacher because, “It was the thing to do. I had always been in gymnastics and coaching, and I just had a natural draw to physical education and health.” She too has experienced changes within her classroom, especially since East Noble adopted the one-to-one technology. “It seems like we got a lot more done without the laptops.” She’s also seen changes in the student body, like less parental involvement over the years. “The school used to have a lot more ability to discipline, and parents supported that. Now it seems like we’re walking on eggshells so as to not make a parent mad. It’s like you’re almost afraid to teach because you don’t want to offend someone. The school doesn’t have the respect it once had.”

Mr. Lahee has been a science teacher here for 38 years. He started teaching here right out of college. He was inspired to become a teacher from three of his own teachers, two being biology teachers, and one a chemistry teacher. His teaching has changed “dramatically” since his first day here. “The whole dynamic of the classroom has changed; I think for the better. It’s gone from a teacher-based classroom to a student-based classroom. The teachers aren’t the center of attention, what they’re presenting is.” His favorite part of teaching is the students. “I like helping students and seeing that ‘aha!’ moment.”

Mr. Munk is teaching his 46th year here. He began his career right after he graduated from Ball State University, when East Noble High School was a brand new building. “It’s what I’ve done my whole life,” he says. “I’ve never had a job interview. I heard East Noble was looking for an art teacher, and so I came back to take a tour of the new school. At the end, the superintendent offered me a job.” He was first hired as an art teacher. “I taught art for many, many years, however, my other love was theatre, and I do, in fact, have a minor in theatre, so I became the theatre teacher.” He was inspired to become a teacher by one of his own teachers. “I had an art teacher who simply said I needed to go teach, so I did.” As a theatre director, he has put on over 150 shows. He’s teaching his third generation. He says, “A little girl held up her hand the other day and said, ‘Mr. Munk, you taught my grandparents’. That makes you feel old when you realize that you actually taught somebody’s grandparents.” In his time he’s seen many changes here, particularly within families. “In the old days, we would send fabric home for mothers to sew costumes, but now there’s nobody home and nobody that sews. The whole family unit has totally changed.”

According to the teachers, there were two main changes that took place over the years. The students’ families have changed, making the students more independent and self-reliant. Also, the newly incorporated technology has changed the whole structure of teaching, making nearly everything digital. Some teachers have fought this revolution, but they can only deny it to a certain extent. Technology has taken over the classroom, with online textbooks, discussion boards, gradebook viewers, and assignment drop boxes. Paper and pencil are becoming a thing of the past, whether we want it to or not.