ERLANGER — When Richard Dube said goodbye to his students Wednesday, he fought back tears.

        “It's all because of that,” the first-year science teacher said on the last day of school, pointing at the marker board in his classroom.

Richard Dube bids farewell to students Wednesday, the last day of his first year of teaching at Lloyd High School in Erlanger. (Patrick Reddy photos) | ZOOM |

        His students at Lloyd Memorial High School had scribbled their thoughts about him and his classes on the board, on a poster, in his grade book.

        It affirmed what he already knew. He had done the right thing giving up a lucrative career for teaching.

        “Thanks for helping me out Mr. Dube. You never gave up one me, even when it seemed like I didn't care,” one student wrote.

        “This is gold,” said Mr. Dube of Taylor Mill. “No money can give you this.”

        The 45-year-old microbiologist and brew master left a 20-year career in the brewing industry to teach at the Erlanger high school for less than half his previous salary.

        Mr. Dube taught integrated science and earth science classes to about 150 students, mostly freshmen.

        A native of Quebec, Mr. Dube's French accent made him a novelty to his students, at first. Though he's fluent in English, the students got a charge out of correcting his pronunciation.

        “Mr. Dube is cool,” said Zack Smith, a 15-year-old freshman. “He's a Canadian. He was real strict at the beginning of the year. As the year progressed, he loosened up.”

Mr. Dube's family — his wife, Danielle; Kirk, 14; and Kim, 18 — say the worst is over in their sacrificing time for his career change. | ZOOM |

        As a first-year teacher, students thought they could take advantage of his rookie status. “Everybody thought they could pull a quick one on him, but he held his ground,” Zack said.

        “2nd period has always been a handful of loud mouths and sleepy heads but you handled us like a champ. You taught us the meaning of discipline and dedication.”

        Mr. Dube is also participating in Northern Kentucky University's Master of Arts in Teaching, a five-semester program designed to attract aspiring teachers into the profession. It allows participants to teach while earning a teaching certificate.

        His workload was staggering as he spent countless hours writing lesson plans, juggling night and weekend classes, and completing his own homework.

        “It took him away from his family for the last 10 months,” said Danielle Dube, his wife of 16 years. “He's been so involved in all of this, we didn't see much of him.”

        But she and their two children, Kim, an NKU junior, and Kirk, a Scott High School sophomore, say the worst is over.

        Mr. Dube won't have as much preparation work next year, and his NKU classes will end in December. He'll finish the program by May 2003.

        It's difficult to be a first-year teacher, especially one who comes in without having taken an education course, said John Riehemann, Lloyd High School principal.

ABOUT THIS SERIES

Richard Dube, 45, of Taylor Mill, completed his first year of teaching Wednesday. This Enquirer series, which began in August, followed Mr. Dube, a microbiologist who gave up a 20-year career as a brewmaster for a life in the classroom, through his first year teaching science at Lloyd Memorial High School in Erlanger.

        “You have to have natural teaching skills to be able to pull it off, and he does,” Mr. Riehemann said.

        Mr. Dube's teaching skills grew by miles from August to May, Mr. Riehemann said.

        “At the beginning of the year, I think he knew what he wanted to do, but he didn't have any idea how to go about it. I know he's not where he wants to be, but he's a much better teacher than he was in August.”

        Along with his students, Mr. Dube learned valuable lessons during his first year. His biggest mistake, he said, was underestimating preparation time.

        “Every time I came in a little bit shaky in my preparation or didn't know how to approach a concept, I had a bad day.”

        And on the days he wasn't adequately prepared, student behavior grew worse.

        “We are the worst class of the year. We never listen to you. We always talk back and we haven't learned anything you taught us. We're disrespectful to you. But, your alright.”

        Some classes, Mr. Dube admitted, were more challenging than others.

        “It has nothing to do with the kids,” he said. “Because of synergy, some groups are more difficult. It's still up to you to motivate them. You cannot put the blame on the kids.”

        Like teaching, he had to find his way with discipline. For two months, he was reluctant to cite students for their behavior.

        “To me, it was almost a defeat to write somebody up,” he said. “I learned it's a must. The discipline part took me the longest to understand and accept.”

        He had to get tough with one class that was particularly disruptive, often talking back to him. One afternoon, he gave the class a science quiz, but the last question asked students to define respect and self-discipline. Since then, one student each day was asked to read his answer.

        The lesson: “You know the concept. Now, you have to match your actions with your words.”

        That exercise helped turn things around. He's proud, in fact, that across all six classes, he can point to students who turned around — academically or behaviorally.

        “Just make sure next year you cut the notes,” one student wrote.

        The beauty of teaching, Mr. Dube said, is that you end one year and start the next with a clean slate.

        Next year, he'll depend less on note-taking and more on hands-on activities. Too much note-taking is old-style teaching, he said.

        And, he'll start the year by having all of his classes take the respect quiz. Until then, he'll take one NKU class in June before he and a classmate from the MAT program participate in a 400-mile ride through the Colorado Rockies in July.

        As students filed out of room 22, he wished them a good summer, shaking hands and sharing hugs.

        “It's like August was yesterday,” he said. “It's a little bit of a blur. It went so fast,” he said.

        In all of that time, he never once asked himself what he had gotten himself into it. It was clear from the beginning.
       

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