Berlinda Bazzell Retires From Classroom
Berlinda Bazzell retired last week after 30 years in elementary classrooms in the Allen County School District. Her retirement will mark the end of years of service to the thousands of students who have come through her classes since she first started in the mid 1980s.
Berlinda Marsh Bazzell graduated from Allen County-Scottsville High School in 1978---a part of the first class to spend all four years at the consolidated high school. At AC-SH, Bazzell was a cheerleader and a student who wasn’t afraid to “rock the boat” a little.
“I can remember going to (high school principal) Bennie Keen and asking if we could do something we had never done before,” Bazzell said. “He never said no right off the bat and most of the time he would let me do the things I suggested. One of the ways I rocked the boat was that my class was the first class to have the prom away from the high school. I asked the question of who wanted to come to a dingy cafeteria and have prom so we got it at the (Barren River State Park) Lodge.”
Bazzell’s father---Berlin Marsh---owned and operated the Marsh’s Five and Dime variety store on the square in Scottsville. Bazzell worked at the store from time-to-time but came to the realization that she wonted to do more but unsure of the career she would pursue.
“I was one of those kids that one day, wonted to be a lawyer and one day I wonted to be an architect,” Bazzell stated. “I even looked into going to school to be an optometrist. I checked into many careers but I always came back to education. I did know I didn’t want to work at Marsh’s Five and Dime forever.”
Bazzell graduated from Western Kentucky University with a degree in Elementary Education and soon was offered a chance to start teaching in Allen County.
“My first grade to teach was second and I’ve taught third grade a few years and I taught second and third grade together,” Bazzell explained. “I taught fifth grade for 14-15 years and then sixth grade.”
The years have brought many changes. One change at the elementary level was a switch several years ago from self-contained classrooms---in which the same class remains with the teacher all day---to where classes stay together but switch teachers during the day. This change took Bazzell a while to adjust to.
“I loved fifth grade when we were self-contained, when you had the kids all day long,” Bazzell admitted. “When you have the kids all day, you can incorporate reading with social studies and you could do all kinds of stuff.”
Another area of change has come in technology. Bazzell started teaching when chalk boards were still used. Now her classroom has an ActiveBoard---a tool that can be used for many things including showing movies once reserved for TV sets.
“When kids say they can’t see the screen, I’m like we used to have a little bitty black-and-white TV and you did the best you could,” Bazzell said. “Also, a teacher would never let you get up out of your seat to let you sit on the floor the way we do now sometimes.”
Keeping up with the technology has been a task---one that Bazzell says is still not easy.
“I still like the old-fashion way,” Bazzell admitted. “You can ask Mr. (Derick) Marr who still has to help me post my grades (on the computer) every nine weeks. He will really miss me. He will have much more free time now that I’m gone.”
Looking back at her career, Bazzell offers a unique prospective on what teaching is all about.
“I think teaching is 75 percent caring,” Bazzell explained. “The content is the easy part. It’s letting kids know that if their home life is the pits, somebody is still going to love them and that somebody is in their corner. I guess I have always been for the underdog. Many kids are not encouraged at home. If you are encouraged and somebody believes in you, that is half the battle of life. My grandmother told me a long, long time ago that she would love me no matter what. That has meant more to me than anything. That has stuck with me and I feel like kids need to know that somebody’s going to love them even if they fail. I feel very strong about that.”
Her career has included many moments when she would go beyond her normal teaching duties to show concern and love for her students.
“There were these twin brothers,” Bazzell said. “They were lacking in social skills. Nancy Stinnett and I took them under our wings. We would take them to softball games. That year, a high school student died during his senior year and these twin brothers lived on the same road. They called us and wonted to know if we would take them to Family Dollar so that they could buy something for the mother of the student who died. We took them to Dairy Queen to eat, then went to Family Dollar and then to the funeral home. It was a precious moment.”
The connection did not end there.
“Years past, I had major gum surgery and one of the twin little boys, now grown, called me from Washington state,” Bazzell explained. “That meant so much for him to call, to know he still remembered me. If I ever get on Facebook, those two will be the first people I will look up.”
Bazzell earned her Masters Degree and later a Rank I in school counseling. However, she quickly admits that leaving the classroom was never a consideration.
“I would not want to be an administrator because the pressure on them is horrendous,” Bazzell admits. “I never thought about being an administrator. I love the classroom. You could not make me be a principal. I got my Rank 1 in counseling but I didn’t want to be a guidance counselor either.”
When asked what she would say to a teacher just beginning a career, she goes back to caring.
“Be caring and loving,” Bazzell said. “I believe most people are good. You just may have to look a little harder to find it but everybody has good in them. People need to know someone believes in them.”
Not only has Bazzell impacted the lives of her students, she has left a strong and powerful impression on her teaching colleagues.
“She (Bazzell) was born to be a teacher,” added teacher Leigh-Ann Borden, “She has every quality someone looks for in a teacher. She is very knowledgeable. She is very passionate about what she does and very caring about the kids. She takes it home with her. She impacts their lives. I have learned that when you earn her respect, she is a life-time loyal friend. I know I can count on her for anything. I hope to be the half the person she is.”
Marr points out that Bazzell shows her care even beyond the time she has kids in class.
“It should be noted that she still sends birthday cards, Christmas cards, and Easter cards to kids she had 15 years ago,” Marr added.
Bazzell’s time in the classroom will soon be over but her impact in the community---and beyond---will not. She explains that her life isn’t going to be without things to do
“I’ll be busy,” Bazzell said. “I like to work outside and clean a fence row. I do some baby setting and dog setting. My daughter Emily will keep me active. And, I do want to sub. I also do some things with VOR, the Voice of the Retarded at the national level.”
Bazzell’s last day with students was June 5.
(Editors Note: This is the first in a series of stories on teacher retirements from the Allen County School District this year.)