Mr. Clegg is stepping into his final year of teaching at Lake Forest High School. After thirty-three years of learning and many memories, he gives us a recap of his teaching journey. Here’s a Q&A with Mr. Clegg as he prepares for his final year at LFHS.
How long have you been teaching?
“This is my 33rd year. I started in 1993.”
What has been your favorite part of being a teacher?
“I have really enjoyed the people that I work with. This department, in particular, and the school overall have been a really great place to work and to be challenged to try to improve. As a professional, I think the people who work here are really dedicated to making this a better place.”
What has been the greatest challenge you have faced in your teaching career?
“The greatest challenge has been trying to navigate the block schedule that we’ve instituted. The block periods are good educationally for the students, and so trying to make an eighty-minute period work is a real challenge.”
What is your favorite LFHS tradition?
“I don’t know if you’d call it a tradition, but what I’ve always been impressed with is that the students and community are very much education-focused. As a teacher, that’s a great environment to be in, in a community that really values education and teachers. So I’ve always felt really supported and can work in a place where the kids are willing to do their best and are high achievers.”
What is a memorable teaching experience you have had?
“Mr Simmons and I have created some games and activities that have worked really well, like Big Graph Monday has been kind of this fun, successful thing that we’ve done in our economics classes.”
What have you learned from your students that you will always remember?
“It’s important to enjoy the process of learning. It’s important to have a good classroom environment that is positive and whether It’s something funny that’s on our worksheets, or having good positive relationships with the kids. I think that that kind of positive class dynamic is really important, and the kids have shown me that.”
Who has been your best friend at LFHS?
“Mrs. Clegg! Trick question.”
What are some of your personal goals you have for your last year of teaching?
“To be honest, I have not really been thinking much of it as my last year of teaching. Mr. Simmons came in this morning, and we’re talking about changes to what we’re going to do in class today. That is typical of every day for the last fifteen years with Mr. Simmons. We’re always changing and tweaking. So to me, this just seems like status quo. Just doing what I normally do. So maybe my goal is to make it just another year. It has felt like that so far.”
What do you plan to do after retirement?
“Mrs. Clegg will be here for a few more years after I retire. We’ll still be here in the area, and my hope is to still continue to coach here for the next few years. Ultimately, it’s possible to move back east, where I grew up, but that’s up in the air right now.”
