After teaching at Andover for 21 years English department head Art Heymoss is ready for the quiet life.
“My wife is retired; the plan was for us to retire at the same time. Plus with the prospect of a financial incentive from the state, and with the changes that are coming dChown in the future for Andover, combining of the schools and increased teaching loads, it was just time.”
With a 35 year teaching career under his belt it took some time to remember why he started in the first place.
“I liked school in high school, I had a couple of really good teachers, and when I went to college I didn’t really know what I wanted to do so I gravitated towards English. There’s really not much you can do with a degree in English other than teach.”
However once he took the job he found a much stronger reason to stick with it.
“I like kids and being around them is the most enjoyable part of my day. I mean, getting up in front of a classroom of students that want to learn and being able to communicate with them and get them excited about English, and sometimes even poetry, I got a lot of excitement from that.”
While at first it might be difficult to make the transition from teacher to retiree Heymoss is not too concerned.
“I’m going to miss the social interaction with the students and the teachers, the younger teachers especially, we have a lot of fun during lunch and sometimes socially. It’ll be different because I won’t get up each day and come to a place where there are a thousand people to deal with for eight hours a day. I’ll probably get over that though.”
When he first announced the news of his retirement he was greeted with mixed responses.
“There’s been a range of reactions, some kids are like the adults [other teachers] and say ‘good for you.’ Others are disappointed they can’t have me next year, I’ve heard a lot of that, it makes me feel really good. Then there are some students that are actively trying to steal stuff from my room.”
Fellow English teacher Rebecca Ossenmacher, while happy for her friend, nonetheless feels a pang of sadness over his departure.
“He has a good personality and he’s a good teacher. The department will lose a good mentor and I’ll miss him.”
Senior Shirish Srinivasan also expresses sadness, but his is more out of regret for future generations of students.
“He [Mr. Heymoss] has a great sense of humor and is one of my favorite teachers. I was lucky enough to have him stick around for one extra year, and I feel bad for those who didn’t get the opportunity to have him as a teacher.”
With only a few months left Art Heymoss prepares to say goodbye and wishes his school well in the coming years.
“Good luck with all the changes that are going to occur with the combination of schools. I hope everything works out well for the teachers and the underclassmen when those changes take place.”
Art Heymoss was my first teacher at Andover in my freshman year. I walked into the school on that very first day of high school and walked into his classroom. I saw a teacher standing at the front of the class who looked like Hulk Hogan and sounded like Spicoli from “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”
It was downhill from there!
I had Mr. Heymoss for freshman English too. I really enjoyed his class and really appreciated that he obviously liked working with kids and made us feel like we mattered. I also ended up being an English major in college. Thanks, Mr. Heymoss!