Northland teacher Margaret Barber retires after 50 years in the classroom

Hurupaki School teacher Margaret Barber with some of the school’s pupils after she retired last week.

Northlander Margaret Barber always knew as a child she wanted to be a teacher, she just didn’t expect her career to last almost 50 years - 35 of them at Whangārei’s Hurupaki School.

Barber, who said her love of children sparked her interest in teaching, considers herself “one of the lucky ones” for being able to have a 50-year-long career in a job she absolutely loves.

Last week, she retired from teaching and was farewelled with a celebration at Hurupaki, with her saying she did not regret any part of a career that brought her huge enjoyment and made a difference to many lives.

Barber was born in Te Kōpuru, but spent much of her early life in Kawerau, and started her teaching career in 1973 - bonded to the Ministry of Education for three years to go wherever she was sent to teach.

That first role was at Kamo East School (now Totara Grove School), then 10 days before the start of her next year, she was told to go to teach in Waiouru. Then in 1975, she came back north to teach at Whangārei Primary School.

Barber then “took a year off” to go to Florida, where husband Roger completed his Masters at university. That ‘time off’ included teaching six-year-olds at the university’s nursery school.

“That was pretty exciting, teaching in another country like that. I didn’t think I’d end up teaching in Florida - but then again I never thought I’d have a 50-year career - but I just love children and love having a positive influence on their lives. I love it when you can see one of them has been struggling to get something, then with your help, that light goes on in their eyes when they finally work it out. It’s just such an amazing feeling to know you’ve made a difference,” she said.

She recalls one boy she taught at Whangārei Primary who was really struggling with his reading. As a reading recovery teacher, Barber put a lot of time and effort into working with the the lad. His reading vastly improved, but she lost contact with him after he left, until years later.

‘’We’ve got an avocado orchard, and a few years ago we were at an avocado growers’ conference. Then I hear this boy’s name mentioned, but didn’t really relate it to him as it had been so long. But there he was, giving a talk to the audience,” she said.

“After his talk he came up and threw his arms around me, saying, ‘Mrs Barber, Mrs Barber, you saved my life. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t be here today able to give a talk like this’. He told everybody at the conference that I saved his life, and it was such a wonderful feeling knowing that you had made such a big impact on one person’s life.

Hurupaki School teacher Margaret Barber has retired after almost 50 years - 35 of them at the Whangārei school.

“That’s why I do it. Seeing changes occurring in children’s lives for the better and knowing you’ve been part of that change, it’s so rewarding.”

Barber has been offered school leadership roles over the years, but that would take her out of the classroom, and that’s what she has loved, that one-on-one, face-to-face contact with the kids.

“One of the things I’ve absolutely enjoyed is the fact that I’ve always been employed and doing a job I’ve loved. I just love that classroom experience with the kids. The delight you get from helping them overcome a problem that they have not been able to solve - that takes you back every day, and I’ve just loved it all.”

Despite teaching taking up so much of her life, Barber said she’ll have plenty to do now she’s retired.

For a start, there’s work on the avocado orchard that will keep her busy, and they’ve recently done-up the family bach at Ōakura, where she hopes to spend more time.

But best of all, there’s more children set to benefit from her knowledge and experience.

‘’We’ve just had our first grandchild, Jack. That will provide a lot of work for me, but I’m really looking forward to it.’’

And her advice for people looking at getting into teaching now?

“I would tell them that teaching is not a 9am - 3pm job. That’s just the hours in school, and there’s so much more work outside of that. We seem to lose a lot of younger teachers these days after five years or so, often because of that high workload. Teaching is a hard job and requires a lot of really hard work if you want to be effective - but it’s also so rewarding. And you have to have a love of children.

”Where else can you go to work and you have a room hanging on your every word, filled with laughter and fun, and you get all these beautiful, colourful artworks they produce, and you are part of helping them get ready for their next stage by encouraging their learning? That’s what it’s all about.”