Kenneth Stewart said goodbye to 30 years of teaching at Chapel Hill High School this year. His hard work as one of Chapel Hill’s Spanish teachers has impacted his former students as well as the school itself.
Stewart first discovered his love for teaching when he began teaching swimming lessons in the ninth grade. “It was a natural segue into teaching kids. When I discovered my passion was really languages, everything fell into place because I wanted to share that knowledge of other cultures and languages with other people,” Stewart said.
Stewart’s instruction extended beyond his classroom walls. Morgan Mann, a junior at Appalachian State, states that Stewart gave her several useful lessons.
“He definitely believes in working hard and being independent,” she said. “I learned from him that Spanish is something I want to pursue, and I really want to learn and get better at it.”
His more recently former student senior Katherine Di had Stewart as her teacher during his last year at Chapel Hill High School.
“Mr. Stewart always encouraged us to practice outside of the classroom, because we can’t become fluent unless we use it all the time,” she said.
When asked what she pictured Stewart doing after retirement, she replied “probably just lounging around watching a UNC basketball game.”
Stewart’s encourages students to take risks in order to improve their Spanish skills. “Don’t be afraid to try new things and go outside your comfort zone. If you use the language outside the class- room, it will vastly improve.”
Stewart’s students say he enjoys traveling and picture him doing even more of that now that he is retired. Stewart’s big plans after retirement include teaching in a new setting and helping other teachers improve in their classrooms as well.
“I’m putting the foot in the door with my profession to help and inspire other teachers,” he said.
