Three Cheers for September

It’s been 22 years since I retired from teaching classrooms full of linguistics students. I was pretty sure that I’d miss them, as well as my colleagues, but the thing I expected to miss most is that September burst of energy, the sense of renewal, the feeling of starting fresh. I loved that feeling as it washed over me — and, I hoped, over my students as well. For most people who aren’t teachers, January 1 is that time. But from the day I leapt into the alternative universe of teaching, on my emotional calendar New Year’s has been replaced by the start of the fall academic term, in September.

Not all of my colleagues felt the way I did. Sometimes their body language seemed to say, “Oh, back to the same old grind.” Some may have grown weary of the constant changes in the research and theories of their fields. A few senior professors were simply worn out. For me, however, September was the best time of the year. Perhaps surprisingly, it still is, even after 22 years away from classroom teaching.

So how do retired professors who loved teaching spend their time? My dean must have had some assumptions, because for a retirement gift he gave me a nice wooden rocking chair with the university’s name in gaudy gold letters. I suppose he expected me to rock away my remaining days. I don’t recall ever sitting in that rocker. It was retired quickly and now rests in my basement storage area.

When I voluntarily retired, at age 65, I had something very different in mind. I found my retirement to be an excellent time to reflect on my career and continue teaching outside the classroom by writing books and articles in which I shared my experiences, insights, and knowledge with students who were no longer sitting in front of me. And this is what I have been doing for the past 22 years. I’ve also kept active in linguistics by reviewing proposals sent to me by publishers and foundations.

Teaching doesn’t have to stop when one retires from the classroom. It can continue as long as mental acuity and physical health allow. The neat part is that even though new classes no longer start for me each autumn, the burst of energy and sense of renewal remains, and I continue to feel that September is the start of another great year.

Having said this, I’m now feeling that exciting presence of September once more. It’s time to get busy with the article I’m trying to write. Three cheers for September.

Roger Shuy is a professor emeritus of linguistics at Georgetown University, where he created and led its doctoral program in sociolinguistics.