Lessons taught, lessons learned

Longtime teachers at Ash Grove, Willard look back at 87 combined years in education
As the end of the school year draws near, the longest tenured educators at the Ash Grove and Willard school districts share their thoughts on their decades teaching curriculum and guiding local youth.

Diana Lobdell - 37 years teaching math
Dianna Lobdell of the Ash Grove School District will be retiring at the end of the 2024-25 school year after more than 37 years of service. Lobdell has been a math teacher with the district throughout her entire career and has been teaching long enough to see both of her sons graduate from the same institution. Lobdell has seen many faces pass through her classroom, though by her own math she calculates that number to be more than 2,000 students. In that time, she says that teaching math has stayed much the same.
Stalwart Lobdell has seen many other teachers come and go, but to her, teaching math has never changed in a substantial way, and that’s what she likes about it. She said that math is something that is stable and unchanging. Even with the coming and going of technology, the formulas stay the same, and thus she teaches it the same way. One thing that Lobdell attests has changed during her time in the district is the work ethic of her students. She said that students now, more than before, desire instant gratification, and that isn’t always possible. She continued and said that one of the biggest things that inspires this mindset of instant gratification is the advent of the Internet. Lobdell has never taught using a calculator and uses as little technology in her teaching as possible.
“I don’t use a lot of technology in my class because I don’t think math always benefits from it,” said Lobdell.
Lobdell, a Pierce City native, said that her preference for stability is what has kept her around Ash Grove so long. She said that, like math, Ash Grove doesn’t change much—both the school and the town itself. The city has provided a good foundation for Lobdell’s career and her family without the fear of things shifting greatly. She concedes that there have been some changes over the years, but those changes have often been small and incremental, though usually beneficial. She also cites the staff around her as a helpful constant in her career; the fact that she knows those employees and staff alongside her is one of her favorite things about working in the district.
“I feel like you can feel safe here,” said Lobdell. “I feel like you’re going to be accepted... and once you’re here, you’re a part of us.”
At the end of the year, Lobdell will be leaving this stability, though, retiring after her youngest son, Landon, graduates from AGHS. She will miss her students and fellow staff, but what she will miss most is the community.
“I have always liked the community in this school very much,” said Lobdell. “My sister always wanted me to go to her school, bigger and more pay, but I like where I am; I would rather be here.”

Nancy Ipock - 50 years, 40-plus at Willard
Nancy Ipock is a Willard teacher with over 50 years of teaching experience; more than 40 of those years in the Willard school district. She may not be retiring like Lobdell, but she is considering it, as she has many times before. Ipock has a philosophy about retirement; if she has two bad years in a row, then she knows it’s her time. She came close when schools closed down because of COVID-19, but she must have had a good year afterward because she stayed on for the following year.
Ipock teaches Spanish at Willard, where she has had a very different experience from Lobdell. In her classroom, the technology she uses to teach is always changing. Ipock has seen much change in her classroom, with one of the more recent developments being the inclusion of AI software allowing her to reach her students with her lessons much more easily. This particular software was shown to her by a student in her class and allows users to convert their notes into a podcast that guides students through a lesson in a conversational tone. Though she has yet to implement it into her curriculum, she is hopeful for what it could bring to her classroom. What has already been implemented into her teaching is the use of online study games.
“It gives them great practice, but they’re still learning, and they feel like they are playing,” said Ipock.
Ipock hasn’t been close to the community throughout her time at the school, but she has seen the town change through her students. One of the biggest changes she notes is her pupils and how they learn, more often utilizing current technology to their benefit. This makes learning much more accessible, nearly removing the need for textbooks as most of that information is readily available online. This contrasts with how Ipock was taught, as she can remember a time in which being able to watch a film was a rare treat. She said that technology in the classroom has not changed how the students engage in their studies.
“In the past it was copying off of somebody else, and now we have the whole Internet to get that information,” said Ipock. “But the good kids are still going to be good and use that technology to their benefit rather than their detriment.”
By her account, students themselves haven’t changed much throughout the years. She said that there will always be those who want to do the work and those who do not and that technology hasn’t changed that.
As of now, Ipock is undecided as to whether she will return for another year as an educator, but as long as the bad years elude her, never bet against the streak.