As the school year ends, we must say our final goodbyes to one of Chamblee’s beloved and most admired mathematics teachers, Mr. Irvin Wardlow. While he enjoyed his seventeen years here at Chamblee, he has now shifted his priorities to things greater than education.
“Last year, it clicked; I’m sixty-seven, and I realized I’m not as sharp as I was. I’m sure I could continue to teach with no problem, but by my own personal standards, I couldn’t. Plus, I’ve been really good at saying no; ever since I started, I wanted to teach, but I didn’t have the energy or extra time to coach or sponsor a club, and I really feel that everyone at this school needs to do all that and I can’t,” said Wardlow. “I see some of the people who have been hired in the math department, and I’m like, ‘Perfect timing.’ There is some young blood, and we have a new teacher here who has a math degree, and it is not that common for a teacher to have a higher-level math degree, so I’m really excited to pass all that on to her,” said Wardlow. “That’s what happened, though. I’m less sharp, so I decided I needed to start thinking about change. It turns out this was the perfect time.”
Wardlow is nothing but elated about entering this new chapter of his life.
“I will be doing something else. I don’t know what it is, but I feel great about it. I feel so good about it because it occurred to me last year that I needed to leave this particular profession and do something different,” said Wardlow.
Although he will miss Chamblee, Wardlow has plenty of activities lined up to keep him occupied during retirement.
“I have a bunch of projects at the house. I built this addition several years ago, and I just built my wife a 300 square-foot studio space; she’s a painter, and now I am going to finish out the rest of the house; I am going to remodel the kitchen, the cabinets, refinish the floors, install a few things, and try to get Joe Biden reelected. I hope to be more of an activist over the summer. After that, I’m going to cast around. I’ve always found that the people that you know, those networks, will pull you the way you need to go next. That is what I’m looking forward to, networking; I want to do non-profit and something that matters—that’s the dream,” said Wardlow.
Despite his excitement for new challenges and adventures, departure from your job is never easy. Wardlow will reminisce on his connections made and the family he had built during his time at Chamblee.
“I will miss all the opportunities I’ve had; you’re constantly asked to learn something new here and engage. I will miss the camaraderie I had with the people around here. I don’t go out of my way to meet everybody, but there is a small crew that I’ve hung out with, and I really enjoy it. I’m going to miss it. But otherwise, I am thrilled to move forward and away,” said Wardlow.
As we appreciate and love Mr. Wardlow, Chamblee now wishes him the best on his retirement journey.
