Worland High School English and social studies teacher retires after 19 years

WORLAND - Bruce Blanchard is retiring from teaching after 19 years. He has taught 10 years in Worland, one year in the Pine Bluffs area, two years in Oklahoma, three years in Louisiana, and three years in Missouri.

"I haven't ever taught the same thing. I've been in Worland for 10 years and every year I taught something different, mostly in English and Social Studies," Blanchard said.

Blanchard attended Northwest College Assemblies of God in Kirkland, Wash. and received his first bachelor's in Bible and Christian education. He then attended the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Miss. and received a Master of Divinity in Christian education and theological studies. Then he went to St. Lucia University for a while and eventually graduated from Evangel University with a major in English education and social studies.

Blanchard had thought for a long time that he wanted to teach at the college level and started work on a Ph.D. "I was commuting three hours each way, one day a week and it just got to be too much. I was working at a college and got free tuition, so I decided to get my second bachelor's in education. I always wanted to teach, I just decided to drop to the high school level rather than the college level." Blanchard said.

"Something I will miss is when you see the light go off in someone's eyes when they suddenly understand something after they have been wrestling with it," he said.

After retiring, Blanchard and his wife will be moving to Springfield, Miss. to be near two of their kids and four of their grandkids. He also plans on finding a job for a couple years just to do something different.