80 years and going strong: a lifetime of teaching
Hudson
January 13, 2016
Charlea Mills
Most teachers retire as soon as they are able to relax and enjoy their free time, spend it with their grandchildren and take some time for themselves after dedicating countless years serving others. But some teachers are cut from a different cloth. Sammy Hudson turned 80 years old in November, and she is still teaching.
Hudson is a Barry County native and had a prolific teaching career at both Purdy and Exeter schools. Now, she spends her “free time” teaching courses at Crowder for those wanting to continue their education past high school.
Coming from a family full of teachers, the career path seemed obvious. Eunice Thomas, longtime Cassville teacher who the primary school is named after, was her aunt. Her mother and all of her aunts were teachers. She said, “When I graduated high school in 1953, women couldn’t do a lot of other things, and I loved home ec., so I got my degree in Home Economics from the University of Arkansas.”
From there, Hudson spent 10 years teaching home ec. in Purdy before she became the Exeter Elementary principal, a position she had to obtain her masters degree for. She stayed motivated and also earned a specialist degree in education, as well. Her teaching career in Barry County spanned 33 years before starting at Crowder.
Eventually, Hudson retired from teaching, but retirement didn’t suit her. After, she went on to have a 25-year career with Walmart to stay busy. Hudson is one of those people who doesn’t like to stay idle.
However, 15 years ago, she returned to teaching after retiring, this time focusing on higher education. She said, “Then, in 1999, Jerri [her daughter] was working for the college teaching G.E.D. classes. The woman who was teaching couldn’t do it anymore, so I took over.”
Today, Hudson teaches a variety of classes at Crowder for students who need preparation for standard college classes. She teaches reading and writing classes for students who aren’t quite prepared for initial English courses.
In her long life, Hudson has seen a lot of changes in the school system, some for the better and some for the worst, in her opinion. She said her own schooling began in a one-room schoolhouse at Horner.
She said, “We didn’t have electricity until Christmas Eve when I was in eighth grade. We did have running water from a spring, and we cooked on a wood stove. Things were just different.”
Now, she says technology brings a lot to the classroom, but it’s replaced a lot of things, too. Hudson said, “I don’t think everything should stay the same, and computers are wonderful, but they need to know cursive and multiplication tables. You can’t replace those things with a computer.”
She added, “I think they need to have a course of study like they did 50 years ago.”
Even with all of the changes and technological advances, Hudson has changed as time dictated, and she still teaches because it must be what she is called to do.
With her work ethic, retirement doesn’t appear to be in the cards anytime soon. In case you thought Hudson is slacking off by only having one job, she took on a second because, “I got tired of not working except this job, so I got another.” It’s doubtful she’ll slow down anytime soon.
Hudson is a life-long Barry County resident, as were her parents and grandparents. Hudson has four children, daughters Jerri Hudson, Benni Stockton, Bobbi Blankenship and son Joel Hudson. She was married to Lloyd Hudson for 25 years and then to Jerry Schmidt for a year and a half before each passed away.
Charlea Mills
Most teachers retire as soon as they are able to relax and enjoy their free time, spend it with their grandchildren and take some time for themselves after dedicating countless years serving others. But some teachers are cut from a different cloth. Sammy Hudson turned 80 years old in November, and she is still teaching.
Hudson is a Barry County native and had a prolific teaching career at both Purdy and Exeter schools. Now, she spends her “free time” teaching courses at Crowder for those wanting to continue their education past high school.
Coming from a family full of teachers, the career path seemed obvious. Eunice Thomas, longtime Cassville teacher who the primary school is named after, was her aunt. Her mother and all of her aunts were teachers. She said, “When I graduated high school in 1953, women couldn’t do a lot of other things, and I loved home ec., so I got my degree in Home Economics from the University of Arkansas.”
From there, Hudson spent 10 years teaching home ec. in Purdy before she became the Exeter Elementary principal, a position she had to obtain her masters degree for. She stayed motivated and also earned a specialist degree in education, as well. Her teaching career in Barry County spanned 33 years before starting at Crowder.
Eventually, Hudson retired from teaching, but retirement didn’t suit her. After, she went on to have a 25-year career with Walmart to stay busy. Hudson is one of those people who doesn’t like to stay idle.
However, 15 years ago, she returned to teaching after retiring, this time focusing on higher education. She said, “Then, in 1999, Jerri [her daughter] was working for the college teaching G.E.D. classes. The woman who was teaching couldn’t do it anymore, so I took over.”
Today, Hudson teaches a variety of classes at Crowder for students who need preparation for standard college classes. She teaches reading and writing classes for students who aren’t quite prepared for initial English courses.
In her long life, Hudson has seen a lot of changes in the school system, some for the better and some for the worst, in her opinion. She said her own schooling began in a one-room schoolhouse at Horner.
She said, “We didn’t have electricity until Christmas Eve when I was in eighth grade. We did have running water from a spring, and we cooked on a wood stove. Things were just different.”
Now, she says technology brings a lot to the classroom, but it’s replaced a lot of things, too. Hudson said, “I don’t think everything should stay the same, and computers are wonderful, but they need to know cursive and multiplication tables. You can’t replace those things with a computer.”
She added, “I think they need to have a course of study like they did 50 years ago.”
Even with all of the changes and technological advances, Hudson has changed as time dictated, and she still teaches because it must be what she is called to do.
With her work ethic, retirement doesn’t appear to be in the cards anytime soon. In case you thought Hudson is slacking off by only having one job, she took on a second because, “I got tired of not working except this job, so I got another.” It’s doubtful she’ll slow down anytime soon.
Hudson is a life-long Barry County resident, as were her parents and grandparents. Hudson has four children, daughters Jerri Hudson, Benni Stockton, Bobbi Blankenship and son Joel Hudson. She was married to Lloyd Hudson for 25 years and then to Jerry Schmidt for a year and a half before each passed away.