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(Photo by Karlee Brunner)

Pat Bonine has served in various roles during her 35 years at SLHS.

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Bonine says goodbye to Silver Lake

Pat Bonine, la maestrde inglés/español, de la escuela secundaria del lago de plata se retira después de 35 años de enseñanza.

For those who cannot read Spanish, Silver Lake High School’s Pat Bonine English and  Spanish teacher, is retiring after 35 years of teaching.

She said her high school counselor steered her toward education.

“When I graduated from high school, when the dinosaurs still roamed the earth, the counselor gave me the option of nursing or education. He never gave me the offer to be a doctor or a lawyer. Just nursing and education,” Bonine said.

She also considered other courses in her educational decision.

“I had good scores in both math and language when I graduated from high school, so math was a probability,” she said.

Bonine taught three years in Liberal, Mo., and one year in Galena, Kan., and then moved to Topeka with her husband.

“I moved to Topeka because of my husband’s job. I worked for the City of Topeka. Sometimes someone would come in and practice Spanish with me. This person told me that his wife, Elaine Elliott, taught at Silver Lake and just wanted to teach English rather than English and Spanish. So I thought it would be a good idea to get interviewed. I did, and I got the job.

“Initially, I was qualified to teach English and Spanish. After teaching at SLHS for a while, I received my certification in journalism and photography and taught yearbook, newspaper, and photography. My master’s degree is in secondary counseling,” she said.

Bonine said she is very glad she ended up at SLHS.

“I’ve met some of the most humorous and intelligent people here at SLHS, and the kids always make it interesting. Some are so bright, it’s almost frightening. The staff is very nice, and I think if I hadn’t ended up at Silver Lake, I don’t know if I would have stayed with education,” said Bonine.

She said education has experienced a lot of changes over the years.

“Well, technological advances have changed things a lot. In my day, we had no cell phones, or personal computers, and it has just been a constant learning experience for me,” she said.

She said there have been many memorable moments in room 116.

“There was a student in English I who wasn’t very dedicated. He had taken the class twice with an ‘F’ resulting each time. The third time he came back with a different attitude. He finally got it and received an ‘A’ in the class. He was really happy, and so was I,” said Bonine.

She also shared a funny moment in her classroom.

“In Spanish class, often a student will think he’s saying one thing, but instead he’s saying something amusing. A student said, ‘Estoy embarazado,’ thinking he was saying he was embarrassed when in fact, he said, ‘I’m pregnant.’ The students and I thought this was very amusing,” she said.

Bonine said technology will increase in her Spanish/English classroom over the next 10 to 20 years.

“Well I imagine it will be increasingly technologically driven, less paper and pencil. It will be difficult to keep qualified teachers with more demands placed in education by the government and the increased difficulty in becoming a teacher,” Bonine said.

She has a few simple plans when she retires.

“I plan to wake up naturally with no alarm. Then I’ll set at my computer to work in my jammies and bathrobe and drink my coffee. Then I’ll read for a few hours. I’ll have to fit in an hour of exercise so that all my chocolate eating doesn’t cause me to weigh 200 pounds,” she said

Bonine also wanted to share a few moments of gratitude before she leaves.

“I will always be grateful that I landed at SLHS. It has been a good experience for me. If I had continued teaching at another school, I doubt I would have stayed teaching,” she said.

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