A passion for teaching

Lori Hammelman
Posted 5/28/18

Listening to Belinda Luxton, one cannot help but see the passion she has for teaching.

Last week Luxton closed that chapter, retiring after 29 years.

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A passion for teaching

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Listening to Belinda Luxton, one cannot help but see the passion she has for teaching.
Last week Luxton closed that chapter, retiring after 29 years.
“I love the children and I love to see them learn,” Luxton said. “I want them to love learning. That’s the step into the real world — learn as much as you can, be excited about even the little things you learn, take that with you and build on it.”
On Thursday students and staff, past and present, attended an open house held in her honor. Luxton spent the last 17 years at Kings School and before that for 12 years in Mendota.
When asked what has been the most memorable moment, Luxton said there’s so many and she could remember them all but it’s mainly about seeing a spark of learning in the students. Luxton also cherishes those moments when she gets handwritten notes from students.
“I had a little girl who struggled to read and is now very good at it. It’s just seeing the belief in themselves, anytime I see that…I want them to believe they can do something. For me, what’s about me is them. I want the best for them,” Luxton said. “All the little notes kids write to me, I collect them. They say the nicest, simplest things to me.”

Past students still recite the Presidents’ or states’ songs made up by Luxton to help them with learning. Many have memories of how animated she was when reading storybooks.
Luxton knew she wanted to become a teacher since she was a youngster playing school with the neighborhood kids. She would set up TV stands with chairs for their desks and even make up worksheets for them.
She also had several mentors along the way beginning with the principal in Mendota where she began her teaching career. Luxton also spoke about a teacher there who would go over lesson plans with her, helping to give her advice and guidance.
When asked what kind of advice she could pass along to a new teacher, writing things down and being as positive as possible topped the list.
“I believe you need to pray for your students if you pray. If not, think of them often,” Luxton said. “Love what you do and it will love you back. Sometimes it’s a note that comes back. Sometimes your heart beats a little faster when you see that young person and how they’ve grown. My little kids have their own kids.”

Plans
Luxton intends to farm with her husband, Don, and spend time with family. She talks about her 14 grandchildren, including a one year-old set of twins. Every Sunday in the summer they have an open house on their farm.
“Everybody can come. The kids have forts all over, they play games, the dads play games. I might only have leftovers, but I love when they come over,” Luxton said.
She also loves to tend to her garden of flowers and vegetables and a little orchard with grapes and berries. Luxton teaches her granddaughters how to make pies, jams, and jellies.
Luxton has fond memories of Kings School, all the way back to when her five children attended. Her mother, aunt, and uncle also attended Kings School and her grandparents farmed nearby.
“I would like to thank the Kings staff for welcoming me, although I’ve always been connected with the school,” Luxton said. “They’ve always been very supportive. The love the school has for the students is quite evident so I fit right in. This is all God-ordained. You just couldn’t make this up.”