Tireless Teacher : After 50 Years in Education, Esther Kobusch Is as Energetic as Ever

OK, can we forget about budget cuts, crowded classrooms, the debate over school quality for at least a day?

The educational world cannot be all bad if teacher Esther Kobusch is back in the classroom today for her 50th year, fired up once more to mold first-graders into lifelong learners.

Already, Kobusch has been humming the “Tuesday, Tuesday, I like Tuesday, Tuesday is the third day of the week” ditty that goes with one of the big picture books she has arranged around the reading circle.

She has placed a plethora of books around Room 8 at Jefferson Elementary in North Park. Science, sports, fairy tales--you name it, Kobusch has got it--the bulk of the titles garnered by combing garage sales she searches out by bicycle.

“Got to keep busy, got to keep busy,” the dean of San Diego schoolteachers reminded herself last week as she added final touches to the room. “The key is ‘Be Prepared.’ ”

Conscious of the half-century mark she attains in the classroom this fall, the vivacious Kobusch added: “I don’t want to be known as the oldest teacher. I don’t want to be known as someone who’s taught for 50 years.

“I want to be known for being a great teacher, for having 50 productive years helping kids.”

By any measure, Kobusch has earned that reputation.

“I thought I’ve been teaching a long time,” Jefferson teacher Nancy Rodrique, a veteran of almost two decades, said. “And Esther has been teaching before I was even born!

“But she has more energy than all the rest of us combined,” Rodrique added. “She’s just interested in everything and anything.”

The legions of former students who greet her at the market, or stop by her class, number in the hundreds--one has telephoned regularly for 40 years--and they include a family that moved to Las Vegas years ago but still makes sure to say hello on each visit back to California.

San Diego-born and bred, Kobusch lives in the modest City Heights home where she has lived since birth, about three miles from work. How has she sustained her career for so long, when national statistics show that at least one-half of teachers today quit within their first five years?

“I don’t know,” Kobusch said. “It’s just my personality. I have always been happy to come to work. I’ve never burned out. I’ve always felt challenged.”

The classroom is never far from her mind, even during the off months. Kobusch not only picked up stacks of books this summer, but found sea shells, butterfly exhibits, records, games, puzzles and other paraphernalia--all ready for first-grade exploration.

For Kobusch, hands-on learning has been in vogue long before school administrators rediscovered that many children learn through touch--what they call in education jargon manipulatives.

“I don’t care what the (learning) system is,” she said. “Good teachers supplement the basics with things out of their experiences.”

What about retirement? “No, no, no, never, please don’t even use that word!” Kobusch said. “I’ve never, ever wanted to quit. I’ve never, ever had any children I didn’t like. Oh, I’ve gotten perturbed at a few now and then, but truly, I’ve loved them all.”