After 26 years at Cedar Falls, English teacher set to retire

English teacher Scott Lawrence-Richards has been teaching at Cedar Falls High School for 26 years, 33 years in total counting out of state teaching in Virginia. He has decided this year will be his last.

Associate principal Troy Becker said, “I’ll miss his incredible wit and his passion for education.  He has provided many good and sometimes interesting suggestions to help us make CFHS a better school.”

Anyone who knows Lawrence-Richards cannot doubt his passion for English. “I believe his intelligence and passion has helped make all of us better, and he has certainly been a positive influence for our new teachers in English,” Becker said.

Junior Caleb Burjes said that he will miss “his energy in the classroom. It made class interesting and fun.”

Lawrence-Richards is always providing students and teachers with intellectual content in and out of the classroom. “It really comes down to putting in front of students high quality materials and experiences; providing guidance and instruction; then getting out of their way as they build the foundations to their literary education” Lawrence-Richards said.

He plans to pursue many things after his retirement. “I’d like to learn how to fish, paint, weld and read music,” Lawrence-Richards said.

He also plans on pursuing hiking through the Midwest and working on writing projects that he has had to put on hold due to school.

Regarding how he would want to be remembered, Lawrence-Richards said, “They’ll likely remember me as loud, a bit off beat, good at the stuff he taught and mildly obnoxious. I’d like to think they might recall that I tried to be kind, was always enthusiastic about my content and cared deeply about my students’ learning. That’s enough.”