As a shy teenager living out the back of Stratford, he said he could not have imagined anything scarier than standing in front of a classroom.

“I thought I would take over the family farm,” said Mr Jordan, 65, who leaves teaching tomorrow after a 46-year career.

However, a recruitment drive for teachers, especially males, in 1964 soon changed that.

After two years at training college in Palmerston North, Mr Jordan found himself teaching at Stratford Primary.

By then, he had firmly caught the educator’s bug.

“I teach every day because I have a passion for learning with the children. I want to be hands on,” said the father of three, who continued to teach at Moturoa despite becoming principal nine years ago.

“A great teacher should have a good balance of both understanding the science of teaching and also a natural ability in the art of teaching.”

Despite his love of teaching, Mr Jordan said it was an exhausting career choice and in recent years he had become disenchanted with policy changes.

“In my earlier days, thematic- style teaching made learning come alive. We would be studying the sea so the classroom would totally become the ocean. Everything came out of that topic – reading, writing and maths.”

Away from school, Mr Jordan was a keen hockey player, coach and administrator, and an outdoors man who oversaw many camps, especially at Konini Lodge and Te Wera Valley Lodge.

Music also plays a big part of the retiring principal’s life. He played bass for many years in the popular band Kount 5 plus 2.

Mr Jordan said he had decided to retire after some deep soul searching.

“I’ve grabbed certain opportunities at the right time and made the most of them. I have worked very hard and it’s now time to enjoy life.

“I will greatly miss the children, staff and parents.

“Being such a small school, we are like a huge family.”

Sharyn Smart is a Witt journalism student

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