DES MOINES, Iowa — Mary Kurth has had the same job for four decades: teacher.
"I started as an ESL teacher, she said. "And I did kindergarten for like 30 years."
Kurth is retiring after this year, but not without lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"You know that saying about teaching an old dog new tricks? That can be done," she said. "My team here helped me a lot. And through the patience of my students, and everybody, we got through it."
In her final year, Kurth learned perseverance, and one of life's most important lessons.
"Every day is a learning day, and that's why I wanted education to teach and to learn."