Rene Gade

Ms. Rene Gade taught English for almost 30 years, grades 6-12, in four different states and five different school districts. She also taught special education for eight years- one a transition unit for emotionally disturbed adolescents. Recently retired, she has been married to husband #3 for 28 years, and raised two sons and four step children.

Rene had wanted to teach since she was five years old. She begged her mother to please let her go to school. At that time, public school started at six, and Rene was only five. Her mother found a private school that wasn’t too expensive and enrolled Rene in a class of twelve other youngsters in a retired teacher’s house. After half a day, Rene had decided that that was about enough of that and convinced another girl in her class to escape with her and walk home. The teacher crammed her students into her station wagon and hastily started the search for the two renegades. This was the beginning of Rene’s twelve year war with school. Between operating her own business with several employees and raising two boys, Rene attended college courses when she could over the next twenty years. She finally earned her teaching certificate when she was forty-two. She wanted to make a difference in education. “What a delusional shmuck,” she says. “I am no expert on good parenting, but I have become an expert at recognizing bad parenting through the results of it- students!” I believe we have to keep the faith that we can still change public education, but only when parents, teachers, administrators, and government commit to it, and work together.