Steve Schilb’s favorite part about teaching is, “The kids, the kids, the kids. My kids.”
Schilb, a history teacher for 17 years, said the experience has been the best time of his life, but now he is moving on to a new chapter as he plans to retire at the end of this school year. Schilb said he enjoys helping young people believe in themselves and inspiring them.
Senior Alanna Seton had Schilb her junior year for American Government. She said she was upset when she heard of Schilb’s retirement.
“It’s sad because he’s a really great teacher and cares about his students. I’m sad for future high school students that won’t have the opportunity to have him as a teacher,” Seton said.
Her favorite memory of Schilb is playing Philosophical Chairs.
“It is a game where you talk about controversial topics and debate your belief,” she said. “The game teaches us that it is OK to talk about subjects that are sometimes frowned upon for talking about.”
Seton will remember Schilb for always giving back and teaching his students to do what makes them happy.
Schilb finds Philosophical Chairs valuable to students. He said, “It helps them learn reasoning and thinking skills, as well as speaking in public. It teaches kids that everyone can contribute to a reasoned discussion.”
English teacher Ashley Stees, a graduate of S-C, had Schilb her junior year for a Modern Civil Rights class. She said her favorite memory of Schilb is having spontaneous class discussions and Schilb engaging in students’ interests.
Schilb has two quotes that he preaches and instills in his students. The first: “It is never too late to do the right thing.” He said he hopes that by repeating this quote over and over, his students will remember it throughout life. The quote stuck with Stees.
“Throughout college I would be doing stuff and at random times the quote would just run through my head,” she said.
Schilb added, “When (students) fail, and they will, just like I did, they can pick themselves up and go on to still be successful.”
The second quote Schilb preaches is, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” He said he finds this quote very important because knowledge is power. He said, “If we don’t know what happened in the past, we will be helpless to prevent it in the future.”
Teacher Beth Ackerman has known Schilb for about 10 years. Her first reaction to hearing about Schilb’s retirement was how he would be missed; on second thought, she said, “How terrific.” Ackerman said Schilb has worked hard and deserves time for himself. She said Schilb taught her to have fun and love what you do.
Schilb will be teaching part-time at State Fair Community College. He said he wants to remind his students to never give up when they fail.
