Arnez knew she wanted to be a teacher since she entered first grade in 1933! She “played school” at home often with her younger sister and brothers as her students as well as “neighbor kids”. Her aunts, who were both teachers, had a big influence on her.
Arnez took “Teacher’s Exams” from the County Superintendent (just for fun) while still in High School and received satisfactory grades. She graduated as Valedictorian of her class in 1945 with a GPA of 96.4 at age 17. Since Normal Training wasn’t offered, it was necessary to attend Summer School at Midland College in Fremont to obtain her “necessary 12 credit hours.” (She had her contract to teach a rural school, District #7, near Bellwood, Nebraska before graduating from High School).The school was 14 miles from her family farm home so she drove her parents ’39 Chevrolet! She had nine students, first thru seventh grade.
Before school began each morning, she had to start the wood-burning stove and pump the water at the outside well. The wages were $100 a month with $12 taken off for Social Security.
The second year of teaching, Arnez moved to a school closer to home with only six pupils but it closed at the end of the year. Her third year of teaching was a school “between the first two” with 10 students. The next three years were at District 10 where there was “a fuel-oil stove”.
After her marriage in 1950, she taught in her “hometown school” where she had attended for five years. When their son was four years old, she resumed teaching, while working on more credit hours and taught at another rural school for eight years. She then accepted a position as a first grade teacher in Schuyler, NE for three years and then moved to third grade for 17 more years. She continually added more credit hours with night classes, summer school and correspondence courses…eventually earning her Bachelor’s Degree from Midland College in 1969 and her Master’s Degree in 1972 from Concordia College for a total of 38 years of classroom teaching.
After her retirement in 1988, Arnez was a Paraprofessional and Substitute teacher at one of her former rural schools for several years.
At age 94, both Arnez and her husband, 94, reside in McCook, NE along with their son, Greg and wife and their grandson, Ted and his family. Arnez and Darwin have been married 72 years.
Arnez took “Teacher’s Exams” from the County Superintendent (just for fun) while still in High School and received satisfactory grades. She graduated as Valedictorian of her class in 1945 with a GPA of 96.4 at age 17. Since Normal Training wasn’t offered, it was necessary to attend Summer School at Midland College in Fremont to obtain her “necessary 12 credit hours.” (She had her contract to teach a rural school, District #7, near Bellwood, Nebraska before graduating from High School).The school was 14 miles from her family farm home so she drove her parents ’39 Chevrolet! She had nine students, first thru seventh grade.
Before school began each morning, she had to start the wood-burning stove and pump the water at the outside well. The wages were $100 a month with $12 taken off for Social Security.
The second year of teaching, Arnez moved to a school closer to home with only six pupils but it closed at the end of the year. Her third year of teaching was a school “between the first two” with 10 students. The next three years were at District 10 where there was “a fuel-oil stove”.
After her marriage in 1950, she taught in her “hometown school” where she had attended for five years. When their son was four years old, she resumed teaching, while working on more credit hours and taught at another rural school for eight years. She then accepted a position as a first grade teacher in Schuyler, NE for three years and then moved to third grade for 17 more years. She continually added more credit hours with night classes, summer school and correspondence courses…eventually earning her Bachelor’s Degree from Midland College in 1969 and her Master’s Degree in 1972 from Concordia College for a total of 38 years of classroom teaching.
After her retirement in 1988, Arnez was a Paraprofessional and Substitute teacher at one of her former rural schools for several years.
At age 94, both Arnez and her husband, 94, reside in McCook, NE along with their son, Greg and wife and their grandson, Ted and his family. Arnez and Darwin have been married 72 years.