Lifestyle
"You disappear if you don't stay involved," says Anna Barsanti, a retired teacher.
Retirement is a new beginning
BY HEATHER CAMPBELL
Winter 2010 |
Anna Barsanti had undefined plans when, at the age of 54, she said goodbye to her career in education. She had been a teacher and a principal. Just before she retired, she spent a few years as a student success leader with the Rainbow District School Board. “As much as I loved education, and I was totally blessed, I often felt at times like a wild stallion with a bit in my mouth,” she says. She admits to missing her job in education. “I could be a better educator now, what I know now.” But she has never looked back. Instead, she has taken on new challenges. Before Ian Davidson left his post as chief of the police department, he hired Barsanti for a program designed to build bridges between the police service and young people. “You disappear if you don’t stay involved,” she says. In addition to a career change, a new adventure showed up in the form of a foster child. Having never had children, this parenting role has brought her the experience of finding babysitters and making wieners for supper. John Rodriguez spent most of his life working as a teacher and a politician. He wasn't ready to retire when he turned 65. “I never wanted to be anything else but a teacher,” he says. His interest in politics began with his involvement in the English Catholic Teachers' Union. “I like working with people, it energizes me and I enjoy a challenge,” he says. Rodriguez was the NDP MP for Nickel Belt for many years, but when he was defeated in 1993, he went back to the classroom. " (Then) I got this letter saying 'you're 65 and you have to retire'. I went before the school board, and they extended it by one year, and then another year. But then they wouldn’t extend it anymore even when MPP Rick Bartolucci wrote them saying the government planned legislation against discriminate based on age. They just ignored that.” There was no retirement party. His name was taken off the employee roster and the administrators took his keys away. That September, in the coffee shop instead of the classroom, he listened to people complain about their politicians. “They were all complaining about the city, so I said, 'run for council.' The next week they suggested I should run for mayor, and they said they would support me.” He was 69 when he was elected mayor of the City of Greater Sudbury in the fall of 2006. The last four years were busy ones for Rodriguez who had to start his day at dawn. At 73, he faces new challenges as he turns the keys to the mayor's office to Marianne Matichuk. “I inherited my father’s energy,” he says with a smile. “He read two to three newspapers a day and (was) happy to talk about the issues. He was 97 when he died.” Retiring young can provide the chance to transfer expertise into new careers, but for some people it can bring an opportunity to explore interests they never found time to pursue. John Pardon and Mike McDonough, both 68, jumped at the chance for a free university education. Laurentian University offers free classes to people who are 60 years of age or older. (Pardon has obtained three undergraduate degrees.) “It’s good to have diverse ages in the classroom,” McDonough says about being back in the classroom as a student. “(You) get hooked into the younger generation too,” adds Pardon. Pardon was a miner for 32 years and McDonough was a special education co-ordinator in Thunder Bay. They met and started their relationship together after retiring. McDonough didn't plan his retirement. “I retired because it was expected of me, but I was totally unprepared.” They described their new occupation as exploring the world of ideas. “I love retirement. (I) do what I want, when I want!” says Pardon. According to Statistics Canada, between 1996 and 2006, “the employment rate for seniors age 65 and older increased from 12 percent to 15 percent for men, and from four percent to six percent for women. Seniors were more likely to be employed if they had higher levels of education, few activity limitations and an outstanding mortgage.”
