Science teacher hangs up his lab coat after 42 years of teaching at the same school
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP/Gray News) - A beloved science teacher is hanging up his lab coat after more than 40 years of teaching.
For the last 42 years, Jim Bauer has walked the halls of St. Patrick’s High School in the North Platte Catholic School District. He taught students a variety of subjects in the field of science.
Bauer’s teaching career began at St. Patrick’s High School in the early 1980s. This spring marks his last semester teaching at the school.
“I always enjoyed science, I enjoyed studying science,” he said. “I did not necessarily want to make a living doing science, and I also enjoyed people, so I started looking at opportunities in education.”
Bauer spent his entire 42-year career in teaching at St. Patrick’s High School.
“I didn’t really consider going anywhere else, I really didn’t, I just really enjoyed it,” he said. “Leadership during my tenure at Saint Pat’s has been excellent and very ive, and at the end of the day, the from istration and parents is key. The parents send them here for a reason, and they will you as well.”
Throughout the 40 plus years he has spent teaching, advances in technology have not only changed his style of teaching but also the way his students learn.
“When I started teaching, I had everything written out in notecards and written on the bulletin board,” he said. “I learned how to write on the board over my shoulder so I didn’t have to turn my back to the class. That’s a lot different with projectors and that sort of thing.”
Bauer said a highlight of his teaching has been watching the growth in his students.
“You get them as wormly little seventh graders, but then by the time they get to be juniors and seniors, they get to be good Christian adults, then you send them on their way and start it all over,” Bauer said. “You don’t teach science, you teach kids, and each class is different, and each student is different. Science is just the reason they are in my classroom.”
Copyright 2025 KNOP via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
