Story originally printed in the Westby Times or online at www.westbytimes.com
Published - Monday, June 30, 2008
Ak Lallas hangs up his teaching hat after 32 years
Legally his name is Soterios Lallas, but to students and staff in the Westby Area School District he’s “Ak” or the singing birthday banshee to people in the school lunchroom. After 32 years as an educator, Ak Lallas disconnected his Smart Board, and hung up his mouse when he retired at the end of the 2007-08 school years.
Lallas began teaching science in the De Soto School District in 1976 as well as being the Student Council Director. At the time his wife, Nancy, also a teacher, was employed in Ontario. With Ak in De Soto and Nancy in Ontario, the couple took up residence outside of Westby. As luck would have it Nancy transferred to the Viroqua School District and Ak accepted a teaching job in Westby in 1990.
“I don’t know where time went. Now its 18 years later and I wish I could start over again teaching with this much experience under my belt,” Lallas said.
Lallas loves science and has taught general science, biology, advanced biology, chemistry and advanced chemistry through the years and he remains convinced that the best way to educate teenagers is through “hands-on education” which places the responsibility of learning on their shoulders of the kids.
“If they don’t want to do the job, then it won’t get done. Some kids have had to learn that the hard way, but it’s a lesson they’ll never forget once their grades are posted,” Lallas said.
Lallas’ hands-on education format led to the creation of a classroom zoo. After visiting the Minneapolis Zoo with his family he decided to bring a reduced version to the classroom. Students learned how to feed and care for a snake; cockatiel, parrot, ferrets, chinchillas, mice and they even had a bee hive. The venture remained a popular educating tool until it had to be dissolved when the school district struggled with mold issues in the late 1990s.
Since 1985, Lallas has also escorted gifted and talented students to Pigeon Lake, in Northern Wisconsin, every September to present science projects where winners received scholarships to advance their college education. His students also walked the streets of Westby on Earth Day with garbage bags collecting litter and making Westby a cleaner place to live.
“My course is not the textbook. The textbook is used as a resource of information for my students. That’s how I teach, hands-on,” Lallas said.
Lallas knows the reality of tight school budgets and has spent many hours working with students on fund-raising projects. His devotion to fund-raising has resulted in thousands of dollars earned through projects like the recycling of discarded cell phones, worn out ink cartridges and the sale of Silver Saver Cards has allowed the science department to purchase the department’s second set of 13 classroom computers, a feat he looks at as one of his greatest accomplishments.
“If we didn’t raise the money, we wouldn’t have computers at every work station,” Lallas said.
The fund-raising didn’t stop inside the classroom though. Through programs and student involvement the science department also raised $10,000 to construct an outdoor classroom. Lallas fought for years to educate educators on the importance of developing an area where science would be better taught by holding class in a natural setting, not through memorizing black and white print in a textbook while seated in a classroom surrounded by four brick walls. An outdoor classroom was recently constructed near the line of trees behind the softball field and can be utilized by all classes not just the science department.
Lallas has seen many changes through the years in Westby, both in the students he’s taught and the mechanics used to teach. The chalkboard and eraser were replaced by a dry erase board and the dry erase board was upgraded to a Smart Board in 2007.
Although used as an educating tool for years in foreign countries the Smart Board is one of the things Lallas will miss most. The Smart Board is a large screen positioned in the front of a classroom. The board produces a computer linked screen and allows an educator to write, correct and retrieve saved or stored items within seconds from the computer hard drive with a simple touch.
“I didn’t know how to operate the board in September and now I feel like an expert. It’s an amazing teaching tool and saves so much time. I’ll miss it,” Lallas said.
But most of all Lallas will miss the kids. He’ll miss the quirky looks on their faces when they didn’t know the answer to a question. He’ll miss the quick wit of their responses and he’ll miss the fact that working with kids keeps a teacher young at heart.
Lallas will miss being the Student Council Director and all the activities the organization was involved with from the annual talent shows to dances and food drives.
He won’t miss the politics of education and he’ll always be grateful for the role he played in making a difference in student’s lives over the past 32 years.
All stories copyright 2006 Westby Times and other attributed sources.