EdNews Virginia | April 25, 2023
While many K-12 educators are exiting the profession, one Virginia teacher — at 91 years old — has no plan to retire. CBS News correspondent Scott MacFarlane recently met with Alexandria City High School math teacher Lou Kokonis to discuss a career that has lasted more than 60 years.
Kokonis has been teaching at the same high school since 1959. “The calculus Kokonis teaches hasn’t changed, but his calculus had to,” MacFarlane notes.
Today’s students have new challenges, Kokonis says — notably the “addictive” phones they hold in their hands.
With no wife or kids of his own, Kokonis dedicates himself completely to his students, offering free tutoring on Saturdays. On weekdays, Kokonis is the first to arrive. MacFarlane credits this “old school approach” as one of the keys to his success.
“For him to be working in teaching for this long and to still, like, put in all this extra effort on Saturdays, I really admire that about him,” student Mohamed Eltireke says of Kokonis.
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