A letter from the editors,
On December 8, news broke school wide that our longest serving staff member passed away after teaching Northview students for 55 years.
Ted Burba’s love for his job and the people around him is something we will never forget. Most teachers his age would’ve retired, but his passion for teaching and being surrounded by high school students on the daily brought him joy.
It’s apparent through his support at countless sporting events, as he always said “I’ll be there but you’ll never find me,” and his work with S.A.D.D and Versiti blood center.
His support didn’t run dry from there.
The three of us would also like to thank Burba on behalf of The Roar. We are all greatly appreciative of what he’s done for us over the years.
He was always enthusiastic to talk to us about the stories we needed his insight on and made contributions to help bring some of our costs down. He was a true supporter of what we do and what we stand for.
He also touched and brought light into the lives of many students, past and present. He never failed to smile and wave to students who walked the halls, even those he didn’t know on a first name basis.
With that being said, The Roar would like to invite all current and former staff and students to participate in a Padlet to share their experiences, feelings and stories about Burba. We hope that the sharing of these things will bring you peace and happiness.
To start us off, we have decided to each share our own stories with Burba as we hope this will inspire you to do the same.
Click the link here to access the Padlet.
Olivia:
I first met Burba my freshman year when I was writing my first story as a Roar staff member. At this point, I was incredibly shy and interviewing was totally out of my comfort zone.
But when I walked into his classroom, he greeted me with the biggest smile and suddenly all of my nerves and worries went away.
I remember sitting in the second row, fourth seat from the door. We laughed and talked for about 15 minutes, when really, it only felt like five. He was quick to make jokes and give his powerful wisdom and insight. Something I wish I learned more about.
I got up to leave after thanking him for his time. But before I could fully leave, he gave me his famous smile and a wave as I stood in the doorway of his classroom. I smiled and waved back.
I now realize how rare a teacher like Burba was.
Victoria:
I have a vivid memory of sitting in U.S. history class in the 8th grade, it was the day we were picking out our classes for our first year of high school with our new counselors. This was the first time I heard of Burba.
My teacher spoke about him in a way that resonated with me. I couldn’t believe that a teacher would work at a high school for so long and still love his job so much. And at the time, I had never had a teacher who’s love for teaching was evident until I had a class with him.
I signed up for development psychology only because I wanted to have Burba for a teacher at least one time while I was in high school. The elective credit was nice to have, but being in his class was indescribable. Everyday he started his class with his favorite songs and his huge smile. No matter how bad my day was, I’d walk into his classroom for 6th hour and it would instantly become better.
Doretta:
For a year, I didn’t know Burba, I would only pass his smiling face in the hall. His face would light up everytime he saw me even though we’d never met. This intrigued me, it was crazy how he could make my day, make me smile, without knowing my name.
Of course I had heard his legend, my dad had him as a history teacher and my grandpa taught alongside him during what he calls “the good days.” This made me want to know him even more than his happy greetings in the hallway. I signed up to take psychology before AP Psychology because of him, and I wasn’t let down.
Within the first week he had nick-names for each of us, although no one else called us by those names, it was special. That was his gift, making every person he came in contact with feel special, like they meant something to him, because they did.
He always said that after he passed he would haunt his classroom and the halls of Northview to check up on his students, and to be honest this is one teacher that I’m happy will be haunting me.
On behalf of the Roar staff, you will be missed, Burba.
Olivia Austin, Doretta Schat Beimers and Victoria Scovel