Between his crazy Halloween costumes, his banging/yelling out his classroom window, and his hilarious laugh, Mr. Hislope has left quite a mark on Sahuaro. He has also left quite a mark on me all through his teachings, stories, and moments he’s shared. After over 30 years of teaching, Mr. Hislope is retiring and moving on to the next chapter in his life.

I think the biggest thing Hislope stood for was respect. He always constantly shared stories in the classroom and reminded us that things, like blowing gum, looking/using/talking on our cellphones, and telling him what we were going to do in the bathroom, were all very rude. In fact, when he was asked what the biggest social change he had seen in his students over the years, he said: “definitely cellphones, socializing is done with your thumbs, there’s no true social interaction anymore.” Sitting in his class was very different from others, there’s not a single time I can remember a student openly being on their phone, it was a pretty nice environment.

He was also teaching during a time where teachers fought for their rights. After asking what he would like to see change for teachers, he stressed, “I’d like to see education become important for our country” after he leaves.

He shared some embarrassing times like being “unzipped a few times” or dropping applesauce on his lap and having a giant wet spot after attempting to wash it off. He also shared that the first year he was teaching at Sahuaro, he fell through a glass window and broke it. Besides the embarrassment and the craziness, he always did a great job at making his class happy.

Mr. Hislope is adored by a ton of students and faculty around the school. Besides being known for his up-front and often brutally honest opinions, he has always kept it real and been honest about every issue. Junior Avery Miller says, “Hislope adds life lessons and real-world lessons into his teaching and it makes me a better person because of it.”

The biggest thing he taught me was that education doesn’t have to strictly be a lesson plan, it’s more than that. I will always remember Hislope for being one of the craziest, wisest, and special teachers as I will never meet an individual and an educator like him again. I’m honored to be one of his last students and Mr. Hislope, if you’re reading this, thank you for being who you are and you have made one of the biggest impacts in my life. I hope the next part of your life brings you lots of succulents and funny Nickelodeon shows.

Ms. Krause, senior AP English teacher, and Hislope’s work wife feels like she’s going through a divorce.  “Who will get custody of the kids?” she jokes.  “Sahuaro just got a whole lot less fun and funny,” Krause sadly stated.  We at Sahuaro all agree…