Mrs. Krig reflects on 35 years of teaching

“[Blake has] been a really wonderful place,” says Mrs. Maelene Krig, who is now retiring after 35 years at Blake. Throughout her time at Blake, Mrs. Krig had roles ranging from P.E. teacher to running of the computer lab. In retirement, she is hoping to spend time travelling.

Mrs. Krig “graduated from college with majors in biology and chemistry, and I ended up working at the University of Minnesota for 6 years, helping with some research in different areas there.” She then quit her job at the University of Minnesota, wanting to find out more about teaching, and began coaching JV girls soccer at Blake.

“I was only working there for a few days [when] one of the PE teachers came down and talked to me and said, ‘hey, we're looking for somebody who can teach a science class and some PE classes here. Are you interested?’ Blake interviewed Mrs. Krig, and she began working in in an interim position, teaching a science class and multiple PE classes.

A few years later, Blake no longer needed an extra science teacher. Mrs. Krig was intent on staying at Blake, so she began supervising the computer lab. (This was before students and classrooms had their own computers). Then, Mrs. Krig was hired for the position she is in now, part-time science, part-time technology.

Mrs. Krig has since helped with integrating technology into the classroom, overseeing Moodle (similar to Canvas) and now Canvas. When Blake no longer needed a computer lab, Mrs. Krig worked with Blake to create a makerspace, which she now runs.

Throughout all these years at Blake, the most impactful moment for Mrs. Krig was when her daughter went to Blake. “When she started here, it was really solidifying that my plan was to stay at Blake and [make] it not just a place for me, but a place for my whole family to be connected to.”

Now that Mrs. Krig is retiring, she “want[s] to be able to travel a lot,” to places like the Boundary Waters and the Grand Maray. “I also want to do some more cycling, and having time to read more will be wonderful.” She is also hoping to travel overseas. “[On the] top of my bucket list is New Zealand.”

Looking back, Mrs. Krig is grateful for “the support from administration, the opportunities for different professional development. And the students who are here are really excited to be here and learning.”

Mrs. Krig’s final advice to her students is to “take advantage of the opportunities that you have here. There is so much on offer…your teachers work work really hard to prepare meaningful experiences are really providing opportunities that you don't get everywhere.

“I've been here a long time and I've seen a lot of change over the years. Teachers don't just create one curriculum and then use it over and over again every year. There's always some changes, always some growth that they're doing.”