By Lola McGinnis
Everyone knows that each new year comes with another senior class graduating but in the realm of HHS, there’s something different this year. Not only is the class of 2026 graduating this year but in a way a well-known teacher around campus will also be graduating, or in other words, retiring. Mr. Lipping, a well-liked teacher here at HHS known for teaching AP Government, AP Macroeconomics, and a part of the AVID program, will be saying goodbye this year along with our current senior class. Fortunately, I was able to get an interview him on his retirement plans and to reflect back on his time as a teacher. Here’s what he had to say:
How long have you been teaching for?
“This is my twenty-third year teaching at Hayward High School. It’s my twenty-third year teaching so my whole career has been spent at Hayward High.”
Why did you decide to retire now?
“Number one, um, starting to feel my mortality. I’m getting old, and my body’s starting to break down and…there’s things I’d actually like to do while I’m still young enough to enjoy them. There’s a lot of places I would like to travel to with my wife.”
“Another reason is that it’s getting very hard to teach government these days…I teach AP Government and it gets a little frustrating, trying to teach government when I have to say, ‘this is how the government is supposed to work’ and ‘this is what College Board wants you to know, but we’re [the government] not doing that right now.”
“It makes me feel like a liar and I don’t like paying attention to the government anymore and I don’t like teaching stuff [about the government] that is not technically true anymore.”
What do you plan to do with all the free time?
“Well I inherited a farm from my grandparents a while back and it was a working farm but since, you know, I work full time, and it’s one hundred miles away, so it’s kind of gone into disrepair or whatever…I would actually like to restore it to its former glory.”
“I used to be pretty handy. I used to know how to do stuff, like, you know, fixing things and stuff, and since I’ve been teaching for the last twenty-three years, I haven’t had much of an opportunity to do that [fix things]. So in addition to travel, I would like to start fixing up the farm I inherited from my grandparents.”
Do you think you’ll miss teaching?
“Oh, absolutely. I’m gonna miss teaching. Um, I am lucky. I don’t think there’s a whole lot of people that end up doing what they’re supposed to do and teaching was obviously what I was supposed to do because I like doing it. I also seem to be pretty good at it.”
“…when I look back at it, I am going to have fond memories of it. Because uh, I don’t know. You know the old saying, you know, ‘if you do what you love, you’re not really working. Well that’s not exactly true because I worked a lot but I did really enjoy it.”
What’s something you won’t miss about teaching?
“Grading papers. Oh, my God, grading papers. It is the worst thing about being a teacher…uh the paperwork, the grading papers, the lesson planning. I don’t know what but every single year…I tried something new. And I suppose that’s a good thing, right? But it’s always work, and I never really go to the place where I could just kind of coast, doing exactly the same thing I did last year.”
“So, like this year, I’m all about like Class Companion. And I have to create all this stuff from scratch, you know? So like I’m working all the time.”
“[I also won’t miss] calling home, you know, like ratting out students that aren’t doing well in the class.”
What’s something you’ll miss about teaching?
“Honestly I’m gonna miss the kids…I’m gonna miss my students.”
“The thing I actually liked about teaching, I think is one of the things that made me good at it, is that I actually like hanging out and interacting with you knuckleheads, you know? It’s fun to me.”
What’s something you liked about teaching at HHS?
“I’ve always said this…the kids at Hayward High are the most accepting kids and nice kids that I’ve ever been around.”
“…Hayward is so diverse. And there are, you know, people that are neurodivergent…people that are LGBTQ…just these different groups of people…never actually seen [non-accepting people] and I know it happens, okay? But everyone gets accepted…Hayward kids are the nicest and most accepting kids that I’ve been around and I’m going to miss that too.”
Any advice for the class of 2026 (as your last “official” class)?
“Number one, follow your dreams but make sure that you always have a solid backup plan. You know, I’m not saying you can’t be a professional athlete or an actor…and if that’s what you want to do, then do it. But you got to be real. You need money in life so you have to have a solid backup plan.”
“The other thing is, and I am fortunate in this, you know, I’m just a teacher but I’m retiring young, I think. And the reason that I was able to do so is because I’ve always lived like, what I would say is ‘live like you’re broke’.”
“Never had food delivered to my house before, I always cook. I don’t dress fancy. I don’t buy fancy things. I’ve been very good at saving my money, and that’s so important for you guys.”
“Everything is so stupid expensive these days. College tuition, housing, and all that stuff and unless we get better at living within our means, then it’s gonna be hard. It’s gonna be hard to do all this stuff. It’s not your fault, you know? I’m not saying you guys are lazy or anything like that.”
“It’s just saying that stuff is so expensive right now. You guys actually have to live your life different than people my age did. It’s harder for you. But if you recognize that it is hard for you and, you know, have a plan with your money and save your money, you’ll be okay.”
“If you do that you’ll be okay but a lot of people don’t do that, you know? And that’s America in general. It’s not just you guys.”
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