60 Plus Omaha - October

60 OMAHA s u l p

October 2021

Beth Johnson

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60+ NOSTALGIA // STORY BY JEFF LACEY // DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION BY DEREK JOY

epending on age, one might remember coming home from school covered in fine chalk dust.

Or, they might remember the class heading to ‘the pit’—a recessed angular depression in the floor—in elementary school for story time or show-and-tell.

Public school design has gone from boxlike classrooms with rows of independent desks and chalkboards, to wide-open spaces with communal pits and overhead projectors, to modern-day flex-spaces and media rooms. Omaha Magazine looked at how schools have changed through the decades with the help of Pat Carson, principal architect of the new Westview High School being constructed on 156th and Ida streets.

“I will not chew gum in class. I will not chew gum in class…”

Many over age 60 attended classrooms with large chalkboards fixed to a wall in the front, complete with a chalk tray and fine layers of pink, orange, or white dust settled in its grooves. These faithful standbys were believed to have been invented by a teacher in Scotland named James Pillans in 1801, when he innovated from the individual slates commonly used in that era. In the 20th century in the United States, these boards often came from slate quarries along the East Coast.

Others, particularly those who taught for a living, might be familiar with the dry-erase boards used today. Teachers use these glossy white boards to write notes and reminders and construct educational games, employing a colorful array of erasable markers.

According to Carson, the future of public writing in schools is the ability to write... everywhere. Desk surfaces that allow students to work out lessons in real time and collaborative work spaces on entire walls, or even columns, are being integrated in modern school designs in an attempt to facilitate creativity and learning. “Today, adaptability of the spaces in schools is

OPS has partnered with the YMCA, and the new school will be connected to a shared YMCA facility.

These faithful standbys were believed to have been invented by a teacher in Scotland named James Pillans in 1801, when he innovated from the individual slates commonly used in that era. important. Both students and teachers need, and want, a ton of options,” Carson explained. “Lots of writable surfaces help.”

“Class, please pass your papers forward…”

The architecture of classrooms has varied through the centuries. School design is always evolving—from stickframed, one-room school houses (in 1986, Nebraska had 385 one-room schoolhouses, the most in the country) to the open-plan concept schools of the ’60s and ’70s, complete with conversation pits and nary a door in sight. Those who walk into a modern classroom might find it loosely resembles the rows of desks they remember, but that might have less to do with tradition than with the needs of the work being done that day. The modern classroom is designed with flexibility in mind; administering a standardized test requires a different classroom configuration than group work or art projects. Carson said, “One of the things we try to keep from school design of the ’70s was the flexibility those kinds of spaces offered. Flexibility, but the ability to close a door if you need to.” Rest assured, the sound of a tote tray sliding back into place can still be heard from time to time.

Big Chief Tablets to iPads Trapper Keepers, spiral-bound notebooks, and pencil cases are still around (as the school-supply frenzy that begins every late July can attest), but the tools teachers and students use to do their work have evolved. The satisfying grind of a pencil sharpener bolted to the wall might still be heard in some classrooms, but one is even more likely to hear the dings and pings of email notifications. “Pretty much every person in a school will have at least one smart device for learning or work,” Carson explained. According to Carson, one of the most important things a student needs in order to get a 21st century education is “bandwidth.”

Not Your Mother’s Dodgeball Game In the modern era of school design, there is no longer simply the ‘main gym’ and the ‘aux gym’ some might remember. A wooden pegboard might still lurk in a corner to claim its next victim, but with most high schools offering dozens of competitive athletic teams every year, PE facilities have come a long way.

OPS’s new Westview High School, for example, doesn’t just have a ‘gym.’ OPS has partnered with the YMCA, and the new school will be connected to a shared YMCA facility. The structure will house a fitness center, a six-lane pool, and multiple workout rooms along with gymnasiums, and the school and the YMCA will coordinate access for the community and students. According to Carson, this is a growing trend in school design: multiuse and co-located facilities. “Again, it comes back to accessibility and flexibility,” Carson said. “Partnerships like this are great opportunities for everyone in the community.”

A state-of-the-art weight room that can be accessed by all members of the community is a far cry from the single, thick stranded jute rope hanging from the school ceiling, with faded red tumbling mats situated below it, waiting to catch the fallen.

Class Dismissed Schools being designed and built today are done so with care and consideration for the needs of teachers, students, and the community at large. “Communities deserve schools that work,” Carson said.

“We have learned that we don’t want the building to get in the way.”

OCTOBER • 60 PLUS

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60+ Profile · story by Sara Locke photography By Bill Sitzmann · design by Derek Joy

L THE SCHOOLDGUIR FINALLY GRA ATES BETH JOHNSON’S SPECIAL EDUCATION PASSION

“I went to Sydney, and I got to hold a koa Mexico, I went on a cruise. I’m going to la. I went to Hawaii again in February, and I just got back from San ta Fe and Colorado Springs.” ~Beth Johnson eth Johnson started school at age 5, and, at age 60, she still hasn’t finished school.

“I planned to become a social studies teacher and was about to start student teaching,” Johnson said. “But at school there was this job board. I saw an opening for work at Martin Luther Home, looking for a residential manager to work overnights with people with intellectual disabilities.”

Johnson recalled this as her lightbulb moment, and considers herself lucky it happened at the age of 23 while finishing her studies at University of Nebraska at Omaha.

“I was so close to student teaching; my first post was coming up in the fall. I knew I had to tell my parents I’d changed my mind. One day they were taking me to have my wisdom teeth removed and I’d been given some ‘calm down’ medicine.” Uninhibited, she finally broke the news. “I popped up between them and just shouted—‘I want to be a special ed teacher!’ And of course, they’d never seen me so happy. We returned my books right away.”

After two years serving at Martin Luther Home, Johnson started grad school. She continued her studies while working on-call for MLH over the next three years. She studied at Drake University, continued taking additional classes, and earned her master’s degree (plus 42 hours) from UNO. // 68 //

60 PLUS • OCTOBER 2021

“I ended up student teaching at Burke for my Gen. Ed.,” Johnson continued, “then moved that spring to Millard North. It was 1985 and I was absolutely loving my experience there. They were adding a special education teacher to the staff and wanted someone to work with students with intellectual disabilities. I laugh that I student-taught there and then I just never left. I didn’t leave Millard North until I retired in 2017.”

Her dedication earned her a Friedman Award from Knights of Aksarben, a Secondary Teacher of the Year Award from Millard Public Schools, and the hearts of every family her work has touched.

After decades of award-winning service to the education community, Johnson found her calling to retire was just as clear as her calling to the work she’s always loved, saying, “Retiring wasn’t a difficult decision. I became eligible and knew it was the right time. But what it’s allowed me to do—I feel like my world is a lot bigger.

“I’ve met more people, more kids, more caring teachers,” she said of her subbing.

“My world has grown a lot. It’s so fun, so incredible to see what teachers have created, what tech they’re using to reach students of all abilities. I’ll think, ‘If I’d had this teacher, I would have understood math better. I would have loved it.’

And I’m still learning new ways people have found to reach more people, and I love that I still get to implement that with students.”

She continued, “I’ve been helping out with ACP summer school at Millard. I’m subbing in Millard and Elkhorn, mainly in special education. When I’m subbing for a special ed teacher and I get to tell them I’m trained and qualified, you can see the physical reaction; you can see the relief they feel.”

Johnson’s joy for what she does and her compassion for other teachers in the profession is evident. “Special education teachers don’t take that privilege lightly; working with unique learners.

The trust parents have in us, it’s such an honor,” she said.

Terry Houlton, Ph.D., director of special education with Millard Public Schools, always enjoys when Johnson’s name crosses his desk, saying, “She has an energy for this work. You can be a positive person, have the qualifying education and training, and still not be right for it. Beth is someone who, when you meet her, when you hear about the impact she’s having, you know she’s exactly where she is meant to be. She loves her students, even when she’s subbing and won’t have the time to build the relationships through the year, she is making sure to have an impact with each student, each day.

“This is a field with a high rate of burnout.

You see it in even really new teachers.”

Houlton reflected, “It’s demanding work, and learning how to do it never ends.

But with Beth, there’s just an energy for it. There’s a real sense of natural capacity and genuine love for the work and the families.”

While retiring hasn’t curbed Johnson’s love of teaching, or learning, it’s given her more space to explore her other passion, travel. “I went to Sydney, and I got to hold a koala. I went to Mexico, I went on a cruise. I’m going to Hawaii again in February, and I just got back from Santa Fe and Colorado Springs. I loved my career,” Johnson said, “and I love subbing. And I love being retired. I think it’s important to love every part of the life you’re choosing. And I hope that when people get to that point, when they get to retirement, that they still find those reasons to love every day. That they don’t lose their giddiness.”

Johnson may have retired, but the vivacious, loving, and impactful woman will always be a school girl at heart.

“It’s demanding work, and learning how to do it never ends. But with Beth, there’s just an energy for it. There’s a real sense of natural capacity and genuine love for the work and the families.” ~Terry Houlton

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60+ ACTIVE LIVING

STORY BY DWAIN HEBDA PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY DEREK JOY

When Bobbi Nunn started working out regularly during college in the late 1970s, it wasn’t unusual for her to be the only woman in the gym.

“I started off working out at UNO’s gym,” she said, also stating that she sometimes worked out with a female friend. “There were very few women in there, so I just kind of minded my own business and did my own thing.”

Today, there are far more women at a typical neighborhood health club, including Anytime Fitness in Bennington where Nunn is a trainer. At 62, she still stands out.

“So, here’s the funny thing at our gym: I’m the oldest, and then we have someone who’s 40, and then, our youngest trainer is 24,” she said. “And I learn something from everybody.”

It’s easy to assume Nunn’s role at Anytime Fitness focuses on those over age 60. In fact, her expertise and training style has attracted her a diverse clientele.

// 60+ ACTIVE LIVING //

have everybody,” she said. “I have men, I have women; I have young 20-somethings.

I have teenagers. I have people in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. Everybody has a different story, and I think just being there and being able to listen is the biggest thing.

Somebody’s always telling me about their life. I’ve found it’s important to know when to just kind of shut up and listen and have compassion for people.”

Pat Zimmerman, 39, said age has no bearing on the trainer’s ability to get the best out of him.

“Bobbi has a way of coming up with new ways to challenge me, but without feeling like there’s pressure to try to lift beyond what I’m capable of and risk getting injured,” said Zimmerman, noting that he was initially hesitant to get a trainer as he wasn’t one to work out before. “From that perspective, it’s been well worth it. And I enjoy seeing her twice a week.”

Born in North Dakota, Nunn grew up in Omaha. She insists she wasn’t athletic growing up, (“A skinny little kid, kind of wiry,” is how she puts it) but she loved being outdoors and active. Graduating from Omaha Northwest High School in 1977, she studied computer science at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

“When I got out of college, I was the only woman in my department of five [other than the secretary],” Nunn said. “My focus of work throughout my career was business information and data analysis. I was often one of just a few women, or the only woman, doing this type of work.”

Over 33 years, she worked with OPPD and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska.

Throughout all those years, she kept working out and intermittently led fitness classes.

“After UNO, I went to what was actually a ballet studio,” she said. “It was kind of the first barre class, before it was called barre.

And I loved it; I felt like I was really getting strong and in shape.

“After that, I found a little aerobics studio.

And that’s when aerobic studios were starting to really get pretty popular,” Nunn said, noting this was around 1988. “I guess I was one of the owner’s better or more consistent customers, because she asked me to get certified and start teaching aerobic classes there.” // 72 //

60 PLUS • OCTOBER 2021

Nunn’s success as a teacher outgrew the studio and moved to the YMCA where she’d also start training people on weights. For as much she enjoyed what she was doing, she never seriously thought about changing careers. For one, it was a very different time in the fitness industry, an era where few personal trainers were women. Second, she loved IT and, not to put too fine a point on it, that’s what paid the bills. But all that changed in 2014 when, after three decades in the workforce, she retired.

“After about a year and a half, I decided I was going to drive myself crazy if I didn’t do something,” Nunn said.

“I got a job as the activities director at one of the retirement communities close to where I live. One of my duties was to teach fitness classes.”

Sandeen continued, “[Nunn] was just really easy to work with. She pushes me when she knows I’m ready to be pushed or do more weights or do something more difficult. She starts where you’re at and then helps you get better.”

“I never stand over anybody. If they’re down on the ground, I’m down on the ground,” Nunn said. “I think that helps a lot because they’re like, ‘Well, she’s not looking down at me. She’s looking in my eyes and seeing what I can actually do.’”

SHE HAS LOTS OF EXPERIENCE AND SHE HAS A THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE. SHE JUST LOVES COMING UP WITH DIFFERENT WAYS TO HELP HER CLIENTS.”

A sked for her most memorable client, Nunn first feigns exasperation, then when pressed, goes quiet.

“There was a gentleman, 72 years old, a retired cop.

And he had gotten out of shape,” she said. “He stands out because he was pretty ill with COPD, one of those illnesses that doesn’t go away.

RENEE POKORNY

She continued, “I’d gotten out of teaching fitness because I got busy at work. As soon as I started doing it again, I remembered how much I absolutely loved it. I decided to retire from there and get recertified as a trainer. So that’s what I did, and here I am now.”

Renee Pokorny, owner/manager of Anytime Fitness, knew immediately that Nunn would be a successful addition to the team.

“She has lots of experience and she has a thirst for knowledge. She just loves coming up with different ways to help her clients,” Pokorny said. “She has a way of imparting information that’s very palatable, very positive. She’s also a good listener; anybody talking or working with her knows she really cares about you and what she can do to help you.”

Carole Sandeen, 54, who’s trained under Nunn for the past three years, said Nunn has helped her step out of her comfort zone.

“I was an athlete in high school and I exercised on and off, but I had never lifted weights before. I really had no idea how to do that and I wanted to learn,” Sandeen said. “One of my motivations was I wanted to get stronger because as women get older, it’s really important to maintain muscle.”

“He was very tall, 6’6”, and when he came in, he needed a cane for balance. Well, by the time we got done, he wasn’t using the cane anymore and he was increasing the amount of time on the cardio machines. He’s passed away, unfortunately, but he was just a wonderful human being, inside and out.

Yeah—great guy.”

Dunn finds similar inspiration in all of her clients, fueling her dynamo engine into overdrive. She’s regularly at the gym at 4:30 a.m., preparing for her first class or training earlybird clients, and from there she attacks the day with an energy that puts much younger people to shame. Everyone feels the jolt of her personality, the unbending will in a smiling wrapper. It’s not where you are today, she preaches, it’s where we’re going together.

“It’s all about how fit you are, not what that scale says. That’s the thing I like to impart on people. The scale doesn’t tell you everything,” she said. “And, that you’re never too old to start. Start now. You’ll feel so much better in the long run, you’ll have a better quality of life and do the things you want to do. It’s never too late to start exercising.”