How Tap Dancing Led To Teaching Career
Retiring Teacher Recounts What Motivated Her to Teach
by Jim Evans

Anne Merryfield had no intention of ever being a teacher. She had an "old maid" aunt who wore the conservative clunky-looking shoes so typical of many teachers, and Merryfield told herself she would never be like that.

Now, 45 years later, she is eating her words as she winds down her own teaching career at Olive Peirce Middle School — and wears the same kind of shoes that she always abhorred. Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for, because you might get exactly the opposite.

Actually, Merryfield always had wanted to work as an interpreter for the United Nations. However, when she found out that the minimum requirement was fluency in at least five languages and her singular fluency in Spanish didn’t quite cut the mustard, she began teaching tap dancing to children on the side at a local settlement house in New Jersey.

Since most of the children could only afford one pair of shoes, Merryfield had to nail the taps onto their shoes when they arrived for class and remove them when class was over. But she enjoyed working with the children so much, one thing led to another and...After completing her undergraduate degree in teaching at the University of Rochester, Merryfield became a Spanish teacher.

Later, following interim studies at the University of Wisconsin under a federal grant, Merryfield made her way to Southern California with her waitress uniform in the trunk of her car — just in case she decided to stay and needed a job to tide her over. The waitress uniform might still be in her trunk, because she soon found a position teaching Spanish at Arcadia High School and has remained in California ever since.

Readers may remember that "in those days," newspapers often published photos of new teachers to introduce them to the community. Merryfield’s enterprising soon-to-be-husband happened to see her photo. Intrigued, he decided to meet her under the false pretense of delivering complimentary Atlas maps to all of the new teachers through his insurance company.

The ruse worked. One thing led to another, and they eventually tied the knot. Merryfield put her career on hold temporarily to raise their family and then resume teaching uninterrupted for the next 30 years.

She and her husband — a pilot and insurance executive — flew many trips to Mexico over the years, delivering medical supplies and resources to rural villages.

"I just love it down there," she said, "and there is a real need to help these folks improve their quality of life."

Merryfield teaches Spanish at Olive Peirce Middle School and Adult English Learning in the community.

"One of the most positive experiences of my career was teaching Adult English Learning to a citizenship class in 1987 and, of course, it’s always fun to run into former students and see how they are doing," she said. "I remember going to Kmart once, when a former student approached me saying, ‘I remember you...you taught me Spanish.’ Almost at the same time, another former student called out, ‘And she taught me English too!’ It was a good feeling.

"And I will never forget when I broke my leg skiing early in my teaching career and had to walk up three floors on crutches to my classroom in upstate New York! Whew! Those were the days!"

And after retirement? "I plan to catch up on my reading, do some traveling, and spend more time visiting my children and grandchildren," Merryfield said.

Any advice for future teachers?

"We need more male teachers," she said. "The teaching profession is so much more than just teaching now, and we need the respect that a male teacher commands in working with young people who need role models of both genders. It’s a wonderful profession, and I just love it."

And if you’re not sure whether or not you want to be a teacher, try teaching tap dancing first — right?