Gina Cohen Wraps Up 31 Years of Teaching

Family and consumer sciences teacher Gina Cohen, who is retiring after 31 years in the Tolland school system, has seen a lot of change throughout her career.

"When I first started teaching in the 1970s and I mentioned wasabi, none of the kids would know what it is. But today, there's a lot more of a global influence," Cohen highlighted as one example of the many cultural shifts than she's seen teaching cooking, sewing, food and nutrition, money management and more to students.

While Cohen finds many joys in teaching, including staying on top of the latest pop culture developments like "The Hunger Games" (an unavoidable side effect of teaching the age group), she particularly enjoys her subject area because it helps students learn how diverse their skills can become.

"We offer something that the kids are not getting anywhere else," Cohen said of her fellow unified arts teachers. "They produce a product they can bring home. Once they've tried something out at our level, they get to high school and say, 'I can do that.' That's the great part."

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Cohen, Tolland's 1990-1991 Teacher of the Year, said she has also enjoyed watching the unified arts transform from gender-segregated to fully integrated classes. 

"Many of the electives now have more boys than girls," she said, explaining that all "boy" and "girl" class categories started to evaporate back in the 1980s. 

"It has sustained, which is wonderful. I love that none of my classes are gender-specific."

Cohen, who has served as the Unified Arts team leader for a number of years, also spoke warmly about the support she has received from the school district, and how teachers have pulled together as obstacles have come and gone.

"There are issues, but the kids were always primary. We'd always talk about how to make classes better, how to make class sizes more appropriate for kids and how we can spend the budget we have," Cohen said.

TMS Principal Walter Willett said that Cohen's positive spirit and enthusiasm will be missed.

"Ms. Cohen’s shoes are too enormous to fill; she gave many gifts to the people here at TMS. Her wisdom, leadership, guidance, commitment and support are unmatched. Wherever, and whatever she does next, the people who work with her are truly blessed," Willett said.

It's clear that her students' lives have also been enriched from Cohen's dedication to teaching. 

"I'll get emails from young men, telling me, 'I took out my sewing machine and sewed my son's pants,'" Cohen said, recalling emails from former students. "What more can you ask from someone who's so enthusiastic and is 38 years old?"

After three decades of hard work, Cohen said she is looking forward to her retirement, which will include lots of time with her grandchildren, running her small alterations business and perhaps some substitute teaching.

There's no doubt Cohen will pursue her retirement with as much passion, humor and energy as her years of teaching.

"I have been really thrilled with my career," she said. "And I'm absolutely thrilled to be retiring."