Social studies, driver ed teacher taught students not just what, but how to learn

Jay Goulden is a retiring teacher for Holmes Junior High who is on his 34th year of teaching; 15th at Holmes.

He teaches in the social studies department. Subjects include driver education, earth and life science, history and economics. He also teaches a driver safety course through UNI.

At Holmes, Goulden is teaching eighth grade U.S. history and economics, while also teaching and owning a driver’s education class.

Goulden loves what he does, whether it’s on the road or in classrooms.

“I very much like teaching. It is a new adventure every day. I like to see students learn,  nothing is more rewarding than to see a student achieve. I believe the job of a teacher is to teach students how to learn. It is very true that the profession students choose to pursue may not exist yet. [For] example: how many computer programmers do you think there were when I graduated high school?” Goulden asked.

Goulden has made it his job to connect with every student he has taught, and he still said, “I will miss most of all the interactions with the students and faculty. Teachers, by nature, are social people.”

Goulden has taught multiple students multiple new ideas through fun and strictness.

Ryan Ostrich, a current eighth grader at Holmes who has had Goulden for economics and U.S. history, has learned lots from Goulden.

“He is a very good and intelligent teacher. He’s has good ways of teaching that help me progress. He also is funny, and that helps me pay attention and stay up in class. One thing I’ll remember is that I’ve never been a history guy, but he made it much more than history,” Ostrich said.

As of now, Goulden is recovering from surgery. Soon to be recovered, he’ll return and finish his last year of teaching, where even he has time left for learning. “Most of all, I think the students have taught me how to listen,” he said. “That is hard for me as sometimes I tend to be stubborn.”

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.