Danforth Math Teacher

The following is the third in a three part series covering the 2020 retirees of WISD, honoring them for their service to our community’s children as dedicated teachers, nurses and other staff members.

After 15 years at Danforth Junior High School, Carol Sue Merkin is going to take time to catch her breath. Life seemed to throw her a curve when her husband became unemployed and she went to work, something she never expected to do.

Born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, they moved to San Antonio when she was three years old. She graduated college from Oklahoma A&M. “I have four children, all married, and thirteen grandchildren.”

“To be perfectly honest,

I planned to be wife and mother as a stay at home mom. It’s what ladies did,” Merkin said. “My parents had the foresight to send me to college.” She graduated with a B.S. in Home Economic, with a minor in Science.

“The time came and my husband became unemployed. We needed the income. I was qualified for science at the school. I liked it so I stayed,” she said. Teaching in San Antonio for three years, she commuted from Wimberley teaching Science in private schools.

As for Wimberley, she is no stranger to the area, “My husband’s grandparents bought land in 1937 for $7 an acre. My husband’s parents gave my husband and his two siblings the property.” Her husband Randy died three and a half years ago. He had worked full time at King Feed.

She went to further her education by getting her Math certification and kept applying to WISD. “Dee Howard, the (Danforth) principal called. It was an afternoon in July. ‘Can you come in for an interview now?’ I happened to be in San Antonio, dressed in blue jeans and a t-shirt. Then, I’m hired.”

She would be teaching Math. “My favorite subject. You figure it out instead of memorization.” First it was 6th grade, and then moved to 8th grade. “The 6th was a better fit.”

“As a teacher a good day is when students enjoy learning, and they actually got it. They learned enough to want to come back and do more.” One of the fun things she was able to do in the classroom, and enjoyed, was playing games with math flash cards, something you really can’t use in other subjects.

Then again as a teacher you take the good with the bad. “There’s the nightmare students that are rude and disrespectful. But I love them… I just love all the students that I have had over the years. I love running into them in town and having them remember me and say hi to me.”

Discipline and classroom management is not one of her favorite chores and most teachers will agree with that responsibility. But “I enjoyed the relationships I established with the students and the other teachers.” This is something she will miss.

“I love Danforth. The Administration is amazing. Mr. Howard (the current Danforth Principal) was a godsend of a leader. The teachers were supported… everybody had my back. It was a family, a team to make everybody successful. It was the best place to work.”