Thirty-three Years and Still Loving It
Honoring Mr. Ahlberg
by Marci Metcalf
September 15, 2006
Family man, coach, teacher and mentor are all different ways of describing Dick Ahlberg. After teaching for 33 years, he has quite the understanding of high school students.
Mr. Ahlberg graduated from Fort Hays State University in 1975 with a major in history. He teaches government, American history, world history, economics, and Kansas history. He said that over the years there have been many changes in teaching. "Technology has advanced and there are more state standards, testing, and paperwork changes," he said.
Along with teaching, Mr. Ahlberg is also a coach. He has coached cross country for 31 years, golf for 28 years, basketball for 12 years, and junior high basketball for 12 years. Other sports he has coached are high school track, before he started coaching golf, and even one year of junior high volleyball. "Coaching has been a big part of my teaching career, and I've always enjoyed it," he said.
Mr. Ahlberg's wife, Suzanne, is Director of Nursing at the hospital. He has a daughter, Christie Rice, who lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, and three sons, two of whom live in Fort Collins (Andyd and Erik) and Mason is a third grader at Oberlin Elementary School.
"I love to golf, spend time with my family, ride bikes with Mason, and visit my kids and grandchildren," said Mr. Ahlberg.
In high school Mr. Ahlberg was very involved in sports. He was out for cross country three years, and lettered all three. He lettered in basketball for two years and was honorable mention and all-league. He also lettered in golf all four years and was a state qualifier. He was also involved in TARS: Teenage Republicans where he helped campaign for Bob Dole. He also taught Sunday school and coached little league baseball.
"I don't think students have changed that much. Most students have the same backgrounds as their parents, and they behave the same. I have high expectations and most of my students do what I expect."
"There is no teacher I respect more than Mr. Ahlberg," said English teacher Brenda Breth. "The students also like and respect Mr. Ahlberg. Every year when my juniors write about their favorite teacher in their autobiographies, his name comes up more than any other. He is an icon in our building."
"Mr. Ahlberg is one of the best teachers I have ever had the pleasure of working with," said OES principal and former colleague Duane Dorshorst. "His love for his subject matter is evident in the passion for which he teaches it. He truly cares about his students and their future. He prepares students for life beyond high school by making them responsible for their own learning, and helping them to develop thinking skills that are critical to their future."
Thirty-three Years and Still Loving It
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| Date | Subject | Posted by: |
|---|---|---|
| 09/20/2006 | Kudos to Mr. Ahlberg! I have worked... | Mary Anderson |
| 10/05/2006 | Mr. Ahlberg helped foster many things... | Kristen Bremer |
| 03/14/2008 | Hey, young man: Glad to see you are... | Paul Getto |
