On Thursday, Oct. 26, Scott Walden made his return to teaching. However, there was a small change – he took over Spanish I and Spanish II classes formerly taught by Kaitlyn Mann. Walden was on leave since the last school day of the 2022-2023 school year.
During his absence, Walden was battling on-going health difficulties, and a long-term substitute teacher, Madelyn Douglas, filled his position. Since then, Walden’s health has improved. Although he is still working to get back to normal, he manages his difficulties on his own during the school day.
“I pace myself throughout class periods so I can regain my strength by the end of the day,” Walden said.
His return to school was much anticipated by staff and students. Although it seems he has not been gone long, much time has passed. When he came back, it was like he never missed a beat.
“It feels great to be back, considering what I’ve gone through in the past few months,” Walden said. “I haven’t been able to get out anywhere, so I was ready to return.”
Due to his sickness, he was restricted with what activities he could do but was still able to occasionally get out to be with family. Now that Walden is back, some of those restrictions have been reduced. He prides his family for helping him work through this adversity, though it has been tough.
“My family has definitely helped me with all, and over the summer, students would wish me well and said they hoped I’d return soon if they saw me out with my wife,” Walden said.
Some students were confused about his leaving, as no one truly knew what was happening. Once they knew what was going on with one of Gibson Southern’s most veteran teachers, they were more understanding.
Now that Walden is back, he is in full swing and ready to take on the rest of the 2023-2024 school year. He is surrounded by people who help him through his day.
“It definitely helps to know they (the students) care,” Walden said.
Before his leave, Walden attended Titan athletic events to take pictures. He would fill up the hallways with pictures of athletes, and that is something that has not gone unnoticed. It is an understatement to say that students are glad to see his return and look forward to him being at all the different games.
“It was nice to see a familiar face on the sidelines, and we really enjoyed the pictures he took,” former student Kylin Eads said.
