Langkusch leaves 20 year legacy

It was 1993, and Bill Clinton was sworn in as our 42nd President, succeeding George H. Bush. Six people were killed and 1000 people were injured as the World Trade Center was bombed for the first time. The Buffalo Bills lost their third straight Super Bowl, and Whitney Houston was heard everywhere singing “I Will Always Love You.” It was two years before Michelle Pfeiffer’s infamous portrayal of a teacher working at Carlmont High School in the movie “Dangerous Minds.”

Amongst all of this, in 1993, Gail Langkusch arrived at Carlmont High School as an English teacher. She could not have known that she would remain at Carlmont for 20 straight years. Over those two decades, upwards of 3,000 high school students would learn English from Langkusch, and she would inspire and guide many many more.

When Langkusch started at Carlmont in 1993, it was a much different place. The school population consistently fluctuated between 1200 and 1400 students, the football field was grass, and the facilities Carlmont had to offer couldn’t hold a candle to today’s.

Since her arrival,Langkusch has strived to implement the same message in all her students, Langkusch said, “I’d like all my students to leave here knowing that they don’t have to agree with anyone, they can develop their own world view, and whatever anyone else thinks doesn’t matter, what they believe in is what matters.”

Carlmont has had Langkusch for these twenty years, but she wasn’t always set on the course of being a teacher. After majoring in Home Education and getting a minor in English from San Jose State, Langkusch decided to be a stay at home mom and raise her two children.

However, following a divorce Langkusch decided that it was time for her to pursue the profession of a teacher. She went back to school and got her masters degree in English and her teaching credentials.

Since then Langkusch has enjoyed continued success teaching many classes, ranging from AP English to Drivers Education.

However, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing during Langkusch’s tenure. Langkusch said, “The biggest challenge has been dealing with the government and how it has become more and more restrictive of the teaching that goes on here.” She credits rigid state requirements and an onslaught of standardized testing to the lowered morale of teachers throughout the years.

Regardless of state regulations Langkusch has remained one of the most popular teachers on campus.

Junior Pasha Minkovsky, who has Langkusch for AP English this year, credits Langkusch’s popularity to her “free flowing, interesting, and engaging teaching style,” and her ability to “connect with students outside of the classroom.”

Langkusch has also built a repertoire for the diversity of the content she teaches,”I like that she teaches us about a plethora of issues and debates going on around the world instead of just making us write essays everyday,” said, junior, Josh Fagel.

Langkusch has a wide variety of plans for her retirement, this summer she plans to assist her daughter who is due to have twins. She also hopes to use her Home Education degree to work with foster children.

Langkusch cannot work for the district for 6 months, but she plans on doing some substituting once and awhile here at Carlmont.

Traveling is also on the agenda, as Langkusch has a long list of countries she would like to visit when the opportunities arise.

On June 6 of this year Gail Langkusch will teach her final English class and retire after after 20 years as an educator at Carlmont High School.

When asked about what she will remember most about Carlmont Langkusch had this to say, “Teenagers are the best, the way they think, the way they approach things, the way they deal with life itself. What they think is funny, how they learn, and when they see that hall light turn on, that’s the best part of teaching here at Carlmont.”