Like many of the teachers who “graduated” last spring, former science teacher Joe Burwell is taking full advantage of his retirement.

“I have definitely enjoyed my time off so far,” Burwell said. “Now, I sleep in until 4:30 or 5:00 a.m., compared to waking up at 3:15 during school.”

Of course, his overall daily routine changed too, since he doesn’t come to BHS every day anymore.

“When I wake up, I usually have some coffee and read the entire paper in the morning,” he added. “Then I either do yard work or go to the parks to volunteer or hike. I try to spend some quality time with my wife when she gets off of work around 3 or 4:00 p.m.”

Burwell cares deeply about spending time with family, which has shaped what he’s done since the last school year ended.

“I haven’t spent enough time with family, but, so far, I’ve visited my son, Phil, in Wisconsin, where he is the director of athletic communications at Carthage College,” he said.

He also visited his daughter in Columbus and his brother and mom who live in Louisville, KY.

Aside from traveling to visit family, Burwell has gotten out into the woods as much as possible.

“In the summer, I continued to section-hike on the Appalachian Trail, and I am heading back there during the week of Sept. 28,” he said.

“I am a trail ambassador for the metroparks, so I do that three or four times a week,” he added. “Also, I worked on an invasive earthworm removal project in North Chagrin Reservation, and I worked at the Metroparks Backyard Biodiversity Bash, where I used games to teach kids about invasive species, which was fun.”

While he is enjoying retirement, Burwell also has fond memories of teaching.

“What I miss is the interaction with students and colleagues,” he said. “I miss the discussions about science about what’s going on in the world. I also miss refereeing jolly ball during Spirit Week.”

“The things I don’t miss are grading, the very long days, and the test prep madness,” he added.

While he misses BHS, he feels that the best part of being retired is that he can choose where he works, when, and with whom. Also, he likes being able to tackle projects around the house that he has been putting off for way too long.

Joe B. also has some advice for his replacement, Mr. Paulchell:

“Keep your sense of humor, and never lend anything to the social studies department (I think they still have my skull and my brain!),” he said. “Also, avoid opening any emails. Oh, and finally, never ever push the red button on the wall in room 706.”