Not your mamma's business classes anymore

Weeks before school started, Cape Henlopen High School business teacher Natalie Shockley bought school materials and began preparing for the school year.

She had planned to retire before the end of the year, but when she thought about her students, she said, she knew it wouldn't be fair for her to leave mid-year. Instead, she made her exit a bit earlier than expected, ending her 30-year career at Cape before the school year began.

"I will miss teaching," Shockley said. "I'll definitely miss the students; watching them grasp the fundamentals and taking it as far as they could."

She began her teaching career at Caesar Rodney eight years before coming to Cape. Her roots are in Milford, where she was born, raised and lives to this day.

The draw of the beach helped her make the switch from Rider to Viking.

"I always liked the beach. I like Sussex County, and the commute was the same for both schools," she said.

Throughout her 38 years of teaching, Shockley witnessed a great number of changes to business education.

Shorthand and typing were top classes when she began teaching, but now they've just about disappeared. The curriculum also shifted from teaching about accounting and business principles to focusing on software and business information technology.

These changes were bittersweet for Shockley, especially since accounting was always her favorite subject to teach.

"Watching the students develop and accomplish skills was satisfying," she said.

As the Business Professionals of America advisor, Shockley said she accompanied hundreds of students to state competitions, and they always fared well.

Spending time with the students also kept her young.

"When you're in the classroom you hear the things that they go through, and the communication with them on a daily bases is great," she said. "Students will come up with the funniest statements without realizing what they've said."

Rarely did she have to send a student to the office for bad behavior.

"I didn't discipline with a heavy hand, but they all seemed to behave themselves," Shockley said. "I gave them respect, and they in turn respected me."

Aside from her students' accomplishments, Shockley is particularly proud of earning national board certification in the career and technical field in 2007.

This fall, she said, she is taking some time off to travel and catch up on projects around the house. Come January, though, she'll be looking for some part-time work, maybe even substitute in the front office.

But not in the classroom, at least not just yet.

"I like the efficiency and attention to detail in the office," she said. "The hard part would be going back and substituting for students who I would've had this year."