By Vivienne Frenz
Although I’ve never had Mr. Speth as a teacher, everyone who went to Delavan-Dairen High School knows who he is. Famous for his incredible height, agriculture expertise, and dry humor, Mr. Speth is easily one of the most popular and recognizable teachers around.
Mr. Speth retired last year, but he remains a regular face at the school, coming to substitute teach nearly every day. Speth’s favorite classes to teach were animal science and soil science. He admits that he does miss being in the classroom, but when asked if he liked teaching or subbing better, his response was, “Right now I prefer subbing. The multitasking of teaching wears a person out!” As you know, teaching takes a lot of work and is full of responsibilities, from teaching the course material to making learning enjoyable and accessible to everyone, on top of working through all sorts of problems. Substitute teaching at high school is more straightforward. Substitute teachers take attendance, let the students know of any assignments needed to be completed, and supervise the students. On the surface it may seem simple, but the day can seem long and monotonous and students can give all sorts of trouble. Many people do not want to sub at high schools, so we should be very grateful that Mr. Speth takes his time to help our school out. He could be fully enjoying his retirement by travelling or focusing on his hobbies, yet he cares so much about our school and its students.
As a self-proclaimed “Agri-Science Instructor, Retired FFA Advisor, Retired Adjunct Professor – Gateway Technical College, [and] Possibly the World’s Greatest Long Term Sub” Mr. Speth has several hobbies. Speth has a herd of 10 beef cows and enjoys sports. Notably, he played fastpitch softball for 25 years! He was primarily a pitcher, and he also “hit and hit bombs.” His entire family has played softball. Mr. Speth has worked at DDHS with Mrs. Ramos-Speth for 32 and a half years. When I asked if it was strange that Speth is retired but his wife is not, he said, “no, we never really saw each other that much during the school day.” Marty Speth also has three daughters. Ms. Speth, Mr. Speth’s daughter, also substitute teaches.
There has been a long debate throughout the school as to what Mr. Speth’s height truly is. He reported to me that he is “5 feet 19 inches tall” (which is equivalent to 6’ 7”). Occasionally, Speth bumps his head on things but he says the advantage is that, “I can hide things in high places.” I don’t know about you, but if I was that tall, I’d definitely hide some cookies on a top shelf. One piece of advice Speth would give to current students is, “[high school is] 4 years. Enjoy it, take advantage of opportunities, grow your network, and be a positive person as first impressions are lasting impressions.”
Overall, Speth’s commitment to coming to school nearly every day just shows his dedication to this high school even after retirement. “Speth is always a straightforward guy, if you ask a decent question he’ll respond right away,” said Damien Crusan. As an admirably tall guy, Mr. Speth truly makes his mark on our community and school through his teaching of agriculture science and substitute teaching.
thecometeer