Catasauqua High School English teacher Robert Fahringer skillfully uses both his intellect and his penchant for comedy to engage his students in the classroom.

"I try to do it with humor," Fahringer says of teaching.

Fahringer, a 1973 graduate of CHS and a Lafayette College alumnus, retired in June after 36 years as a Catasauqua faculty member.

Teaching, Fahringer candidly admits, was a profession he did not intend on pursuing initially.

"I didn't really plan on teaching," he says. "It was something I considered. It was something a little more practical at the time."

What brought Fahringer to CHS faculty was a phone call he received in 1981 from the principal of the high school at the time. Fahringer says coaching the football team at Northampton Area High School resulted in a connection that led to the offer of teaching at CHS.

Fahringer has taught all levels of English at CHS except junior level English courses. He has also led the high school drama club during his tenure as a teacher.

It was evident to anyone observing Fahringer while teaching that he has had a true, living passion for the job.

"I like interacting with the students," he says. "Most of all, I enjoy teaching literature and poetry and writing."

While social and demographic shifts over the years, both in and out of the classroom, have affected the teaching profession, he says he treats each student as a person and has utilized a number of different approaches, such as journaling, responsive reading, technology and outside material, to maintain the interest level of the students.

For those younger students who may want to spend their lives teaching, Fahringer recommends being well read, having a broad understanding of the world around them and knowing how to use and integrate technology into the classroom and curriculum.

His retirement plans include serving as a substitute teacher in the Catasauqua Area School District during the next academic year, giving guitar lessons and pursuing his love of acting and theater. He says he plans to participate in a number of acting and theater pursuits, including the Touchstone Theater in Bethlehem.

Fahringer added he and his wife, Kathryn Foster, who graduated from Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem in May with a master of divinity degree, will go into a joint ministry together.

In the end, his heart will remain with the high school.

"The kids know each other, we know them," he said of the school district. "It sort of has a family feel to it."