A Special Career: Dr. Christine Hof Retires After 41 years in Education

Dr. Christine Hof is retiring this year after teaching as a special education professor at Mount Marty for 31 years. The Class of 2024 will be the final group she has taught from freshman orientation classes through graduation as certified teachers. 

Hof began her career with ten years in K-12 school systems in schools around south-eastern South Dakota as well as Montana. She worked with elementary students in the general education classroom for a few years before making the switch to special education. She has worked with children with special needs in early childhood, elementary school, middle school, and gifted programs. 

Within her long career, the world of education and especially, special education has seen drastic changes. Special education laws such as IDEA, which was reauthorized in the 1990s, have shaped the inclusion of students with disabilities and provided them with Individualized Education Plans. Hof says that over her career she has seen improvements in special education for students of all abilities. “The biggest positive change has been in the inclusion of differently-abled students by families, peers, schools, and society as a whole. Witnessing the differently-abled community have a voice like never before has been remarkable,” says Hof.

Hof founded MMU's Special Education Major when she joined the university in 1993. “I have been blessed to be the first and only full-time Associate Professor of Special Education at Mount Marty,” she says. Throughout her years here she has been the sole teacher of all special education classes aside from one block class, professor for the Intro to Teaching class, a student teacher supervisor, and advisor to special education majors.

Senior Alexis Arens reflects fondly on Hof's impact, crediting her with igniting a passion for special education and fostering a supportive learning environment. “One of my favorite things that I loved about having Hof as a professor was her passion for teaching and her ability to advocate for those with exceptional needs,” Arens says. Hof encourages her students to be accepting and supportive as they begin their teaching careers.

Hof's emphasis on individuality and understanding the diverse needs of each student has resonated deeply with her students, shaping their approach to teaching. Arens is graduating this May and is starting her teaching career as a special education teacher in Ashland, Nebraska in the fall. “Because of Hof, I fell in love with special education and accepted a job in this field. If it wasn’t for her insight, motivation, and dedication I wouldn’t be where I am today,” she says.

Arens looks back at Hof’s classes fondly and plans to apply the concepts she learned to her teaching. “I will forever be grateful for our student-teacher partnership that turned into a friendship,” she says. 

Hof says she is looking forward to her retirement and having time to spend with her family and her beloved dogs. Meanwhile, the department is saddened by the loss of Hof but looks forward to a new beginning. “Anytime there's somebody new, you have new perspectives, you have new research that they bring in or that they have been interested in,” says Dr Jennifer Weber, the department head of the education department here at Mount Marty and chair of the current search for a new Special Education Professor.

The hiring committee posted the position a few weeks ago, shortly after Hof announced her retirement. There is a current nationwide and open rank search for a new hire. Mount Marty is looking for a candidate with either a master's or a doctorate in special education.

The search is crucial to the program because of how important the study of special education is to the development of all teacher candidates. “The main need of the program is in the area of the major. We have a lot of minors and we have a lot of people who take a random class here or there just to be more conversant and capable when it comes to students who have some kind of special need,” says Weber.

This position has been filled at the university by Hof since its days as a college. She has also seen multiple generations of students in her classes; for example, senior Quinn Fargo and his mother, alum Katie Fargo, Class of 1999, were both members of Hof’s classes. 

Weber says, “I have seen that she has close relationships with the students who are special education majors. I think she gets them very authentic experiences, and she works really hard to get those students to see the need for specialized education in regular ed classrooms.”

Arens agrees as she cherishes the role model Hof was for her: “She was such a relatable and approachable professor. I aspire to be a teacher like her one day!”

Just like Hof has had an important impact on her students, the opposite is also true. She credits her students with having a strong impact on the longevity of her career, “I find students just as fascinating, and entertaining as I did 40 years ago,” she says. “When I think about how they will go out and change the world I am so proud. My students have kept me engaged and excited about the field of special education for a very long time.”

She utilized differentiated instruction from lectures, tours of facilities related to the field, movies, and more. She also notes the importance of individuality. This lesson has stuck with Arens and many of her students throughout the last four years. 

It’s a lesson reflected in Dr. Hof’s best-known advice, shared with me and many students throughout the years: “When you have met one person with a certain disability, you have just met one person with that disability. No two people that you work with will be the same.”

ABOUT KIAH TRAINOR

Kiah is a Senior Education and English Major from Rapid City South Dakota. She is graduating in May and beginning her teaching career in Alliance NE.