But Joan Gooseman can.
She is retiring next month after a long teaching career from the school she has served for the majority of it, Arthur Street School, in Dunedin.
"I'm sad she is leaving. Miss Gooseman is lovely," pupil Lucy Bell said.
Looking back over her years as a teacher, Miss Gooseman (69) said she had not noticed changes in pupils but said the school system seemed to move in cycles as people rehashed old ideas.
"Children haven't really changed over the years . . . They may appear to be more sophisticated but they are only what we make them, and we need to remember they are only children and not little adults."
For her, the children were the best thing about the job and she loved following the achievements of those she had taught.
"I feel somewhat proud that maybe I helped in some way fit them for their futures.
"Thank you to all those children whom I had the privilege of teaching. You taught me so much about life and how to look at the world through a child's eyes."
While she was looking forward to having more time to "do her own thing", Miss Gooseman still wanted to maintain her ties with the school.
"I'd like to come back as a volunteer," she said, perhaps in a relief position or in reading recovery.
When she left teachers college, she completed her probation at Musselburgh School, where she went as a child, before getting the placement she wanted at Arthur Street.
Miss Gooseman will officially retire on the final day of term, December 16.
