116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
53 years into teaching, Barry Wilson has no plans to retire
The industrial technology and electric car teacher at Kennedy High School is longest tenured in the district
Aug. 23, 2025 5:30 am, Updated: Aug. 25, 2025 7:42 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — Fifty-three years into teaching industrial technology at Kennedy High School, Barry Wilson has no plans to retire.
“It’s weird. I’m the only one who does it. I think I’ve got more years than anyone in Iowa,” said Wilson, 81. “I’ve been sitting at the very same desk in the very same lab” since 1972.
In his classroom, Wilson is known to students by his first name “Barry.” He’s their foreman and supervisor and has serious professional expectations for them.
Wilson has no plans to retire for two reasons. One, “I can’t think of what I would do if I retired. I get bored in the summer. I’m sitting here (at home) with my feet up right now, and I would prefer to be at school building an electric car.”
Two: “We’re having trouble even hiring teachers who can teach the things I do … I’m reluctant to walk out of my classroom. If I walk out of my welding shop, there won’t be anyone who can teach welding.”
Welding, woodworking, automechanics and electric car are among the classes Wilson offers. He teaches about 120 students a semester across six classes.
“I teach things that are alternatives to going to college,” he said.
Students can be “employed in a very high paying job the day they graduate high school” if they take Wilson’s welding course, earn college credit at the Linn County Regional Center and get a certificate in welding.
Cougar Electric Car
Wilson’s pride and joy is the electric car program at Kennedy called Cougar Electric Car. It was launched by him and two students in 1997.
The program is designed to challenge students to build a one-person electric vehicle. Students design and engineer the vehicle to roll safely and efficiently, gain problem solving skills, and compete against other schools.
This class applies what students have learned in math, science and language arts and helps develop communication skills, self-sufficiency and gives students a sense of ownership.
Students race their three cars in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Wisconsin, earning trophies and state championships along the way.
Jamie Vorhees, who graduated from Kennedy in 2018, said she “fell in love” with the shop environment and electric car as a student. Today, she’s a plumber in the Corridor.
One of her fondest memories is working on an electric car through the night to prepare it for competition the next day.
“I’ve had times where a car is broken and you have to fix it in 24 hours because you’re racing. You sacrificed your time. But when we won, he said it was solely our victories,” Vorhees said.
Wilson “encouraged students to think on their own,” Vorhees said. “He never wanted to tell you the answer. If you have a problem, think about how to fix it.”
Vorhees said she was never interested in college, and Wilson’s class gave her opportunities to explore careers that didn’t require a four-year degree.
As one of the few girls in Wilson’s classes, Vorhees said Wilson always made sure she was “treated equally and encouraged.“
Stumbling into a teaching career
Wilson got into teaching by “accident.”
He began his career in steel, working in drafting and design for several companies in the Midwest over the years. He even worked on The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, which was completed in 1968.
When a company he was working for began going bankrupt, he turned to teaching and found a job at Kennedy High School in 1972.
Wilson had a teaching certificate because his college adviser at Iowa State University “forced me into it,” he said. But mostly, he learned on the job.
He later earned a master’s degree in teaching from Coe College.
Resurgence of industrial technology
Throughout his career, Wilson has watched industrial technology classes be downsized. He’s now seeing a resurgence because of the demand for workers in these fields and the promise of good wages.
The Cedar Rapids Community School District is preparing to launch a new program in the fall of 2027 called College and Career Pathways that encourage students to explore career opportunities and graduate with an internship, apprenticeship or community project completed.
Some of the goals of the program are increasing the number of students graduating with industry recognized credentials and college credit, strengthening the community talent pipeline, and increasing students’ future earning potential.
Pathways at Kennedy High School include automotive technology and construction & engineering.
“In some ways, they are moving in the proper direction. I’m just kind of watching to see what goes on,” Wilson said.
Students not as prepared
The students in Wilson’s classes today are not as versed in industrial technology as prior generations, he said.
The first week of Wilson’s class is now spent teaching students how to measure with a ruler and how to use a wrench to loosen or tighten a bolt.
“It’s changed from what we did when I was growing up. I built engines in my garage and mowed people’s lawns. I don’t know what the heck kids are doing these days,” Wilson said.
Powerboat racing
In Wilson’s personal life, he is an avid hydroboat racer, a hobby he stumbled across in his late teens.
The boats are only 12 feet long and travel at speeds over 100 mph, Wilson said. They’re driven by lying down on your belly.
While Wilson still has a hydroboat today, he said he thinks he’s going to start having someone else drive it starting next season.
Personal life
Wilson lives in Cedar Rapids with his wife Linda. His son lives right next door and his grandchildren are two blocks away. He has a 1-year-old great-grandson who he said is “pretty well spoiled by all of us.”
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