Tireless 100-Year-Old Refuses To Give Up Teaching, Reminds Us What Passion Really Looks Like

This senior has shared her love of teaching for generations, and she shows no signs of slowing down.

Madeline Scotto of Brooklyn, New York, has been teaching at St. Ephrem School since 1954, DNAinfo.com reported. With a career spanning more than half a century, the teacher, who, as a student, was part of the school's first graduating class, celebrated another big milestone last Thursday -- her 100th birthday. And the centenarian has made it very clear she will not be retiring anytime soon, according to Pix11.

"I think helping others really is what made me able to be the person I am at 100. I never look forward to the day that I’ll retire because there will always be something that I can do, I’m sure," Scotto told CBS. "When you’re helping others, you’re helping yourself."

Scotto began working at the school at age 40, as a fill-in for the nuns who had been scheduled to teach, but were in a bus accident coming from St. Ephrem Church's main center in Philadelphia, DNAinfo.com reported. Though the position was originally temporary, she continued teaching math up until 10 years ago, when she became the math bee coach after she started having difficulty hearing.

Scotto, whose five children have all retired before her, says that while her job is a tough, she's all about keeping herself busy.

"Yeah, it’s challenging but that’s what the world is about, you just can’t sit back and do nothing," she told Pix11.

As the 100-year-old rings in another happy year with a big dinner in the company of her children, nine grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren, she says she has every intention of educating young minds for years to come, according to DNAinfo.com.

"Some people like what they’re doing but I have a passion for what I’m doing and when you have a passion for something, you never give up," Scotto told Pix11.

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