I've know Patsy , who lives one street over, for many years. Her husband was a teacher and I taught all three of her kids. Patsy does a lot of walking and usually has a little dasch hound or two. We wave and every two years or so I stop and visit. Patsy usually has the same friend , Carrie, walking with her. So this is all very normal stuff.
Carrie is on a naturalist facebook page that I administer. Carrie comments on my photos and posts. Carrie also contributes some awesome photos. So I had a last name for Carrie. It didn't ring a bell as it is a married name
Now the micro manager walks a bit. The micro manager also knows Patsy. The micro manager is a champion visitor so when she meets Patsy there's a big visit. On one of those sidewalk visits it came out that Carrie was Patsy's daughter!
What a pleasant surprise!
I was not thinking daughter at all. Usually there is some resemblance from a middle school student in the adult. Carrie obviously knew who I was but didn't identify herself and probably thought I knew her or should have known her.
So the next time I saw Carrie out for her walk I stopped for a visit. She was waiting for me to stop.
Now I meet many former students. They have some reservations. The biggest reservation is that I will not remember them. It would hurt a former student if you had no recollection of them. Another reservation is that some former students hesitant because of their perception of their own behaviour. Former students quite often think that they were poorly behaved. I looked beyond the poor behaviour . Yes, I had to deal with misbehaviour but I rarely let that be the defining characteristic of the person.
Now I hope I'll meet a few more former students. It's always a pleasant surprise.
That is a surprise. Having taught so many years you still have a lot more students to surprise you!
ReplyDeleteI live in the same district I taught in. I think about 25 % of them stayed in the area.
DeleteI really don't like meeting with former students. It's the main reason that I go by the pseudonym Yorkshire Pudding. A number of the pupils I taught came from angry families where cultural deprivation was embedded and they saw teachers as visible representatives of the respectable society they despised. They never brought us apples, just grief. If I had been a teacher in my own children's old school, it would have been very different.
ReplyDeleteI know that I could have been in a very different school. I was fortunate to teach where I did.
DeleteIt is always nice to meet some old pupils I think. My father was a teacher and always remembered the names of the kids.
ReplyDeleteI remember names but the faces have changed so much that I don't recognize them.
DeleteIsn't that funny? When we taught in Ottawa, we'd look at the news and hope to NOT spot the name of a former student!
ReplyDeleteWell I know about a few of those too. Sad.
DeleteThat is a pleasant surprise. So you taught her but didn't recognize her? I hope she was a good student. That's one reason for not standing out in your memory. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe people I don't remember are those who said I will be good just leave me alone. In other words very quiet kids are hard to remember.
DeleteI've hesitated sometimes because I'm not sure the person I am seeing is the grown-up version of the child I taught or not. I usually go ahead and ask and most of the time I've been right but sometimes I've been wrong and felt silly, too. But as you said, they do love to be remembered and usually there are hugs and a fun chat.
ReplyDeleteI remember the kid but it's hard to recognize the faces.
DeleteHow wonderful to meet one of your former students!
ReplyDeleteI'm fortunate as there are quite a few who chose to live in the neighborhood. Some of them are neighbors on my street. One of them looks after my house when I'm away.
DeleteThat is indeed a nice surprise. Now perhaps you can start the conversation from time to time when you meet on your walks.
ReplyDeleteYes, thee will be many conversations as we are interested in the same things.
DeleteReconnecting with former students must be a pleasant experience, unless they take the opportunity to try and bum money off you. Ha!
ReplyDeleteSome could ask for money but they have enough respect not to ask.
DeleteOf course that would be hard to remember. I cannot believe the comments I read. They prefer not to be connected. Well you are not them. Your who you are. A kind man and a forgiving man. You did the best with the students you had. Yes you get bad apples at times. You get bad teachers. I have had many. Ignorant, bullies. I would of loved you red. Kids that come from bad homes. Not any fault of theirs. Bad kids can be changed. So yes you had a pleasant surprise.
ReplyDeleteHey, I had to be tough. some people thought I wa a way too tough. But some have come back and thanked me for being tough.
DeleteSmall world, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI still live in the same district I taught in.
Deletewhat a pleasant coincidence. I always expect that people won't remember me, and I am surprised when they do.
ReplyDeleteYou're not only surprised but pleased that you are remembered.
DeleteI have so many former students who want to be facebook friends. It turns my facebook into a different kind of post than a family post. Thirty one years of having all kids in art means I don't remember everyone. Maiden names must be share because I can't guess who they married. I bet it was a nice surprise for sure.
ReplyDeleteI have some students on my facebook but not a lot. But then I don't have a lot of friends on facebook.
Deletehow neat to discover a connection!
ReplyDeleteAlways fun.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very nice surprise! What fun it must be to run into your students after so long.
ReplyDeleteFunny that you didn't realize the relationship! I hope kids don't come up to me years from now and expect me to remember them. I'm sure I won't, in some cases. Maybe I'll just fake it. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's tough to recognize former students, and the younger they were when you taught them, the harder it is. We may have gotten older ourselves, but it's unlikely we grew another foot tall or turned into adults!
ReplyDeleteIt pays to be female - it's harder and harder to remember their names, so I get away with "It's so nice to see you again, sweetie!"
That was a pleasant surprise. I sometimes wonder if any of my high school teachers would remember me. I was the bashful backward quiet student that hoped and prayed none of the teachers would call on me for anything. In grades one through seven, I loved school and felt loved by my teachers. Pretty strange. I love your posts and just caught up with the last two. Can't seen to keep up lately.
ReplyDeleteHi Red, You won't be surprised to hear that I enjoyed this post! :-) I couldn't have done a better job of writing up how it feels to see students again after all the years have gone by. You are so right on about how the kids feel, or probably feel. Seattle is such a big city that I'm certain I've seen former students and failed to recognize them. Recently, I was watching the news on TV and saw one of my former students was the Chief of Police in one of the small suburban towns just outside Seattle. I am happy for his success and may just have to drive down there (about an hour) and say HI. What do you think? Would he be surprised? Have a great weekend, Red.
ReplyDeleteWhen you have taught so many kids it must be difficult to remember them all:)
ReplyDeleteI recently picked up two former students as Facebook friends. They live long distances from me. One is a prosecuting attorney in Las Vegas and the other is a professor of mathematics in Kazakhstan.
ReplyDelete