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.
