Many of my 2116 posts begin with "I was a teacher". Many times I am surprised to meet a former student after many years. It is a great gift to be able to meet someone that I taught many years ago and have a good visit.
A surprising and thrilling meeting took place Thur. evening when I was at a naturalists meeting. The meeting was over and I was ready to leave when a woman came up and introduced herself.
She was a former student and had become a teacher and gone into school administration. She had come back to the school district she grew up in and taught with some of her former teachers. And she just retired recently!
I knew that she was an administrator in the district but I never bumped into her.
We had a great visit reminiscing about our lives and school experiences. By the time we were finished there were very few people left in the hall.
The bonus was that her Dad was the curriculum supervisor in my area. So I caught up with what her Dad had been doing. I had not seen her Dad since 1997 as far as I can remember.
Meeting up with former students is a treat. Meeting up with former students is a gift that keeps on giving. You never know who you're going to meet next.
My daughter is a teacher and has been for the last 24 years in the same school district. Now she find her self teaching along side former students or teaching their children. She likes to keep in touch too!
ReplyDeleteI taught in the same district and had much of the next generation of kids. So former students came in as parents.
DeleteWhat a wonderful meet-up. It made me feel good reading it. Thanks for sharing that.
ReplyDeleteI've had the pleasure of teaching with quite a few former students.
DeleteIt is good to see how someone you have mentored turned out
ReplyDeleteI knew that she was an administrator but I never bumped into her.
DeleteFunnily enough, a former pupil called Jo now works at our local pharmacy. I taught her forty three years ago. She's very nice and most respectful. However, in the last school I worked in, being a teacher was often akin to being a soldier or prison warden and there are many former pupils from that school you simply would not want to meet again. It's rather sad to recognise that.
ReplyDeleteThat word "funnily". I've only heard it used once and it was by a prof from Haiti. I always make sure that former students us my first name.
DeleteI guess that some like to use your nickname - "Dragon Breath".
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteIt is nice you are able to meet up with your former students.
Also, nice to hear that they are doing well. Take care, enjoy your day! Have a wonderful week!
I still live in the same district I taught in.
DeleteWe moved a long way away, so it doesn't happen to me. Actually, in the kind of area where I taught, many students probably also moved away.
ReplyDeleteI would think that more than 50% of our students move away.
DeleteWhat a very pleasant and rewarding experience. All too often we lose touch and are left wondering what happened to people we once knew well.
ReplyDeleteYou're right and I meet very few of them.
DeleteAwww this is such a sweet story! She followed you in your teaching footsteps and now you get to see her at a naturalists meeting! Lots in common!
ReplyDeleteShe's a very outdoorsy person. They go to Great Bear Lake to fish sometimes.
DeleteI'm glad your old students have fond memories of you, Red. That shows you were a great teacher. How nice that she followed you into education!
ReplyDeleteI'm not too sure about fond memories. I have fond memories.
DeleteWhat a wonderful meet up! It must have been a jolt to realize that she's about to retire! But what struck me most about this was that you caught up on what her dad was doing. Does everyone in Canada live forever?
ReplyDeleteWell, her Dad is 91. She has retired. They are outdoor people and have canoed some of the major northern rivers.
DeleteI really find such encounters not just fascinating but a blissful gift dear Red!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how it feels when someone meets a former student who herself is retired now ,wow
The hall emptied while you both were talking,sounds understandable as such special meetings provide one a chance to feel connected to his version long gone!
You indeed are a blessed soul
Yes, I do feel I was fortunate to teach. I always say I would do it over in a heart beat. Now I had a lot to learn .
DeleteIt is so nice to run into someone who knew you back when. And she went into teaching because of you, I suspect. Great story!
ReplyDeleteI would think her Dad influenced her career choice. He was my supervisor.
DeleteI like your stories. I taught in Ottawa, primarily, and like others moved away.
ReplyDeleteThere are certainly advantages to moving.
DeleteIt is great to see former students, for sure!
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter who they are it's always good to have a visit.
DeleteWhat a rewarding story to bump in to someone you haven't seen in years.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of interesting catch up to do.
DeleteAs a teacher you also never know what lasting impact you may have had on former students.
ReplyDeleteSome of the things they tell you are surprising.
DeleteGreat story.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteGood for you! My daughter sometimes runs onto former students too:)
ReplyDeleteMeeting a former teacher is a thrill I remember well.
ReplyDeleteTeaching is rewarding I can see. -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteFunny how when they were kids and in school you met them all over town and when they grow up they're gone.
ReplyDelete"It is a great gift to be able to meet someone that I taught many years ago and have a good visit." So true. Your post brings back a lot of memories.
ReplyDeleteThat does sound lovely, and they must have had fond memories if they came up to you to reminisce.
ReplyDeleteThis is so wonderful! I just love how you've been able to meet so many of your students.
ReplyDeleteI don't see any of my 1st graders from Illinois here in Hawaii. I have heard from some of the parents though and one of my students wrote a book and sent me a copy. :-)
I can see that being a long conversation.
ReplyDelete