Double Standard

Something unusual happened today. I was at the Post Office, more appropriately I was in the parking lot. Before I got out of my car, I noticed a student that I had had before in class. I decided to wait in the car until she came out to avoid an uncomfortable meet-and-greet. As this student was exiting the Post Office, a car pulled up next to mine. Through a sheer act of serendipity, the person who got out of the car was one of my elementary school teachers!

In that second, three generations of education were converging into a single point. I did exactly what I didn't want my student to do. I rolled down my window and started hollering at my former teacher. It didn't seem hypocritical to me. I wanted to speak to someone I hadn't seen or heard from in ages. I wanted her to know that I was still out there and remembered her. Most of all, I wanted to thank her dedication and wish her well.

Upon reflection, perhaps that is all any of my former students want from me when they see me out in public. I was excited to see someone with whom I had spent nine months of my life. In the future, I will be more sensitive to that need from my students. The only problem with that is I can never remember their names. I can remember faces, but seldom can I remember their names. I'm not sure if my teacher remembered me or not. That was not the point, right?