Day 63: Where Are They Now?

Do you ever look back on your teaching career and wonder what's happened to students you've taught in the past?  You know, the student who was so shy and quiet you wondered if s/he ever talked?  Or the student who struggled despite all of your best efforts?  Or the student who drove you to contemplate leaving your professional training behind?  Or the student who made you smile each day with cheerful greetings?

My best friend (I'll call her J.) called me this afternoon to share that she saw a former student at Panera Bread.  Not as a customer, but as an employee.  The (former) student approached J and asked her name; J replied.  The student responded that she saw J come in and knew she knew her.  She proceeded to tell J that she was working right now and preparing to go into the military.  She also gave updates on several of the students who had been in the school J used to work in eight years ago.

After the shock of seeing her former student, J began thinking about the other students she taught over the years and wondered what has happened to them.  Are they successful?  Did they continue struggling through school or did they have a breakthrough?  Basically where are they and what are they up to now?  She said she was going to Google her students or look them up on Facebook.  (This got me thinking of my first class; they are high school juniors already!)

J also began to think of her students in terms of impact.  Meaning, what type of impact did she have on her students?  Was she the teacher who was able to get them turned in the right direction or light a fire of interest in a particular topic?  Was she able to inspire a student to improve their work habits and/or attitude?  Was she a positive role model?

Teaching is a profession where you do not often see the final results of what you have put into to a student.  Good or bad, you as the educator has had an impact on the life of a child.  We like to believe that we have given our students the best of what we have to offer our students--academically, emotionally, and personally.  Even so, sometimes there are those questions of self doubt.  You know the ones:  Did I do enough for so and so?  Was I too hard on so and so?  Did I make a lasting difference?  My friend and I would like to believe that we have made a difference in at least one life in our careers, even if we don't always see the end result.    

There was a speaker at a professional development I attended when I first started teaching.  The speaker ended with the following:  "No matter what the situation at home or ability that walks into your classroom, parents are sending you the very best they have."  As hard as it may be some days, our job is to take the best and make it exceptional.  One student at a time.