About a month ago, a student I had while TAing in grad school wrote an email to me. She said she'd been discussing TAs with a friend of hers, and wanted to let me know that she remembered me as one who had done a good job. She made my week.
Today, at a coffee shop in my hometown, I passed a teacher I remembered from my grade school days. It wasn't a teacher I'd ever had, but she had made a big difference in my brother's childhood and, I think, in the way he grew up into a dedicated, caring man. I smiled as I passed her but I didn't stop to say hi - I could see she didn't recognize me. But then, a few steps out the door, I turned around. I went back in the room and told her who I was and that I wanted to say thanks for a good job on behalf of my brother.
In the last week, teachers in my state - Wisconsin - have been battling major changes to their union rights, pension plans, and health care costs proposed by our new governor. It turned out this teacher had been conversing with her friends about how the government didn't care about teachers. Hopefully I did my little part to remind her that kids do.
Today, at a coffee shop in my hometown, I passed a teacher I remembered from my grade school days. It wasn't a teacher I'd ever had, but she had made a big difference in my brother's childhood and, I think, in the way he grew up into a dedicated, caring man. I smiled as I passed her but I didn't stop to say hi - I could see she didn't recognize me. But then, a few steps out the door, I turned around. I went back in the room and told her who I was and that I wanted to say thanks for a good job on behalf of my brother.
In the last week, teachers in my state - Wisconsin - have been battling major changes to their union rights, pension plans, and health care costs proposed by our new governor. It turned out this teacher had been conversing with her friends about how the government didn't care about teachers. Hopefully I did my little part to remind her that kids do.
