Thursday, March 3, 2016

"REMEMBER ME?" DAY 3 OF THE MARCH SOLSC! #SOL16


I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC; #SOL16) 
hosted by Two Writing Teachers
Each day for the month of March I will be posting a "Slice of Life". 
Please feel free to stop back and check out my other posts here.



"Remember me?"

I have a love/hate relationship with that phrase. 

I was sitting at our local community center with my middle son, while the oldest was at swim team and the youngest was in ballet class. Suddenly, a tall, sweaty basketball player who had gone to get a drink veered over in my direction. He stopped in front of me, tipped his head, and with a hopeful smile said, "Do you remember me?"

I paused...smiled...and said, "I sure remember that face."
He told me his name, and I said, "Absolutely! That was a long time ago."

See, I used to teach 1st & 2nd graders. So, the problem is- there is usually a familiar look to the face, but they've grown and changed into these young adults. 

Give me a minute and I will recognize the young face in there. Give me a name and I will remember for sure. 

And then...the memories come flooding back. The other students in that class. The funny moments. The learning and growth they made. 

So, I hate that I can't automatically remember. But, I love that seeing them let's me remember. And I LOVE that they remember me, remember my class, and bring such great memories back to me.

4 comments:

  1. Isn't it a great feeling to have an older student find you and remember you? And even better that you can remember the year you spent with them?

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  2. One of the best perks of teaching is seeing the ripples of your touch in the waves seeing former students grown up and doing well. So fun to get the "Remember me?" greeting!

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  3. I wrote about this same experience not too long ago. I had him as a 5th graders and he is now a college student. It was a twitch of his nose that gave him away. Great memories...or should I say "remember me-s"

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  4. I love this story about visits with past students - I'm a preschool teacher - imagine the changes I see and the memories. One student didn't exactly like that he was my first case of full on diarrhea I had to deal with!

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