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Showing posts with the label small towns

Why Being an "Old Teacher" Is Cool

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The Fourth of July is like one big quiz for me, and I love it. John and I walk along the street of our small town, which on this one day of the year is so crowded that it looks like New York City after a Yankee World Series win. As we go, people stop me over and over again to say hello, to reminisce, and to introduce me to their children. "This is my old teacher, Mrs. Herring," they say, and I smile at kids who couldn't care less. While we chat, I'm often frantically filing through my memories for a name. Sometimes the family name comes to mind. Sometimes I get a first name, too, so I can say, "Well, John Smith! How are you doing?" Most times the face is familiar but the name won't come (It usually does after we've gone on a few feet--very frustrating). And sometimes I get nothing. It really doesn't have a lot to do with how memorable a student was in my classroom, though teachers do tend to remember the really good ones and the really bad on