The best thing about being a teacher

A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from a former student, Jessica Collier. She graduated 16 years ago. She was in my AP English class and was one of my volleyball and tennis players. Jessica was one of my favorites. She was a great kid, very kind, hard-working, respectful. Plus, she laughed at all my jokes. I try to treat all of my students the same way but when you teach, some kids get into your heart and never leave.

I'd lost touch with Jessica over the years, but out of the blue a few weeks ago she e-mailed me. Fortunately Shannon and I were going to be in SoCal a couple of weeks after I received Jessica's e-mail so we were able to see her. We met her for dinner one night and she treated us to a day in Disneyland the next day.

I'm including a couple of photos of the two of us. She's the cute one on the right; I'm the chunky guy on the left.


I'm so glad I got a chance to see her. Most of my students leave at graduation and I never see them or hear from them again. I stay in touch with a few, but most move on and live their lives. I think of them often and hope they're happy. Seeing them years later as successful adults is the best thing about being a teacher.