Today as I walked through the office, I commented on a woman's purple spider outfit(no really...it was black with purple spiders all over). She turned around quickly to look at me and said..."DID YOU USE TO TEACH AT ROSEBANK? ARE YOU MR. E THE ART TEACHER?" I said yes(with reservation). "YOU USE TO BE MY ART TEACHER!"( ...long pause as I grab the counter in disbelief..trying to wrap my mind around this WOMAN being my former student....) Her two children walk into the office....and said "Hello Mr. E!". Their mother joyfully explained that I had been her art teacher as well. The girls looked at me in disbelief...with the look of -Mr. E must have road a dinosaur to school! OH MY..THIS IS FOR REAL..I'M TEACHING CHILDREN OF A FORMER STUDENT?!?!?! The office staff and assistant principal were in there laughin' their heads off at the whole situation. "HOW OLD ARE YOU MR. E?" asked my assistant principal.
( Apparently ....OLD...VERY VERY OLD!!!!! ) He went on to tell me that when I started teaching he was graduating high school. To which I told him to shut up & nobody liked him! ha ha (yep..that is showing how mature I am) One of the secretaries did make me feel better....she told me she thought I was in my early 30's. She's my new favorite. I do have to add....I was 23 & the elementary schools were K-6. That first group of 5th & 6th graders are all 27 & 28 yrs old now!!! If I still taught in the same part of town...I'd probably have experienced this sooner!!!! Oh my....where is my walker?!?!
haha! Yep mine are friending me on Facebook showing me their updates of their babies. I too moved schools so I haven't encountered it yet! give me another 3-4 years and I will be with you getting my scooter out of my mini van! :)
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, I feel your pain! On top of photographing a few former students' weddings this past year, I suddenly realized that my very first group of fifth graders are now 24-25 years old and I could be experiencing this same thing too!!!
ReplyDeleteGood thing my Kindergartners think I'm a teenager. Yeesh.
Been there since I am now ....um....huh.....well....but I have taught children of my own students - it is not funny!
ReplyDeleteI am loving this!!! Not even 15 minutes ago all of the high school students in my study hall class were trying to guess my age. Almost every single one got it wrong because they guessed younger - some of them by close to a whole decade younger!! Oh the joys of being Asian and looking completely not my age until I hit my 70s and *BOOM* I turn into a prune seemingly overnight.
ReplyDeleteIt was bound to happen some day, right? embrace it.
ReplyDeleteUmm, this does NOT make you old, or I am ancient; and I prefer to think of myself as about 23 or so.... That said, in my last years teaching, at Open House easily half the parents were former students. And children of former students are now in high school, not just elementary. And teaching in my school in the years prior to my retirement were FOUR of my former students, now colleagues!and two of the, are married to each other! And other former students have been in the school subbing from time to time. But... Remember... I'm only 23, I swear. My silver hair is VERY premature. So put away the walker; if I'm still young, you're just a puppy!
ReplyDeletePhyl, I am having a similar experience right now, although I cannot retire just yet. I've decided that when the first grandchild of a former student walks into my classroom, even if they aren't school age yet, I'm done! It could happen...my oldest student from the past has a 21 year old son. So, Mr. E, I'm with Phyl in this...you are in no way ready for the walker just yet!
DeleteFour of my colleagues are past students who i taught from 1-5th!
ReplyDeleteAmusing post! We are only as old as we feel! My Dad was 29 til the day her passed, when he offered to let me take over 29.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain! Three of our new teachers at my school are younger than my youngest daughter, Miss Carter, who is also an art teacher.
ReplyDeleteIf I lived anywhere close to my first school, I would probably be experiencing the same thing. I realized a few years ago that my first year of Kindergarteners were all out of high school.
ReplyDeleteHappening to me quite often lately! My Family also teases me when we are out in public, I always run into students or former students. It's kind of a family joke, they roll their eyes at me and smirk.:P
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