On Setting Expectations In Your Classroom [For The Student You Once Were]
“You’re not old now. You’re old when you start teaching your former students’ kids. THAT’S when you know!”
We laughed. Mr. Herrera is the type of teacher who had a way of reminding people that we should laugh at the process of aging as teachers, especially those of us who love our jobs.
This year, I have the privilege of teaching three students whose siblings I’ve taught. While I absolutely knew two of them since they first waddled in with their older siblings for parent-teacher conference, I had to dig up some information on the third. After checking his facial features and mannerisms, I threw him a lob:
“So … did you ever have any brothers or sisters who came here?”
“Yeah, ummm, my one brother came in 2001 and my other brother Alex came a couple of years after.”