i may weep.

when i checked my email this morning, i found the following note from a former michigan state student of mine waiting for me:

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[introductory paragraph wherein former student jogs my memory about who they are, etc., has been omitted to preserve anonymity.
note: the course referred to here was one in american history & culture in which i did all kinds of crazy-ass things involving postmodernity and modernity...i basically gave them a crash course in postmodernism, made them read “the wasteland,” showed episodes of the simpsons, played some laurie anderson for them, made them analyze pepperidge farm chessmen cookies as works of art...and on and on... it was pretty fun, actually.]

Dear Dr. Gaughran, [dude, *DR.* gaughran -- couldn't you just DIE?!!?]

I recently just got back from the Peace Corps about a month ago. Since I've been home I've been analyzing (..almost to an obsessive unhealthy level,) America, culture (I majored in anthropology), and myself. I've run across some old papers I wrote, and thought I'd share with you how much I enjoyed your class. It inspired my critical thinking skills and desire to major in anthropology...which lead me to volunteer for the Peace Corps. I want to thank you and let you know how much that class, and you as a teacher affected my future. (This is where my paranoia of sounding cheesy comes into play...) But nonetheless, I thank you, and wish you all the best.

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this, my friends, is THE HOLY GRAIL of teaching. THIS is what teachers live for -- to have a student, five years later, track you down to tell you that you impacted their life. if it weren't just repulsively self-aggrandizing, i'd print this out and frame it.

though my lungs are filled with mucus and i have a titch of a fever today, my day is now officially a good one.

Comments

[Amy]

I can relate. At my last teaching job, I taught 6th grade science. When one of my former students was in 7th grade, he had to write an essay in English class about an adult who affected his life. His teacher gave me a copy of the essay; it made me weep too. I love being a teacher. :)

[debbie]

dude, that is so awesome. you should totally frame it. maybe put it in a place that only you will see it, but still frame it!

[carol]

I'm in education - a school counselor. I know how it feels to be recognized by former students. One student, who I couldn't even remember, wrote me a letter telling me that I had kept her from attempting suicide due to a conversation I had with her. Wow. That was my Holy Grail. (Thanks for your really nice comment on my site!)

[epiph]

I never knew you had Spartan roots! We'll have to swap stories if I ever make it to another Happy Hour.

Was the course you're referring to IAH 201? It always seemed like instructors of those courses could really do it however they really wanted to.

[epiph]

I never knew you had Spartan roots! We'll have to swap stories a bit next Happy Hour.

Was the course you're referring to IAH 201? It always seemed like the instructors had pretty free reign of that course. I skipped mine most of the time, sadly.

I agree that it's those kids who come back that really make the whole teaching thing worth it.