Question for the Teachers on the List

[meboriqua at aol.com]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "Milz" <absinthe at m...> wrote:
 
> My question is how would(do) you, as a teacher, react if a former 
> student e-mails you to say "hello" and to give you a brief update of 
> what that student grew up to be? Would you consider it an invasion 
of privacy or a pleasant surprize?>

I have a few stories about that, and they are all good.

I am happily on summer vacation now, but one of my students pretty 
regularly emails me to tell me how she's doing.  I love it.  We chat 
about her job, MTV, Harry Potter's birthday (she couldn't care less 
but I told her anyway)...  

A while ago (about 6-7 years), I was having lunch in a restaurant on 
the upper west side of Manhattan with a friend and one of my former 
high school teachers walked in with a friend.  I was a bit hesitant to 
approach him (the mini dress I was wearing at the time was holding me 
back), but after I did, he and friend sat with us for lunch and we had 
a great talk.  He told me some stories about my school that left my 
jaw dropped open.  

Before I had approached him, he saw me coming towards him and turned 
to his friend and said, thinking I was coming to flirt, "Oh, there's a 
girl coming to talk to us!" (He started teaching right out of college 
and was still quite young then).  Then I walked up and said "Are you 
Mr. Bridges?"

My point is that most teachers seem to really like keeping in touch 
with their students.  I know I do.  Even if he doesn't remember you, 
he'll feel good that you remember him.

--jenny from ravenclaw*******************************