Old Kids

Over the past nearly 40 years, I have been either a teacher or principal in five different school districts. (I'm beginning my 12th year at Tech.) Doing the Math, I have interacted with approximately 30,000 students.

I began teaching when I was 21 years old. I still remember those first couple of years vividly and the students who were in my classes. I remember them as fresh faced 17 year olds and then have a sudden jolt of insight realizing that those 17 year olds are now grandparents only four years younger than me.

Once in a great while, one of those 30,000 show up in my life today. I either hear though a mutual acquaintance about them or, on occasion, contact is made directly. About three weeks ago, I got an email from a business manager here in St. Cloud via email: "Are you the Roger Ziemann who taught English in Lewiston, Minnesota?"

Now, my life is really a pretty open book, but I still cast my mind back 22 years and did a quick scan of my life there. Nope, nothing negative came up--so I emailed him back. "Yes." He then emailed me that he was in my Expository Writing class and wondered if I was willing to have a cup of coffee with a former student. Of course, I agreed and am looking forward to reminiscing at Starbuck's.

And, there have been other times throughout my long career that a former student has written an email or letter. It is usually a student who I would never have thought of again. Just a regular great former kid who has blended into the other 29,999 faces. A kid who learned about Hemingway, subject and verb agreement, topic sentences and some nuance of “The Tell Tale Heart."

As the song goes, those were days that "I wore a younger man's clothes." Days of buying my first house, the births of my two children and voting in my first national election. Those were still heady times for me when I was sure that my wit and wisdom were going to change the landscape of not just education but the socio-academic world. I was the very best in the nation at what I did and, in only a short time, President Carter, Paul McCartney or John Updike would call and ask me to help them change the world...they never called.

Instead, I occasionally hear from an old student . . . it is enough to have made all the years worthwhile.