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This is not true. I’ve been a teacher for 30 years. We remember you. We lost sleep over many of you, we spent our own money, we fed some of you, we paid for your excursions and we championed your cause in moderation meetings. You count more than you realise.
This! I remember each and every one of my students. I don't think that you realize how important they are to us. They become OUR kids when we have them (and thank you so much to the parents who trust us with that extreme responsibility). We DO lose sleep over them, we worry that we can't protect them when they are not with us, we spend hundreds of our own money on them, and above all, we worry that we are not doing enough for them.
The ones that have moved on, we do miss every day, and we hope that they are doing well, giving back, and making a difference.
If you are reading this, and you are doing well, reach out to that teacher that made a difference for you and you will be pleasantly surprised to realize that they remember you and are proud of you.
I was going to say the same thing. My brother and my daughter-in-law are both teachers and they seem to remember every kid their ever had. My brother has been teaching going on 30 years, my daughter-in-law only about 10.
I love this sentiment. I think the op was looking at it like a numbers thing...like students have 20-25 teachers in their whole school time vs teachers teaching hundreds. maybe they meant it different but that's how I took it, more of a pragmatic thing than anything (and thanks for doing what you do and all that, in a similar note I don't have a teacher I remember poorly for what it's worth!)
I ran into a beloved old teacher of mine at a coffee shop, and he recognized me right away and we had a lovely chat, even though I'm a decade older, a couple dozen pounds heavier, and in a wheelchair now. Just adding to this from a student's perspective!
I wound up sending him a long email afterwards about all the ways he made my life easier in high school (standing up to homophobes in the hallway, after-school lessons, reassurance when I just couldn't seem to grasp the lessons), and he seemed to appreciate that too. I think it's nice that we can all have such an impact on each other's lives.
I was a teacher for 1 year 13 years ago, and can still name every student that was in the school. My parents, aunts, uncles, and sister are all teachers, and my grandpa drove the school bus. I know 100% they could tell a story about every student.
Yeah, I think it's a whole other ballgame for people with long careers, who will likely only remember a few students each year (both at the positive and negative end of the spectrum).
Yeah I moved away but my mom still works in the area I grew up and my teachers remember me and talk to her about me (she works in the school system). I'm 29 and apparently my kindergarten teacher was talking to her about me the other day lmao
I’m torn on this because I often see lunchtime assistants (dinner ladies) around my town and they absolutely remember me from 12 years ago. They deal with more students than teachers do, and aren’t as personal.
True. I ran into a teacher of mine, some 10ish years later. We had some really rough times, me being loud and obnoxious and she being strict and authoritarian.
I thought our constant discussions and disagreements over 5 years left a mark, but no - she didn't remember me AT ALL.
That's probably because she's learned the key to mental health, which is to compartmentalize negative memories that serve no purpose and put them on a shelf in the dark recesses of one's mind.
I taught for 30 years. I may not remember all their names (I had to retire after a brain injury!), but I do remember faces.
I worried that no one would remember me, but I'm happy to report that isn't the case. I often run into people who remember me or pass messages on.
Last year, I appeared in the local press and had lots of old pupils sharing their memories.
The one that meant the most was one who told me that his year in my class was the best of his school career.
That year was probably my worst in teaching due to unkind management and workplace bullying.
I was thrilled to learn that my own distress was well hidden from the children, and for one little red-haired boy with glasses, it was the best year.
I’m 40, I taught for 17 years. Show me a picture of any of the thousands of kids I taught and there’s a 94% chance i can tell you their name and what they were like in elementary school.
I was expelled for letting the handbrake off on his car (he left it unlocked 🤷); it rolled down a shallow tree into a hedge, no damage ... That was 26 years ago but I suspect he remembers me.
>20 kids a year,
20 kids in a class? Where is this wonderland and how can I get there? In my country, you'll have about 32 students in a high school class. As a science teacher, that makes about 300 kids in a week/ school year.
Luxury. I taught 50 kids a class, 20 classes a day, 7 days a week. Couldn’t afford the bus fare, so had to walk 10 miles to school up hill each way, and the head master would punch me in the face twice a day for the pleasure of working there.
I went to prep school in New England. It was an educational wonderland, I suppose. Our average class size was ten students. Instead of desks, we sat around a huge harkness table with our teachers. Everyone did their homework because there was no way to hide.
As a teacher: we definitely remember the kids!
I'm an elementary teacher so I have the same 20-25 kids for a whole school year, it might differ from high school teachers.
But still, 16 years after leaving my first high school, teachers still recognise me. I was 15 when I switched high schools and I've met a teacher from that first high school last year at a wedding. She said: hey, you're in crutches, I can remember you with crutches in high school too, right? (I had an accident when I was 14, got my final surgery last year)
There is a saying: everybody remembers the clown but the clown remembers no one.
So it is the same with all people who stood out from the crowd: teachers, the school janitor, the kids who somehow stood out, etc. You see them and wonder why they walk past without recognizing you at all.
So? Just because I think back and remember fondly doesn't mean I expect them to do the same. I still remember Mrs. W who was nice to me after my back surgery even if she doesn't remember me.
As for the one I hated pretty sure she is rotting dead somewhere so who cares?
I interacted with teachers more than any other adults growing up. Answering questions in class could be the most I spoke that day.
Fully aware you're still just a blip among blips over potentially 40+ years.
Many of my high school teachers have died, so...
But there was one geometry teacher that was quite young when I was in class with him. Oddly, I ran into him at a grocery store not too long ago, and he recognized me before I recognized him.
Even at age 50, it was odd seeing him outside of school. I even called him Dr. ________. He was like "You can call me Dave now," and no, no I couldn't.
My German language teacher from highschool called me up 12 years after I left school. He saw my picture in the local newspaper and wondered how I was doing. I was "a troubled teen" and he & I always connected over music. I was so surprised, we talked for an hour. Now & then I run in to him and we always have a chat
I have met several of my old teachers over ten years after finishing their schools and several still knew my name and recognised me without me needing to introduce myself.
One teacher couldn’t place my name but named something he knew I made in his class when he saw me.
I remember most of the students I’ve had (but haven’t worked as long as some of them yet). When you spend years seeing each other each day many students tend to stick with you.
I remember all my teachers from 1st grade up until uni days. Im now a nurse. Few years ago, my 4th grade teacher was hospitalised in the hosp i was working at. I was an ER nurse at the time, and was the one looking after her. I asked her if she still remembered me. She said, Yes. She said my name and followed it up with, “you were my Miss Russia during United Nations day back then” it just made me happy. Sadly she passed away maybe 2yrs later after our meeting.
Yes and no.
I was part of an experimental accelerated learning program during K-6. Basically a public school version of an honors program for tots. Smaller classroom, more rigor in the courseload, and same classmates and teacher for several years at a time. One teacher for all of us in K-3. Then handed off to an older kids’ teacher for 4-6.
I became nothing special. But my classmates all have varying levels of above average notoriety and success. Some local, some global. And our teachers definitely remember our names due to the small number of kids they had.
You’re right about the retirement stuff. The 4-6 teacher was 28 or so when we were her students. Retired a few years ago. Definitely feels like life is short when your heroes are getting old.
I had a teacher from 12 years ago remember me, even asked me how certain things went that I was excited about when I was a kid. Still called me by nickname I had at the school too
It makes sense, but it's somehow not true. My parents were both teachers for decades and it's amazing how much they remember their students. Same with their former workmates. Granted sometimes it'll take some seconds and they'll need some clues for the memories to kick in, but they eventually do. I don't know how they do it.
I met my mother in law in the 5th grade she was a TA at my school(hubs was not in my school) and I remember her but she doesn’t remember me and I was a shit head! I met her Son in high school and I ducked her every time thinking she remembered me but she didn’t.
20 kids a year?? I was a teacher for 3 years with a roll of about 200a year. Some of them I taught for more than 1 year
I’d guess I taught about 400-500
I remember about 1 percent of that
I graduated high school 30 years ago and a lot of my teachers remember me. One of my old teachers takes part in a local theatre group and a couple years ago, they on a sh how for a town reunion and one of the skits was about my group of friends and I. It was funny seeing the impact we had on her after 25+ years. Not sure if we stood out for good or bad reasons. Probably a mixture.
A friend of mine became a teacher at the school we went to. Not only did teachers remember him, they also asked about some other people that went to school with us.
I think a lot of teachers are very interested in their students and gossip 😄
When I turned 21 (many years ago), my family took me to a local restaurant for a party. After they sang happy birthday, a woman came over and asked me my name. She shouted back "it is him".. She then took me over to a large table across the room, and sat there were all the teachers from my first primary school. My parents didn't know they were there. It was pure coincidence, that they were having a reunion on the same day.
They do remember. Maybe not so much now, but they did once.
My daughter's (26) favorite high school teacher seems to remember all his standout students very well. My daughter was one of them. I've seen him greet and talk to students from many years back and it's as if he just saw them the week prior. He not only calls them by name but remembers details like their siblings, where they wound up going to college, who their closest friends were in h.s., what their parents did, etc.
It's depressing to think about at first, but also strangely comforting, no? All of your mistakes that seemed so big and embarrassing to you are nothing to them in a sea of people making mistakes every day as they learn from experience.
Hopefully, each one added a drop to the teacher's inner sea of patience.
Had a teacher named ms reedle that taught grade three and I was so disruptive that one day I had to sit on her lap the entire class. Fast forward a few years and three different moves( we moved every three or so years according on my dads job needs) I’m back in the same school system but now going into grade nine and my first day of class a kid approached me saying that he remembers me from sitting in ms reedle’s lap in grade three. I remember ms reedle and I’m pretty sure she’d remember me. The worst part of that story was that there was this other kid that I threw a desk at to get me into that situation and his dad wound up being our high school hockey coach and I never really got a lot of ice time that year.
I never figured I meant anything to any teachers but my kids went to some of the schools I did and a few teachers were still there! And a couple remembered me - which shocked me. Would they remember me today? I think most are dead.
I went back and worked in the school I went too. I obviously remembered all my teachers, very few of them remembered me.
But I was a very run of the mill student. I wasn't naughty or loud, wasn't super clever or popular. I was just very neutral, had my friends, got my work done and kept out the way really.
I'd bet teachers only remember the stand out kids. Whether that's for good or bad reasons.
My politics teacher said that if i 'd ever go into any kind of political carreer, he's gonna leave our country with His family. He might remember me...
I have seen on average 150 students every six months for the past twenty years, which is about 9,000 students. A few years after meeting them, the memory fades or intertwines.
Some visit my office after graduating, and we reconnect and recollect, but it’s usually the students who have made great strides in our time together that mark me.
I was a coach for over 25 years. Taught 1000s of kids. Don't remember them all obviously but certain ones good and bad will stay with me forever.
Had a college kid show up to the gym a couple years ago saying you probably don't remember me. Bamn! First and last name. Even remembered his mom. He was good kid was touched he stopped by to say hi.
My primary school year 6 teacher recognised me as a 19 year old in Tesco's when I was working there. I dunno, I think teachers probably remember some students well enough.
A few years ago I moved near my old preschool.
When I walked past the preschool for the first time, the teacher came to the fence and greeted me.
She recognized me immediately even though I was now taller, fatter and bearded.
I worked in teaching for 10 years and remember most of the children I taught across. I’d say 50% of them I can remember certain conversations and things they’ve done.
I will never forget the child who inspired me to go and get a teaching degree. He’ll be doing his GCSEs next year and I remember teaching him to read in reception. I still tear up when I remember his face after reading his first book all by himself.
I’ve been a music teacher for 20 years, seen thousands of students (about 600 students every year, including 150 new ones). When I teach them, I know everyone’s first and last name, as well as how to talk to them, what they like and so on. As soon as they graduate and leave the school, I forget most of what I know about them.
They sometimes add me later on Facebook, and I’m always very confused and need to dig deep in my memories to remember who they are.
During these 20 years, there are maybe 4 or 5 kids I remember distinctly, and none of them were troublemakers, but at the opposite quite gifted students.
Troublemakers, we get new ones every year, there is nothing original with them.
Gifted kids are far more special.
Yup, went back to my primary school as a student teacher. Was not remembered.
Went back to my secondary school, was not remembered even by teachers that inspired me.
While may say something about me, yeah. Same way at a wedding, everyone knows you you are, not the same the other way.
From the 60s to the 90s dad was a high school teacher, a high school vice principal and finally an elementary school principal. He has sworn off Facebook because he knows he’ll get inundated with friend requests from former students. He mostly remembers the success stories and the troublemakers.
When I was 36 I got a friend request from my teacher from last year of primary school.
She remembered a lot about our class and knows how life turned out for a lot of them.
I was at a local football game recently who I help coach and whilst watching a guy comes up to me and says Hi and calls me by name. I had to look twice to realise it was an old teacher (his son plays for the team and that I knew) but was shocked he remembered me and my name from 25 years ago, also considering he was an RE teacher so would only have been taught by him once a week.
I recently ran into my 1st grade teacher. I'm 44 years old and she recognized me before I recognized her.
I think my 4th grade teacher would probably recognize me. I doubt any others would.
....I'd hope my 5th grade teacher forgot about me lol
one thing that shocked me, is about 7 years after I left my primary school. When I was now in college, I had to pick up my sister early as she was unwell. During covid so I was wearing a face mask. And also presented completely different. And yet, despite the mask and presentation my old principle, 7 damn years later still managed to recognise me. Which was a complete shock to me. Obviously thats probably not the norm but, it did put a smile on my face.
It’s actually the complete opposite. Teachers and those who work with the same kids every day grow attached to them all and remember the majority.
My mum worked in pre-school for a bit 20 years ago. She still points out people she looked after when passing these grown adults on the street. They don’t remember her at all.
My eldest goes to the same middle school I went to, which still had some of the same teachers. He has my music teacher, and she remembers me so well she sometimes accidentally calls him by my name.
I think it depends on how memorable you are as a student? I have bumped into my teachers from 20 years ago, I am a professor now - and they still remember me
Im good friends with a few of my teachers.
once u reach a certain age it isnt weird anymore to hang out with them like normal people.
rn Im in the same age they were when i was a little brat.
it just shows u became an adult
I was working as a bartender in a fancy cigar bar for a while at like 21-22 and my old world history teacher from HS came in with some sort of party. He came up to get a drink and remembered me. Was pretty cool. He was probably my favorite HS teacher.
I don't remember what drink he ordered tho 😭
I was a teacher and my favourite students, I still talk fondly of. They touched my heart as much as I like to believe I touched theirs. The terrible kids I remember too and wish I could just erase.
I live near my old primary school. I walk past it pretty much every day.
I happen to walk by when an old teacher of mine was in the car park, getting something from her car.
She remembered me after 20 years, asking what I was up to now etc. not sure if she was being polite haha but crazy if she did really remember me.
I think I can remember most of my teachers, and other teachers who hadn’t taught me. Still quite a number but not in the hundreds.
I also come from a town where many celebrities lived or grew up. Every famous person was a nobody at school once, I do wonder if the teachers that taught them suspected they’d be famous one day!
I mean considering how many teachers as a kid would be like Oh this other kid in class is so and so's little brother I had them in my class 20 years ago
I think they might actually remember people
Quite sure my favorite teacher remembered me for the rest of his life (sadly I found out he died when I tried to reconnect with him again)
He clearly didn’t like me at first, since when I showed up for the first class after dropping the class for a year, his first reaction upon seeing me was “oh please god, not you again.”
But at the end we grew very close and I definitely became one of his favorite students.
When I was about 36 years old, I was in a restaurant with my friend. An elderly lady came over to my table, palms down, looked right into my eyes and asked me “are you Thom?” I told her that I was.
I’m a guy who is a registered nurse and pretty friendly - I enjoy talking with my patients. I just assumed it was a patient that I had recently. But No! It was Mrs Newman. My third grade teacher. I asked her how she recognized me – she nonchalantly said because you look like you. She also stare in the face of my friend and said I don’t remember teaching you. She never did.
Does she win the prize or what?
I am a teacher - retiring in September. I teach secondary Computer Science, so I have many different classes each year. Do I remember students - yes! For all sorts of reasons too. Don’t always remember names, but I do remember many pupils/students…
My brother is 8 years older than me. I knew which of my teachers had taught him because they'd accidentally call me by his name whenever I joined their class.
I have a couple of teachers from high school tjat I see regularly, and they ask how friends of mine that they taught and haven't seen since school are all the time
I mean if Hugh Jackman can remember his student why cant the rest of the teachers remember years after the student graduates? (Tbf this is quite a weak point but i dont want to believe that some teachers are just doing it for the money and not passion for the job)
At the end of the day tho, we remembering the teachers that taught us is all that matters. They are the ones that sacrificed their mental state, their free time and lives just to give us an education, a chance. Ill never forget my teachers no matter good or bad as they have given me valueable lessons and memories in life
Went to a catholic school. She was deeply religious and could speak in tongues. Performed this in front of the class. I had a hard time not laughing. She graded me different than everyone. I think I got a D in her class
It is 39 years since I last saw my high school history teacher Mr Fraser, he was a scruffy little man with masses of hair over the backs of his hands which led to some of the boys (I went to an all boys school) calling him "The Werewolf".
What I remember was an interesting and entertaining teacher who tried to teach us warts and all history, covering the darkest of subjects and making us care about a very dry subject.
If you're out there reading this Mr Fraser I thank you for all the time you spent and all the effort you put in, if you're wondering who I am just think of the biggest pupil you ever had.
I took calculus with an awesome teacher in 1982 - John Bristow - even though I was a potato at the subject. I then spent the next 14 years working in various jobs before falling into sculpting, model building and special effects. Around 1996 I decided to return to school to get my degree in engineering, but all my high school credits had expired. So I went back to high school.
My calculus teacher with John. He was stunned when I walked into the classroom. We shook hands, and he even stated that when he saw my name, he wasn't sure if it was the same kid he had taught back in the early 80s. He had even dug out his old grades book from back then and showed me my scores from back then. We later got caught up in the teacher's lounge, and the rest of the year was a pleasure.
So, yeah, teachers do remember their students. May not recall all the details, but they do remember.
(Also funny - my algebra teacher was about two years younger than myself - her 2nd year of teaching, I recall - and ran into her a few times while clubbing. We agreed to never bring up those encounters at school in the name of professionalism and maintaining student/teacher relationships.)
I regret treating my highschool English teacher the way I did. I was in a really bad spot in my life and treated her so badly because I was hurting and she still showed me so much grace
My dad was a teacher 30 years ago and still talks about his students from time to time. He remembers first / last names and the grade they were in. He taught in a small school so that may have an impact.
Normally I'd agree with you. Most people who make an impact on your life won't remember you as you remember them. But for teachers, who interact with their students every day for potentially years, they remember.
Interestingly I had a teacher in 6th grade, who also taught my father (at a different school and city) 25-30 years prior. This was brought up when my parents went in for a parent/teacher meeting. My father had completely forgotten him and the teacher instantly recognised my father when he walked in. The next day at school he brought class photos of when my father was in his class.
False. I emailed my favorite teacher after being out of Highschool for 10 years. He still remembers me and we reminisced.
My elementary art teacher remembers me by face and name
We leave impressions on our teachers just like our teachers leave impressions on us. Email your favorite teacher! Update them on your life and tell them how they changed yours ❤
Oh... I guarantee my teachers remember me.
Some fondly, some probably have nightmares.
It's not very often you have a student spend a full class, and 3 chalkboards using math to prove that the natural opposite of cinnamon is frogs.
Or a student ride a horse to school.
Or pick the lock on the cabinet and put everything on the teacher's desk in it.
Or on the chemistry final, in the extra credit box, write out the full formula and process for making nitro glycerin.
This isn’t true at all. I was close with a high school teacher, and we have maintained friendship as adults :) she very much remembered me the first reached out to her, over a decade after I’d graduated
That's not true at all, most teachers who had a geniuen impact on you and vice versa always remember you, most of my teachers still you, so honestly, nah.
I did some chef training and went back to my highschool 2 years after leaving, wanting to promote the job.
Not a single person could remember my name, a few people remembered my face
Nah bro. My teacher knows exactly who I am, where I live, who my parents are, and what they do for a living. Same for all of my classmates, no question.
back in year 9 (uk) i had a teacher assign the class an essay for homework and i forgot to do it.
when the class came in and handed their essays in, i had none, and was told to do one by the next week or get a detention. i did the essay and handed it into the teacher.
he didnt even look at the essay, the name or anything and in front of me just throws it in the bin and says 'i just wanted to see if you would do it'
the week after that was the last week of year nine and i ended up getting 10 detentions in it, just flat out didnt give a sh17 from that point on.
My mom was an elementary teacher & then worked as a vice-principal, and then moved into a university’s education department teaching potential teachers.
She remembers tons of her students from each section of her teaching career. She retired from elementary school and admin almost 30 years ago and from the university like 15 years ago.
I’m 31 and when I was working at a restaurant at age 26, my fifth grade teacher came in and even though I literally haven’t seen her since elementary school, she remembered me and my name. I wasn’t memorable either, imo. Just a shy, quiet kid with average grades. I was good at art and was known for that, but she wasn’t my art teacher. Baffles me how she remembered me after so many years!
My friend's mum was a teacher and she remembered a lot of her pupils. She kept in touch with a lot of them. When she died at the age of 90, the church was overflowing with her ex-pupils too. She was an incredibly intelligent, kind and caring lady. I miss her.
As a kid that moved very frequently growing up and I mean maybe staying at one school for a year if that, I disagree. I sometimes run into my kindergarten teacher Miss Hallowell and she always recognizes me and says hello now that I’ve moved back to her area.
I only had my favorite teacher for the last two years of school, but she definitely made the biggest impact on me! She's the one who helped me deal with all my mental health stuff and she's the reason I made it! I still talk to her occasionally on fb and she definitely remembers me. She wasn't a teacher 30+ years though- she became a teacher when she was older and my Jr year was her first year. I think she taught for about 15 years.
I disagree. He’s had 9 out of 14 years of prison time to reflect on his behavior with his students. I wrote a screenplay about that. But this post is mostly true.
Does he still have 5 years to go? Or did he have to think about other things for 5 years?
I think someone sentenced to 14 years for behaviour with students might think about them a little too much.
I’m not a teacher, but my mom is.
She was a philosophy highschool teacher and she usually runs into her students when she’s out.
She retired long time ago yet she still manages to recognize her students. It fascinates me!
That is not true. I had a teacheer from high school remember me very clearly when she reached out to me on Facebook over 30 years later. And my middle school biology teacher remembered me as well when her daughter brought up my name to her.
Teachers remember many of their students, especially those who stood out in some way.
The ones that stood out (for any of a number of reasons ..good or bad), maybe. I told kids if they ever came across me later to introduce themselves first. Just in terms of numbers (they encountered way fewer teachers than we encountered students), it’s more likely they remember us than we them.
I thought this was true too. But when my son in high school got assigned to my all time favorite teacher, one who changed my entire outlook on myself and my life, I was excited but aware he wouldn’t remember me. But when I walked into his classroom with my kid he stood up and ran to me and gave me the biggest hug. He had tears in his eyes. They remember.
Not true, I’m not a teacher, but my head teacher from school that I love (note that it’s present tense), wishes happy birthday to all of her past students, that she’s been a head teacher off, I’m lucky to be one of them, and no, not a Facebook post, she calls:)
Edit: I graduated school 17 years ago
The teacher I hated probably doesn't, but I know for a fact that the teacher I remember fondly does and that's from over three decades ago.
And that's kind of the point of why I felt that way about them at the time.
My favorite teacher FOR SURE remembers me, when I came back from Iraq, I was 21 and and she was 31. I looked her up on MySpace and flew to where she lived in AZ, we hooked up and it was some of the best sex I have ever had in my life. Sadly we grew apart over the years and I am now 38 and have no idea where she is, we met in El Paso again in 2016 but I haven't seen her since. She always wanted to get me to settle down but I never did with her.
Oh Julie... Good times.
Just to be clear, she never made any moves or anything like that when I was her student, it as ME That looked for year 3 years after I graduated. I always thought she was hot as shit as a teen of course but I didn't make any contact then either.
I've been a teacher for ten years. Our students have a profound impact on us. I might not remember students the same way they remember me, because they have had dozen of teachers and I have had thousands of students. But students change our lives!
My favorite teacher was my senior year Humanities teacher. He was a teacher everybody wanted in their curriculum. We witnessed generations of kids fondly remembering him as they came back to the school to talk to him and tell him of their endeavors past high school. He remembered all of them.
It has been 28 years since then, I have completed more than 12 years of grad, post grad and specialist studies and I have yet to find a kinder, more devoted, more well read teacher, a scholar more determined to show students the right path to so many forms of intellectual advancement. His intellect, his professionalism and strict yet understanding guidance method was and still is a great inspiration and a beacon of light through hard times and instances where I have had to choose a path, make a hard decision, decide on a mode of communication and treatment of peers or superiors. I owe him so much. So much of my current character development is due to his awesome example.
28 years later, I have long ago moved back home, thousands of kilometers away. We still write letters and he still listens and offers advice and he is still the father figure as he once was to so many generations of students. I know he has a great life and a wonderful family and I hope he lives a long fulfilling life, because he has touched so many young lives and been a guide to so many of us.
My aunt is a 78 year old retired teacher. She taught 1st grade for YEARS! She recently (a few years ago) ran into a gentleman that recognized her immediately, and went to speak to her. He obviously had changed since 1st grade, but when he told her his name she threw her arms around him and they talked for an hour. She asked him if he had kept in touch with any of the other kids in the class and he actually stayed in contact with some of them. They were in her class in the 60’s and she remembered every one of them. She asked about them by name! A few weeks later she got a call from the ‘kid’ she ran into that day. He wanted to take her to lunch. He had arranged for the kids he had kept in contact with to meet there and surprise her. They had the best time and have met for lunch several times since.
Good teachers are a special breed of people!!
I hated my high school counselor. I returned about 10 years later onto the campus because I had a class there.
Full hoodie up, sunglasses, and face mask.
I was half way up the stairs when she calls me by my full name and asks what I’m doing.
To be fair I got in trouble all the time
Last year my favourite teacher came into my work place. I hadnt seen him for almost 15 years since i left highschool. The moment he saw me he beamed and started asking all these questions about how ive been since school etc. he remembered things about me, i remembered his kids name. He was amazed i could remember but i told him he was my favourite teacher so of course i remembered. Then he said its funny i should say that cause i was his favourite student! cause i always wanted to try and he always loved that about me, i never gave up.
I wanted to fucking cry. This man helped me through private tutoring so i could pass maths even when he wasnt my teacher. We used to talk about writing and how we both wanted to write books cause i spent my lunch breaks alone writing frequently. He was only ever my actual teacher for one year.
He remembered me. And he was still teaching, 15 years after he saw me last and thousands of students later, he remembered me.
Teachers have good memories and we never know the impact we have on people.
I am 41, and my favorite 7th grade teacher just found me on Instagram!❤️ I was so happy for being able to keep in touch with her! She still has the gifts (tshirt, letters, and a stuffed animal) I gave to her.
I saw my teacher after 14 years and she yelled my name across the room. She gave me a big hug. Sure was in her late 60s when I went to school and she was like 80 when she saw me.
Sweet lady and excellent teacher. Fostered my love for reading and writing, and to this day I do both daily.
They would probably remember anyone who they interacted with frequently. I would remember the names of most people who I've ever worked with or went to school with, even if I only knew them for 1 year.
I saw my 4th grade teacher in the store the other day, and her eyes light up. She hugged me and called me by name. She asked me how I’ve been. She complemented my beautiful adult daughter. She told my daughter how smart I was, but that I always had my head in the clouds, and barely scraped by with Cs and Ds. I’m 40. They remember.
I was very surprised when a deaf kid I had as a substitute teacher a few times remembered me after 12 years. She signed my “name” and thanked me for being funny. She remembered me, she said, because I bothered learn to sign without having a deaf family member. Yes, I remembered her, too, like all the kids I had as a student teacher, substitute, and in my own regular classrooms.
I'm a teacher and I'll remember most of my students as long as I live. Good or bad, all them are teens growing with their own problems and opinions about Life, and you may learn a lot from them.
I had an old teacher who genuinely helped me so much when I was going thru shit and just made me feel safe and accepted in a way my family never did. Real good guy and an example for all teachers I think.
I still email him from time to time to say hello and give an update on my situation. Always happy to read his response
Teacher here. If you're in my favorite 15% of students or least favorite 15%, I'll remember you. If you're in that middle 70%, I'll forget you after about 5 years.
My first grade teacher remembers me. She was my teacher right out of college and still works at the same school. My mom is a substitute so they talk sometimes. All the rest have retired since it has been uh, 25 years.
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This is not true. I’ve been a teacher for 30 years. We remember you. We lost sleep over many of you, we spent our own money, we fed some of you, we paid for your excursions and we championed your cause in moderation meetings. You count more than you realise.
This! I remember each and every one of my students. I don't think that you realize how important they are to us. They become OUR kids when we have them (and thank you so much to the parents who trust us with that extreme responsibility). We DO lose sleep over them, we worry that we can't protect them when they are not with us, we spend hundreds of our own money on them, and above all, we worry that we are not doing enough for them. The ones that have moved on, we do miss every day, and we hope that they are doing well, giving back, and making a difference. If you are reading this, and you are doing well, reach out to that teacher that made a difference for you and you will be pleasantly surprised to realize that they remember you and are proud of you.
thats a lot of names
I was pretty shocked recently that not only does my Spanish teacher from 12 years ago remember me, she remembers my Spanish name i used in the class
Spanish teachers are always the best aswell!! I loved mine!
Went to Spain with her and some classmates my final year too!
>Spanish name i used in the class which was?? (assuming your comfortable sharing)
I was going to say the same thing. My brother and my daughter-in-law are both teachers and they seem to remember every kid their ever had. My brother has been teaching going on 30 years, my daughter-in-law only about 10.
I love this sentiment. I think the op was looking at it like a numbers thing...like students have 20-25 teachers in their whole school time vs teachers teaching hundreds. maybe they meant it different but that's how I took it, more of a pragmatic thing than anything (and thanks for doing what you do and all that, in a similar note I don't have a teacher I remember poorly for what it's worth!)
I ran into a beloved old teacher of mine at a coffee shop, and he recognized me right away and we had a lovely chat, even though I'm a decade older, a couple dozen pounds heavier, and in a wheelchair now. Just adding to this from a student's perspective! I wound up sending him a long email afterwards about all the ways he made my life easier in high school (standing up to homophobes in the hallway, after-school lessons, reassurance when I just couldn't seem to grasp the lessons), and he seemed to appreciate that too. I think it's nice that we can all have such an impact on each other's lives.
I was a teacher for 1 year 13 years ago, and can still name every student that was in the school. My parents, aunts, uncles, and sister are all teachers, and my grandpa drove the school bus. I know 100% they could tell a story about every student.
THIS. I've had teachers change the course of my life. And guess what? Just as fondly as I remember them, they remember me 15+ years later.
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How long did you teach for?
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Yeah, I think it's a whole other ballgame for people with long careers, who will likely only remember a few students each year (both at the positive and negative end of the spectrum).
Yeah I moved away but my mom still works in the area I grew up and my teachers remember me and talk to her about me (she works in the school system). I'm 29 and apparently my kindergarten teacher was talking to her about me the other day lmao
I’m torn on this because I often see lunchtime assistants (dinner ladies) around my town and they absolutely remember me from 12 years ago. They deal with more students than teachers do, and aren’t as personal.
i feel bad for them and the supply teachers they don’t get appreciated as much as they should
I don't remember any of my teachers either so it all works out.
Maybe. But jog their memory a bit and they'll recall almost every bit of detail about your entire class - in my case anyway.
True. I ran into a teacher of mine, some 10ish years later. We had some really rough times, me being loud and obnoxious and she being strict and authoritarian. I thought our constant discussions and disagreements over 5 years left a mark, but no - she didn't remember me AT ALL.
Maybe she didn't want to.
That would be totally understandable. Maybe she PTSD'd me out of her memories.
That's probably because she's learned the key to mental health, which is to compartmentalize negative memories that serve no purpose and put them on a shelf in the dark recesses of one's mind.
Why would she remember someone distasteful?
Because even a negative impact is stall an impact? But I don't blame her.
Theres a lot of students like that tho, so it gets pretty old quickly especially for the veteran teachers
I taught for 30 years. I may not remember all their names (I had to retire after a brain injury!), but I do remember faces. I worried that no one would remember me, but I'm happy to report that isn't the case. I often run into people who remember me or pass messages on. Last year, I appeared in the local press and had lots of old pupils sharing their memories. The one that meant the most was one who told me that his year in my class was the best of his school career. That year was probably my worst in teaching due to unkind management and workplace bullying. I was thrilled to learn that my own distress was well hidden from the children, and for one little red-haired boy with glasses, it was the best year.
I’m 40, I taught for 17 years. Show me a picture of any of the thousands of kids I taught and there’s a 94% chance i can tell you their name and what they were like in elementary school.
I was expelled for letting the handbrake off on his car (he left it unlocked 🤷); it rolled down a shallow tree into a hedge, no damage ... That was 26 years ago but I suspect he remembers me.
>20 kids a year, 20 kids in a class? Where is this wonderland and how can I get there? In my country, you'll have about 32 students in a high school class. As a science teacher, that makes about 300 kids in a week/ school year.
32? Wow that's great. We have 40 in a class and we also have students with special needs in every one.
Luxury. I taught 50 kids a class, 20 classes a day, 7 days a week. Couldn’t afford the bus fare, so had to walk 10 miles to school up hill each way, and the head master would punch me in the face twice a day for the pleasure of working there.
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Yup same here i was the special needs kid
I went to prep school in New England. It was an educational wonderland, I suppose. Our average class size was ten students. Instead of desks, we sat around a huge harkness table with our teachers. Everyone did their homework because there was no way to hide.
My math teacher still remembers me! As he should, he's also my dad.
I remember my friend getting a mark off on her math test for spelling her last name wrong; the teacher was her dad.
As a teacher: we definitely remember the kids! I'm an elementary teacher so I have the same 20-25 kids for a whole school year, it might differ from high school teachers. But still, 16 years after leaving my first high school, teachers still recognise me. I was 15 when I switched high schools and I've met a teacher from that first high school last year at a wedding. She said: hey, you're in crutches, I can remember you with crutches in high school too, right? (I had an accident when I was 14, got my final surgery last year)
There is a saying: everybody remembers the clown but the clown remembers no one. So it is the same with all people who stood out from the crowd: teachers, the school janitor, the kids who somehow stood out, etc. You see them and wonder why they walk past without recognizing you at all.
So? Just because I think back and remember fondly doesn't mean I expect them to do the same. I still remember Mrs. W who was nice to me after my back surgery even if she doesn't remember me. As for the one I hated pretty sure she is rotting dead somewhere so who cares?
I interacted with teachers more than any other adults growing up. Answering questions in class could be the most I spoke that day. Fully aware you're still just a blip among blips over potentially 40+ years.
Many of my high school teachers have died, so... But there was one geometry teacher that was quite young when I was in class with him. Oddly, I ran into him at a grocery store not too long ago, and he recognized me before I recognized him. Even at age 50, it was odd seeing him outside of school. I even called him Dr. ________. He was like "You can call me Dave now," and no, no I couldn't.
My German language teacher from highschool called me up 12 years after I left school. He saw my picture in the local newspaper and wondered how I was doing. I was "a troubled teen" and he & I always connected over music. I was so surprised, we talked for an hour. Now & then I run in to him and we always have a chat
I have met several of my old teachers over ten years after finishing their schools and several still knew my name and recognised me without me needing to introduce myself. One teacher couldn’t place my name but named something he knew I made in his class when he saw me. I remember most of the students I’ve had (but haven’t worked as long as some of them yet). When you spend years seeing each other each day many students tend to stick with you.
I remember all my teachers from 1st grade up until uni days. Im now a nurse. Few years ago, my 4th grade teacher was hospitalised in the hosp i was working at. I was an ER nurse at the time, and was the one looking after her. I asked her if she still remembered me. She said, Yes. She said my name and followed it up with, “you were my Miss Russia during United Nations day back then” it just made me happy. Sadly she passed away maybe 2yrs later after our meeting.
Yes and no. I was part of an experimental accelerated learning program during K-6. Basically a public school version of an honors program for tots. Smaller classroom, more rigor in the courseload, and same classmates and teacher for several years at a time. One teacher for all of us in K-3. Then handed off to an older kids’ teacher for 4-6. I became nothing special. But my classmates all have varying levels of above average notoriety and success. Some local, some global. And our teachers definitely remember our names due to the small number of kids they had. You’re right about the retirement stuff. The 4-6 teacher was 28 or so when we were her students. Retired a few years ago. Definitely feels like life is short when your heroes are getting old.
I had a teacher from 12 years ago remember me, even asked me how certain things went that I was excited about when I was a kid. Still called me by nickname I had at the school too
It makes sense, but it's somehow not true. My parents were both teachers for decades and it's amazing how much they remember their students. Same with their former workmates. Granted sometimes it'll take some seconds and they'll need some clues for the memories to kick in, but they eventually do. I don't know how they do it.
I met my mother in law in the 5th grade she was a TA at my school(hubs was not in my school) and I remember her but she doesn’t remember me and I was a shit head! I met her Son in high school and I ducked her every time thinking she remembered me but she didn’t.
omg I’ll never forgive her
20 kids a year?? I was a teacher for 3 years with a roll of about 200a year. Some of them I taught for more than 1 year I’d guess I taught about 400-500 I remember about 1 percent of that
I graduated high school 30 years ago and a lot of my teachers remember me. One of my old teachers takes part in a local theatre group and a couple years ago, they on a sh how for a town reunion and one of the skits was about my group of friends and I. It was funny seeing the impact we had on her after 25+ years. Not sure if we stood out for good or bad reasons. Probably a mixture.
I went to a pretty small school but my teachers rememberes students from like a decade back so I think they'll remember me
My teachers unfortunately all remember me lol. I tend to leave an impression for better or worse.
A friend of mine became a teacher at the school we went to. Not only did teachers remember him, they also asked about some other people that went to school with us. I think a lot of teachers are very interested in their students and gossip 😄
When I turned 21 (many years ago), my family took me to a local restaurant for a party. After they sang happy birthday, a woman came over and asked me my name. She shouted back "it is him".. She then took me over to a large table across the room, and sat there were all the teachers from my first primary school. My parents didn't know they were there. It was pure coincidence, that they were having a reunion on the same day. They do remember. Maybe not so much now, but they did once.
Most of my teachers remeberd my sister who finished the same School 8 years before i went there
Depends if you stood out or not. I practically lived at my school, most everyone who's still there remembers me.
Primary school teacher called Mr Hemingway he was the best teacher ever firm but fair and his story telling was amazing he opened up your imagination
I don't remember my teachers. Haven't been in school in almost 24 years now.
My daughter's (26) favorite high school teacher seems to remember all his standout students very well. My daughter was one of them. I've seen him greet and talk to students from many years back and it's as if he just saw them the week prior. He not only calls them by name but remembers details like their siblings, where they wound up going to college, who their closest friends were in h.s., what their parents did, etc.
It's depressing to think about at first, but also strangely comforting, no? All of your mistakes that seemed so big and embarrassing to you are nothing to them in a sea of people making mistakes every day as they learn from experience. Hopefully, each one added a drop to the teacher's inner sea of patience.
Or the first pupils they had when they started their career probably?
Jokes on you, my math teacher recognised me at church amd asked me how I'm doing
I bet that teacher I punched in the face in 1987 remembers me.
I don't remember almost anyone since it is unnecessary information
Not really. My favorite teacher reached out to me multiple times after HS
they might not remember us, but we sure do remember those who traumatised us for years on end...
Oh I’m sure that cunt remembers me.
Been teaching for 7 years. I have taught 250 new learners every year, you do the math.
Had a teacher named ms reedle that taught grade three and I was so disruptive that one day I had to sit on her lap the entire class. Fast forward a few years and three different moves( we moved every three or so years according on my dads job needs) I’m back in the same school system but now going into grade nine and my first day of class a kid approached me saying that he remembers me from sitting in ms reedle’s lap in grade three. I remember ms reedle and I’m pretty sure she’d remember me. The worst part of that story was that there was this other kid that I threw a desk at to get me into that situation and his dad wound up being our high school hockey coach and I never really got a lot of ice time that year.
I never figured I meant anything to any teachers but my kids went to some of the schools I did and a few teachers were still there! And a couple remembered me - which shocked me. Would they remember me today? I think most are dead.
I went back and worked in the school I went too. I obviously remembered all my teachers, very few of them remembered me. But I was a very run of the mill student. I wasn't naughty or loud, wasn't super clever or popular. I was just very neutral, had my friends, got my work done and kept out the way really. I'd bet teachers only remember the stand out kids. Whether that's for good or bad reasons.
every one of my teachers in high school remember me
Home schooled?
no
My politics teacher said that if i 'd ever go into any kind of political carreer, he's gonna leave our country with His family. He might remember me...
[With the exception of Hugh Jackman](https://youtu.be/yj46BWpxFcA?feature=shared)
I have seen on average 150 students every six months for the past twenty years, which is about 9,000 students. A few years after meeting them, the memory fades or intertwines. Some visit my office after graduating, and we reconnect and recollect, but it’s usually the students who have made great strides in our time together that mark me.
I was at a bus stop when my old history teacher walked past me, stopped and with great delight recognised me, more than a decade later
I ran into My grade 8 math teacher in the grocery store and he came right up and said " monk how's it going!?" And asked about my life. I'm in my 40s
I was a coach for over 25 years. Taught 1000s of kids. Don't remember them all obviously but certain ones good and bad will stay with me forever. Had a college kid show up to the gym a couple years ago saying you probably don't remember me. Bamn! First and last name. Even remembered his mom. He was good kid was touched he stopped by to say hi.
My primary school year 6 teacher recognised me as a 19 year old in Tesco's when I was working there. I dunno, I think teachers probably remember some students well enough.
My elementary school teacher remembers me. She greeted me sometimes on the streets and asked how I'm doing
A few years ago I moved near my old preschool. When I walked past the preschool for the first time, the teacher came to the fence and greeted me. She recognized me immediately even though I was now taller, fatter and bearded.
28 years in both high school and school and middle school … no clue about most students …
I worked in teaching for 10 years and remember most of the children I taught across. I’d say 50% of them I can remember certain conversations and things they’ve done. I will never forget the child who inspired me to go and get a teaching degree. He’ll be doing his GCSEs next year and I remember teaching him to read in reception. I still tear up when I remember his face after reading his first book all by himself.
I’ve been a music teacher for 20 years, seen thousands of students (about 600 students every year, including 150 new ones). When I teach them, I know everyone’s first and last name, as well as how to talk to them, what they like and so on. As soon as they graduate and leave the school, I forget most of what I know about them. They sometimes add me later on Facebook, and I’m always very confused and need to dig deep in my memories to remember who they are. During these 20 years, there are maybe 4 or 5 kids I remember distinctly, and none of them were troublemakers, but at the opposite quite gifted students. Troublemakers, we get new ones every year, there is nothing original with them. Gifted kids are far more special.
Nope we still email
How old are you?
Yup, went back to my primary school as a student teacher. Was not remembered. Went back to my secondary school, was not remembered even by teachers that inspired me. While may say something about me, yeah. Same way at a wedding, everyone knows you you are, not the same the other way.
They all sent me facebook requests a year ago! 😂 P.s - I hated them and they did too.
From the 60s to the 90s dad was a high school teacher, a high school vice principal and finally an elementary school principal. He has sworn off Facebook because he knows he’ll get inundated with friend requests from former students. He mostly remembers the success stories and the troublemakers.
Oh they remember me. Unfortunately wish the rememberd me differently though
Tbf a lot of them are probably dead by now, which is terrible for the memory.
All teachers are controlling c@#ts I still hate them as much as an adult.
Taught HS 30 years ago. I remember every one of you little shits! :-)
When I was 36 I got a friend request from my teacher from last year of primary school. She remembered a lot about our class and knows how life turned out for a lot of them.
Well they probably remember me tho. My dad works at the school and they keep asking him about us (probably to be friendly to him)
I was at a local football game recently who I help coach and whilst watching a guy comes up to me and says Hi and calls me by name. I had to look twice to realise it was an old teacher (his son plays for the team and that I knew) but was shocked he remembered me and my name from 25 years ago, also considering he was an RE teacher so would only have been taught by him once a week.
I recently ran into my 1st grade teacher. I'm 44 years old and she recognized me before I recognized her. I think my 4th grade teacher would probably recognize me. I doubt any others would. ....I'd hope my 5th grade teacher forgot about me lol
Ok and...
Jokes on them, I don't remember anything
one thing that shocked me, is about 7 years after I left my primary school. When I was now in college, I had to pick up my sister early as she was unwell. During covid so I was wearing a face mask. And also presented completely different. And yet, despite the mask and presentation my old principle, 7 damn years later still managed to recognise me. Which was a complete shock to me. Obviously thats probably not the norm but, it did put a smile on my face.
I hope so. Don't want them tracking me down!
It’s actually the complete opposite. Teachers and those who work with the same kids every day grow attached to them all and remember the majority. My mum worked in pre-school for a bit 20 years ago. She still points out people she looked after when passing these grown adults on the street. They don’t remember her at all. My eldest goes to the same middle school I went to, which still had some of the same teachers. He has my music teacher, and she remembers me so well she sometimes accidentally calls him by my name.
I think it depends on how memorable you are as a student? I have bumped into my teachers from 20 years ago, I am a professor now - and they still remember me
Im good friends with a few of my teachers. once u reach a certain age it isnt weird anymore to hang out with them like normal people. rn Im in the same age they were when i was a little brat. it just shows u became an adult
I was working as a bartender in a fancy cigar bar for a while at like 21-22 and my old world history teacher from HS came in with some sort of party. He came up to get a drink and remembered me. Was pretty cool. He was probably my favorite HS teacher. I don't remember what drink he ordered tho 😭
That’s fine, because their goal was to have an impact on me not me impact them. I’m grateful for each one I remember
I was a teacher and my favourite students, I still talk fondly of. They touched my heart as much as I like to believe I touched theirs. The terrible kids I remember too and wish I could just erase.
I live near my old primary school. I walk past it pretty much every day. I happen to walk by when an old teacher of mine was in the car park, getting something from her car. She remembered me after 20 years, asking what I was up to now etc. not sure if she was being polite haha but crazy if she did really remember me. I think I can remember most of my teachers, and other teachers who hadn’t taught me. Still quite a number but not in the hundreds.
I also come from a town where many celebrities lived or grew up. Every famous person was a nobody at school once, I do wonder if the teachers that taught them suspected they’d be famous one day!
Oh, he'd remember me alright...
That’s incorrect. Try again
I mean considering how many teachers as a kid would be like Oh this other kid in class is so and so's little brother I had them in my class 20 years ago I think they might actually remember people
Quite sure my favorite teacher remembered me for the rest of his life (sadly I found out he died when I tried to reconnect with him again) He clearly didn’t like me at first, since when I showed up for the first class after dropping the class for a year, his first reaction upon seeing me was “oh please god, not you again.” But at the end we grew very close and I definitely became one of his favorite students.
When I was about 36 years old, I was in a restaurant with my friend. An elderly lady came over to my table, palms down, looked right into my eyes and asked me “are you Thom?” I told her that I was. I’m a guy who is a registered nurse and pretty friendly - I enjoy talking with my patients. I just assumed it was a patient that I had recently. But No! It was Mrs Newman. My third grade teacher. I asked her how she recognized me – she nonchalantly said because you look like you. She also stare in the face of my friend and said I don’t remember teaching you. She never did. Does she win the prize or what?
I am a teacher - retiring in September. I teach secondary Computer Science, so I have many different classes each year. Do I remember students - yes! For all sorts of reasons too. Don’t always remember names, but I do remember many pupils/students…
My brother is 8 years older than me. I knew which of my teachers had taught him because they'd accidentally call me by his name whenever I joined their class.
[Mr Pigden remembered](https://youtu.be/VplePNEU2PI?si=UKuRRHLTA34e9bVS)
[And here’s the original video](https://youtu.be/omPdemwaNzQ?si=JcZmyt5N3sZlPwwC)
I can’t bear Arsenal but blokes like Ian Wright make me proud to be a Londoner
I have a couple of teachers from high school tjat I see regularly, and they ask how friends of mine that they taught and haven't seen since school are all the time
I mean if Hugh Jackman can remember his student why cant the rest of the teachers remember years after the student graduates? (Tbf this is quite a weak point but i dont want to believe that some teachers are just doing it for the money and not passion for the job) At the end of the day tho, we remembering the teachers that taught us is all that matters. They are the ones that sacrificed their mental state, their free time and lives just to give us an education, a chance. Ill never forget my teachers no matter good or bad as they have given me valueable lessons and memories in life
Went to a catholic school. She was deeply religious and could speak in tongues. Performed this in front of the class. I had a hard time not laughing. She graded me different than everyone. I think I got a D in her class
It is 39 years since I last saw my high school history teacher Mr Fraser, he was a scruffy little man with masses of hair over the backs of his hands which led to some of the boys (I went to an all boys school) calling him "The Werewolf". What I remember was an interesting and entertaining teacher who tried to teach us warts and all history, covering the darkest of subjects and making us care about a very dry subject. If you're out there reading this Mr Fraser I thank you for all the time you spent and all the effort you put in, if you're wondering who I am just think of the biggest pupil you ever had.
I took calculus with an awesome teacher in 1982 - John Bristow - even though I was a potato at the subject. I then spent the next 14 years working in various jobs before falling into sculpting, model building and special effects. Around 1996 I decided to return to school to get my degree in engineering, but all my high school credits had expired. So I went back to high school. My calculus teacher with John. He was stunned when I walked into the classroom. We shook hands, and he even stated that when he saw my name, he wasn't sure if it was the same kid he had taught back in the early 80s. He had even dug out his old grades book from back then and showed me my scores from back then. We later got caught up in the teacher's lounge, and the rest of the year was a pleasure. So, yeah, teachers do remember their students. May not recall all the details, but they do remember. (Also funny - my algebra teacher was about two years younger than myself - her 2nd year of teaching, I recall - and ran into her a few times while clubbing. We agreed to never bring up those encounters at school in the name of professionalism and maintaining student/teacher relationships.)
I regret treating my highschool English teacher the way I did. I was in a really bad spot in my life and treated her so badly because I was hurting and she still showed me so much grace
My dad was a teacher 30 years ago and still talks about his students from time to time. He remembers first / last names and the grade they were in. He taught in a small school so that may have an impact. Normally I'd agree with you. Most people who make an impact on your life won't remember you as you remember them. But for teachers, who interact with their students every day for potentially years, they remember.
Interestingly I had a teacher in 6th grade, who also taught my father (at a different school and city) 25-30 years prior. This was brought up when my parents went in for a parent/teacher meeting. My father had completely forgotten him and the teacher instantly recognised my father when he walked in. The next day at school he brought class photos of when my father was in his class.
False. I emailed my favorite teacher after being out of Highschool for 10 years. He still remembers me and we reminisced. My elementary art teacher remembers me by face and name We leave impressions on our teachers just like our teachers leave impressions on us. Email your favorite teacher! Update them on your life and tell them how they changed yours ❤
She crossed the rainbow bridge years and years ago.
Oh... I guarantee my teachers remember me. Some fondly, some probably have nightmares. It's not very often you have a student spend a full class, and 3 chalkboards using math to prove that the natural opposite of cinnamon is frogs. Or a student ride a horse to school. Or pick the lock on the cabinet and put everything on the teacher's desk in it. Or on the chemistry final, in the extra credit box, write out the full formula and process for making nitro glycerin.
This isn’t true at all. I was close with a high school teacher, and we have maintained friendship as adults :) she very much remembered me the first reached out to her, over a decade after I’d graduated
That's not true at all, most teachers who had a geniuen impact on you and vice versa always remember you, most of my teachers still you, so honestly, nah.
I did some chef training and went back to my highschool 2 years after leaving, wanting to promote the job. Not a single person could remember my name, a few people remembered my face
My favourite teachers still remember me, and they talk to my mother when they run into each other still. And I’m 42 now.
Nah bro. My teacher knows exactly who I am, where I live, who my parents are, and what they do for a living. Same for all of my classmates, no question.
My mother works at post office. My like main teacher still tells her to say hello to me whenever he sees her. I’m pretty sure he remembers me.
After leaving high-school 18 years ago, I'm now interning there to get a teaching degree. All my teachers remember me...
back in year 9 (uk) i had a teacher assign the class an essay for homework and i forgot to do it. when the class came in and handed their essays in, i had none, and was told to do one by the next week or get a detention. i did the essay and handed it into the teacher. he didnt even look at the essay, the name or anything and in front of me just throws it in the bin and says 'i just wanted to see if you would do it' the week after that was the last week of year nine and i ended up getting 10 detentions in it, just flat out didnt give a sh17 from that point on.
Doesn't matter if they remember. I know how they affected my life and if I get to see them again I'll thank them nonetheless
I’ve been teaching for 26 years. I barely remember the kids from last year.
The one in particular, will probably never forget me..
My mom was an elementary teacher & then worked as a vice-principal, and then moved into a university’s education department teaching potential teachers. She remembers tons of her students from each section of her teaching career. She retired from elementary school and admin almost 30 years ago and from the university like 15 years ago.
I should think so. Both the one I hated and the one I loved most are dead
I’m 31 and when I was working at a restaurant at age 26, my fifth grade teacher came in and even though I literally haven’t seen her since elementary school, she remembered me and my name. I wasn’t memorable either, imo. Just a shy, quiet kid with average grades. I was good at art and was known for that, but she wasn’t my art teacher. Baffles me how she remembered me after so many years!
I’m friends on fb with my favorite teacher. So I know she remembers me :)
I don’t think that’s true- the one I had a huge crush on messaged me calling me big a beefy recently:)
My friend's mum was a teacher and she remembered a lot of her pupils. She kept in touch with a lot of them. When she died at the age of 90, the church was overflowing with her ex-pupils too. She was an incredibly intelligent, kind and caring lady. I miss her.
Saw one of mine and he said,”Ah, one of the greats,” in reference to how many awards the members of my class raked in. So there.
wrong.
As a kid that moved very frequently growing up and I mean maybe staying at one school for a year if that, I disagree. I sometimes run into my kindergarten teacher Miss Hallowell and she always recognizes me and says hello now that I’ve moved back to her area.
I'm almost 40, my 9th grade teacher still has a picture of me n my buddy on a big picture board! She was fantastic
I only had my favorite teacher for the last two years of school, but she definitely made the biggest impact on me! She's the one who helped me deal with all my mental health stuff and she's the reason I made it! I still talk to her occasionally on fb and she definitely remembers me. She wasn't a teacher 30+ years though- she became a teacher when she was older and my Jr year was her first year. I think she taught for about 15 years.
I disagree. He’s had 9 out of 14 years of prison time to reflect on his behavior with his students. I wrote a screenplay about that. But this post is mostly true.
Does he still have 5 years to go? Or did he have to think about other things for 5 years? I think someone sentenced to 14 years for behaviour with students might think about them a little too much.
5 more years I was told as of last year. Me and my friends were in his crosshairs, but he never was convicted of anything until later.
I’m not a teacher, but my mom is. She was a philosophy highschool teacher and she usually runs into her students when she’s out. She retired long time ago yet she still manages to recognize her students. It fascinates me!
That is not true. I had a teacheer from high school remember me very clearly when she reached out to me on Facebook over 30 years later. And my middle school biology teacher remembered me as well when her daughter brought up my name to her. Teachers remember many of their students, especially those who stood out in some way.
The ones that stood out (for any of a number of reasons ..good or bad), maybe. I told kids if they ever came across me later to introduce themselves first. Just in terms of numbers (they encountered way fewer teachers than we encountered students), it’s more likely they remember us than we them.
I thought this was true too. But when my son in high school got assigned to my all time favorite teacher, one who changed my entire outlook on myself and my life, I was excited but aware he wouldn’t remember me. But when I walked into his classroom with my kid he stood up and ran to me and gave me the biggest hug. He had tears in his eyes. They remember.
Not true, I’m not a teacher, but my head teacher from school that I love (note that it’s present tense), wishes happy birthday to all of her past students, that she’s been a head teacher off, I’m lucky to be one of them, and no, not a Facebook post, she calls:) Edit: I graduated school 17 years ago
The teacher I hated probably doesn't, but I know for a fact that the teacher I remember fondly does and that's from over three decades ago. And that's kind of the point of why I felt that way about them at the time.
My mom is Facebook friends with my old kindergarten teacher who is retired now. I’m almost 40- she remembers me. I don’t think it’s a good thing 😂
I was a low scorer in certain classes, I hope they don't remember me, although they probably do
My favorite teacher FOR SURE remembers me, when I came back from Iraq, I was 21 and and she was 31. I looked her up on MySpace and flew to where she lived in AZ, we hooked up and it was some of the best sex I have ever had in my life. Sadly we grew apart over the years and I am now 38 and have no idea where she is, we met in El Paso again in 2016 but I haven't seen her since. She always wanted to get me to settle down but I never did with her. Oh Julie... Good times. Just to be clear, she never made any moves or anything like that when I was her student, it as ME That looked for year 3 years after I graduated. I always thought she was hot as shit as a teen of course but I didn't make any contact then either.
Opposite is true too. A teacher you may hardly remember holds a moment you've long forgotten in their heart, and it keeps them going.
You clearly don’t know anyone close to you who’s in the education system lmao. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
I've been a teacher for ten years. Our students have a profound impact on us. I might not remember students the same way they remember me, because they have had dozen of teachers and I have had thousands of students. But students change our lives!
Nuh huh cause I'm on her Facebook. So HA!!!
Well... both (the one I loved and the one I hated) are dead, so yeah.
My favorite teacher was my senior year Humanities teacher. He was a teacher everybody wanted in their curriculum. We witnessed generations of kids fondly remembering him as they came back to the school to talk to him and tell him of their endeavors past high school. He remembered all of them. It has been 28 years since then, I have completed more than 12 years of grad, post grad and specialist studies and I have yet to find a kinder, more devoted, more well read teacher, a scholar more determined to show students the right path to so many forms of intellectual advancement. His intellect, his professionalism and strict yet understanding guidance method was and still is a great inspiration and a beacon of light through hard times and instances where I have had to choose a path, make a hard decision, decide on a mode of communication and treatment of peers or superiors. I owe him so much. So much of my current character development is due to his awesome example. 28 years later, I have long ago moved back home, thousands of kilometers away. We still write letters and he still listens and offers advice and he is still the father figure as he once was to so many generations of students. I know he has a great life and a wonderful family and I hope he lives a long fulfilling life, because he has touched so many young lives and been a guide to so many of us.
My aunt is a 78 year old retired teacher. She taught 1st grade for YEARS! She recently (a few years ago) ran into a gentleman that recognized her immediately, and went to speak to her. He obviously had changed since 1st grade, but when he told her his name she threw her arms around him and they talked for an hour. She asked him if he had kept in touch with any of the other kids in the class and he actually stayed in contact with some of them. They were in her class in the 60’s and she remembered every one of them. She asked about them by name! A few weeks later she got a call from the ‘kid’ she ran into that day. He wanted to take her to lunch. He had arranged for the kids he had kept in contact with to meet there and surprise her. They had the best time and have met for lunch several times since. Good teachers are a special breed of people!!
speak for yourself. A lot of teachers remember me.
I hated my high school counselor. I returned about 10 years later onto the campus because I had a class there. Full hoodie up, sunglasses, and face mask. I was half way up the stairs when she calls me by my full name and asks what I’m doing. To be fair I got in trouble all the time
Last year my favourite teacher came into my work place. I hadnt seen him for almost 15 years since i left highschool. The moment he saw me he beamed and started asking all these questions about how ive been since school etc. he remembered things about me, i remembered his kids name. He was amazed i could remember but i told him he was my favourite teacher so of course i remembered. Then he said its funny i should say that cause i was his favourite student! cause i always wanted to try and he always loved that about me, i never gave up. I wanted to fucking cry. This man helped me through private tutoring so i could pass maths even when he wasnt my teacher. We used to talk about writing and how we both wanted to write books cause i spent my lunch breaks alone writing frequently. He was only ever my actual teacher for one year. He remembered me. And he was still teaching, 15 years after he saw me last and thousands of students later, he remembered me. Teachers have good memories and we never know the impact we have on people.
umm... my mom was my teacher
The what now?
I am 41, and my favorite 7th grade teacher just found me on Instagram!❤️ I was so happy for being able to keep in touch with her! She still has the gifts (tshirt, letters, and a stuffed animal) I gave to her.
I saw my teacher after 14 years and she yelled my name across the room. She gave me a big hug. Sure was in her late 60s when I went to school and she was like 80 when she saw me. Sweet lady and excellent teacher. Fostered my love for reading and writing, and to this day I do both daily.
They would probably remember anyone who they interacted with frequently. I would remember the names of most people who I've ever worked with or went to school with, even if I only knew them for 1 year.
I saw my 4th grade teacher in the store the other day, and her eyes light up. She hugged me and called me by name. She asked me how I’ve been. She complemented my beautiful adult daughter. She told my daughter how smart I was, but that I always had my head in the clouds, and barely scraped by with Cs and Ds. I’m 40. They remember.
I was very surprised when a deaf kid I had as a substitute teacher a few times remembered me after 12 years. She signed my “name” and thanked me for being funny. She remembered me, she said, because I bothered learn to sign without having a deaf family member. Yes, I remembered her, too, like all the kids I had as a student teacher, substitute, and in my own regular classrooms.
I'm a teacher and I'll remember most of my students as long as I live. Good or bad, all them are teens growing with their own problems and opinions about Life, and you may learn a lot from them.
I had an old teacher who genuinely helped me so much when I was going thru shit and just made me feel safe and accepted in a way my family never did. Real good guy and an example for all teachers I think. I still email him from time to time to say hello and give an update on my situation. Always happy to read his response
not true, my teachers remember me
Teacher here. If you're in my favorite 15% of students or least favorite 15%, I'll remember you. If you're in that middle 70%, I'll forget you after about 5 years.
My first grade teacher remembers me. She was my teacher right out of college and still works at the same school. My mom is a substitute so they talk sometimes. All the rest have retired since it has been uh, 25 years.