Sunday, April 30, 2017

THREE STRIKES

       I attended a Teachers' College in 1957-58. It was organized as a glorified elementary school. We were organized in classes and the whole class moved throughout the day. We were together for everything for the whole year. We even had coed phys. ed!

      75% of us were rural kids from farms or small rural towns. About 50% of us were right out of highschool and the others had done other things before attending the teachers' college. So most of us started the year and didn't know any other students. Since we were in the same class all year, we made some great friendships.

     At the end of the year all of us went our separate ways. About half of these students never taught. They decided they wanted to do something else. Many of the girls got married.

    I soon moved far and wide. I saw very few of these people after I finished teachers' college.

    So every once in  awhile I will google a name. You find some people that you know of.

    The other night I googled the names of three  guys that were my former colleagues.  I found obituaries for all three of these guys. I had not seen them from the day we left teachers' college. What a shock! We had been together for a year as 18-19 year olds. 59 years later they were gone. Two of these fellows made a career of teaching. One did not teach and went into business.

   I spent a year with 400 students and often wonder what happened to them.

    So I made three strikes and missed on each one. 

    How about you? Have you kept in contact with students from a long time ago?