"Mr. Moberg?! This Blows My Mind!"

How bizarre to see past students six or seven or eight years later and have a drink with them at a bar! It's a bit surreal, but no more so for me than for them. Last night I hung out with packs of them at a local establishment, sharing beverages and memories. Many of them were my students when they were freshmen and then never again, so their memories are of my being strict, keeping them from misbehaving, keeping them working all period, etc. To them, it was jaw-dropping to talk as equals over a beer. Had they had me again when they were juniors or seniors (when they were themselves more mature and better behaved), they would have seen a more relaxed demeanor from me and not been, now several years later, so shocked to see me having a drink, sharing a joke, laughing and smiling, etc.

I can totally see things from their perspective, though. There are plenty of teachers from my high school days that I still can not picture in a casual social situation. In my mind, they belong behind their desks or walking around their classrooms and nowhere else--certainly not at a night club! But teachers are human, too. And so are students. That's a nice realization that comes from reuniting with them in a setting that isn't the classroom and catching up on what has transpired in the intervening years.