Here's an example many teachers will be familiar with. A student you no longer have comes in and asks for advice, guidance, or help with a new teacher in the same subject. It's great this student feels comfortable enough to come ask for help and it's double satisfying because on some level you know that student respects you enough to get your opinion. What are the drawbacks? You have 100+ new students you also have to worry about.
As happy as it makes me to hear from my previous kids, I feel like i've got a bit of a collection now and it's not all smiles and high fives. One of the hardest things about teaching some places is the lives of the students. Some people are motivated, driven, and rewarded by tackling the very diverse, complex, and difficult needs of our students. Others are weighed down and crushed by what can sometimes feel like the futility of it all. All of this also compounds as more and more students cross your threshold over the years.
Where am I today? So happy my students are coming back and seeking advice. I'm proud of them. I'm lucky to have been able to see them mature into young adults increasingly ready to take on the world. That said, I know I've felt the opposite before and I'm trying find a better way to help than internalizing all the problems of the world and trying to fix them myself.
Related Articles:
Student Fathers
Student Mothers
Taking DISD Home
Tough days in Dallas Education