I planned to write about why I'm adding these Field Notes to my website today, but then something wonderful happened.
As I was walking back to the College of Education with a group of young writers, I heard someone call out, “Mrs. Waters?!”
I turned around and there stood a former student I hadn't seen in almost ten years.
Teachers, have you ever had that moment? You immediately remember where a student sat, the conversations you had, the writing they struggled through, the breakthrough they finally made…
…and then you realize you can't remember their name.
Students, if you ever run into me on campus or at Walmart, please lead with your first name. I promise it isn't because I've forgotten you. Quite the opposite.
Sometimes our brains store the story before they store the label.
Long after I've forgotten where I put my keys—or what I walked into the kitchen to get—I still remember students who were the first ones to share their quick writes each day, wrote haikus in exchange for donuts, or finally figured out what kinds of books they like to read.
Names sometimes take me a second.
The people rarely do.