Having just spent five nights and six days with six girls (three seniors, a sophomore, and two freshmen) horse camping in the Sespe, and then coming back to say goodbye to them, put the year “to bed” and then hanging around for the Thacher Reunion (classes ending in “2” or “7”), I have to say that I can’t think of more meaningful work than being a teacher at Thacher.
Let me start with the horse camping trip. I couldn’t have asked for a better group to spend time with. The seniors were mature and responsible, wanting to make this the best trip of their Thacher career. The others weren’t going to do anything that might mess up the goal of their senior friends, and the weather, campsites, and prior planning combined to make sure that everything went well. As I said to the students (and others) after we returned, our camping trip was a lot like riding a good gymkhana horse. All I really needed to do was to point it in the right directions and get out of the way. To see the maturity and responsibility of the seniors, and the respect that the other students had for these ladies was fabulous. They had so much horse experience, that I was literally able to go along “for the ride.”
Once back on campus, as the students packed, we had our All-School Banquet, followed by the Senior Banquet and Commencement, the celebration of our students continued. I have to say that I had a smile on my face the whole time, and the only hard part about it was saying goodbye to the seniors and not knowing when I would see them again.
After long days of posting grades, writing class comments and writing the letters to my advisees’ parents, it was time for the Thacher Reunion Weekend–an event that, because of other commitments, I hadn’t been able to attend in five years. So this was the first reunion that I was able to attend that included students that I had had the pleasure of teaching. And what a great time it was! Being able to see these young people (most now graduated from college and on to other endeavors) was extremely gratifying. To be able to talk to them about the classes that they took and the classes that I now teach and to see the enthusiasm for what they had done and the interest in what I am now doing, was extremely gratifying. To make contact with so many of these students after these last five years showed me the lasting impression that Thacher not only makes on its students, but on its faculty as well.
As I said in the title of this blog: It doesn’t get any better than this!