OK - so I usually don't do stories or commentaries that are a bit personal in nature, and it wasn't until after the fact when I thought about making an entry out of this.
Yep, I went back to a place I haven't been in 10 years. I was actually out for a bite at a fast food place that was right down the street from there, and I decided that, since I had the time, I would pass by and see how much of that place changed during the 2000s.
At first, I actually had no intention of walking in, and I more or less walked around the school noting all the exterior differences. The playground was moved from the north end to the west end (behind the school). No kids were out on recess, oddly enough (it was the afternoon and the sun was [and still is] out), and even though it had moved, certain iconic elements of the old playground were missing. The building itself had a slight facelift and renovation, and no longer did the school have portable units sitting behind the school where the playground now sits. The north wing was kicked out a little further and received a few additional features, and overall the place is a little "brighter" (more like lighter) than it was a decade ago.
Eventually, though I figured I may as well walk in, and see how long I last before they basically ship me off for having no business there. So now I try cycling and rehearsing a list of opening lines that I can use on the receptionist.
I start off asking about how the inside of the school was laid out, as I figured this would be fitting (at least in the internal sense) as I was just done seeing how the exterior changed over the past decade. After receiving info about the new layout I told her how I remembered it 10 years ago, when I last attended the school (the library and several classrooms had moved).
Then everything changed.
First I was asked who all my teachers were, and if I wanted to see the ones who were still there (I didn't attend that school for the first grade, and my 3rd and 5th grade teachers since retired). So the receptionist and I traveled through the school. 2nd grade teacher was busy teaching, and we didn't want to interrupt. The school's music teacher (I think everyone who passed through that school had her as then I found out she was there since Day 1). Art teacher (who I did have) didn't look too busy (even though he had class, they were doing an activity), so we stopped by and said "hi." I received what was probably the standard conversation for returning students - "What are you doing now," "How old are you?" - that sort of thing. As we walked out, I heard him start to tell his students that I used to be one of his students (I didn't catch the rest of that conversation if there was any more to it). 4th grade teacher was busy teaching, and again, we didn't want to interrupt.
We then traveled by the cafeteria (more on that in a second) on our way back to the main reception area, and I soon learned we still had the same principal and vice principal. The vice and the 5th grade were out on a field trip, but since the principal was in, she receptionist did get her.
While I was waiting for the two of them to return, I start checking out the various posters and photos that decorated the main hall. On one side was nothing but signed posters and pictures of astronaut David Wolf on his various trips to space that he took during the '90s. First I should say that when I went there, this school had a very strong emphasis on space and rocketry. Our cafeteria had a huge mural of the moon and the stars, and one of the posters that I mentioned earlier included a picture (which I was in [somewhere]) of the "Oaklandon on Mir" spellout which went to the space station of the same name (it made headlines, local cameras were there, I don't think we did anything else that day). Also, every year, the entire 5th grade class would go to Huntsville, Alabama for a 3 day stay at "Space Camp" (I can't recall the actual name of the thing, sorry). Well, when the principal and I started to talk, it turned out they weren't doing that anymore, gone was the cafeteria's space mural, replaced by a bland, sky-blue wall. The school was shifting towards a new "theme," this being the environment.
Anyway, we caught up on old times, she's working on her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, she asked me how my parents were doing (I reminded her that my mother died when I was in the third grade [which she did remember once I brought it up]). Again I was asked for the list of teachers, and we once again passed by their classrooms, only this time we actually did walk in, busy or not (Hey, look, she's the principal, she can do that kind of thing ;) ).
First, I may as well feature the two that retired. My 3rd grade teacher (in his class when someone walked in, we all stood up, saying "Good morning, Mrs. Johnson!" In unison. BTW) became the PE teacher (which happened when I was in his class), and he retired just recently. My 5th grade teacher retired due to health problems not too long after I left.
So now it was off to see my 4th grade teacher. Instant recognition, face lit up, probably made her day... She was teaching a 2nd grade class now (I think the only year she taught 4th was the year I was her student [her first year at the school]). After that it was back to the music teacher (who was probably most occupied out of all of them as she was playing a Beethoven piece while the kids were all huddled around the keyboard. To close that out, we saw my 2nd grade teacher, who, like the others, recognized me, and couldn't get my last name right.
Anyway, there was a point to this, one that I started to realize more and more after the fact: With each stop, I became an example. I am a former student who is now attending college (something that probably sounds like a distant dream to them). I became a visual reinforcement and possible motivating tool to all these grade school children. I remember a couple of times the phrase "in this economy" was brought up. Yep, it'll be people like me and those students who will have the responsibility of bringing us out of a recession/depression and back into growth/prosperity. I didn't say much to the children (most of what I said was to the teachers I used to have), but I think I did leave a little bit on an impact on them.
For the people who are young enough to still have former teachers who haven't retired, I would recommend doing the same thing - visit your former elementary or middle school, run into some of your old teachers (I think even the meanest ones would be happy to see you again after all this time), and see how much the school and the people in it have changed.