Every teacher dreams of seeing their students as successful individuals someday. I don't know what else could be more satisfying than that. More often than not, my teachers way back, would always tell us not to forget them when we became successful. Something I really did not pay attention to, not when I was the one teaching.
My teaching experience revolves around educating in the professional level. I have been a trainer for a good 4 years of my life, teaching new hires about the products and services offered by a healthcare group. I have had countless of classes, guided them through the start until the end of their training, eventually providing them support when they are already deployed in the field.
After 4 years of being a trainer, I finally resigned and sought the comforts of working at home to have more time for my new born. Time flew, year after year, never looked back, never regretted the fact that I left my trainer life. I was happy, contented with what I am currently doing, and happy to have more time for my little boy than if I were to be stuck in the office life.
It was on the August of 2017, my birth month, where I received a very unexpected message. It was from someone that looked familiar, whose name sounded familiar, it rang a bell, but it was not really clear who it was, and how I knew him. While I started replying, I checked his Facebook profile, only to find out that he worked for the company that I worked in 4 years ago. Baffled by the sudden re-connection, I had to dig out some of his old photos and saw that it was a previous trainee of mine, who was then, a new hire.
This previous trainee of mine asked me out for lunch, and mentioned that this was a gesture that he needed to do. Something that he is thankful about. While I was hesitant with the sudden re-connection and all, he wanted to have me bring my husband as well as my kid. So I guessed, it was fine and brought my family along.
We set out to lunch in a nearby mall the next day, and conversed over a sumptuous meal. It was here, meeting him, that it finally sunk in. How, Who, and What he was as a trainee. My days of training, all of those came back to me. It was a very nostalgic feeling. We talked for a couple of hours that day, something my hubby thought was unbearable as he stepped out with my little boy right after lunch. It was then that I knew that he was already the Senior Operations Manager for a program in the same company. And that the lunch treat that he paid for me and my family was thanks for having guided him through training and ensured he had good enough scores.
I still remember him as an average trainee. Able to pass scores, but very hard working. Has had some very difficult understanding with the nature of the business, as the job was definitely not his field of expertise. But here he is now, standing in front of me, dressed smart, poised and always seemed ready for war in the meeting room. Something I'd never thought I'd see. He is what they say a teacher's success.
Now I know why this message was always relayed by our teachers back then.
"Do not forget us when you become successful"
I really thought that it was about trying to create an obligation to have them support us in times of need (Talk about lame reasoning). After this encounter, I could never have been so wrong. Right now, the meaning of this quote, for me, is to let our teachers know how we are after the things we have learned from them. How we have put them to good use, and how successful we are as a human being after learning so much. The most important thing here, is to let them know how thankful we are for the wisdom that they have shared upon us, and used that wisdom to overcome obstacles that led us to a successful life.
Though, it really does not matter if my students/trainees come out to me personally and hand me a thanks much like what that trainee did. Simply checking out on Facebook is generally enough to know how successful our old students are. Seeing them as successful is even better. But knowing that they are going far in their lives because of what or how you trained them or taught them with, is priceless. This will always be the best or the most satisfying experience I had as a trainee. I wonder what could top it off.
We should always learn to look back to where we started. In this case, we should always learn to appreciate the things we learned from the people we learned it from. We often take for granted what we've had in the past, forgetting that the true application of what we've learned is through the obstacles we face in our lives. A simple gesture of thank you could really go a long way. Something that I've had first hand experience with, something I am not going to forget for the rest of my life.
I hope you guys enjoyed what I deem is the most satisfying teaching experience of my life. I would like to know about yours, just leave me a comment in the comment section below. If you enjoyed this, please continue to FOLLOW me and support me by hitting on the UPVOTE and the RESTEEM buttons!
That is definitely a wrap. Please look forward to Good to Know articles from me, as well as these types of personal stories.
See you on the next one!
@newkidintown