Predicting Legacy

I have been thinking about how to answer the questions about my retirement party, and I realized that I am not sure where I might be when retirement comes. If I am in the United States, I am sure I look forward to the same kinds of praises that any good American teacher would receive. I would like to hear from my students that I was good to them, and inspired them to continue their education, and be learners for life. I would want to know that I helped every student in some way. Their parents would say that I made their kids work, but I was fair and I taught them good lessons and promoted the good works of their families. My colleagues would describe me as a fun and loyal person to work with, someone who worked as a team, and went beyond the call of duty for the students and teachers.

I would like to travel abroad to teach again one day. I spent some time in Taiwan teaching English, and it was a wonderful experience. This time I want to go to Africa. I am not sure what my role as a teacher would include. Most likely, I will work in the United States for years before the opportunity to go is possible. If I am in Africa or Asia, and I stop teaching/retire, I would want to hear from my students and their parents that I made them comfortable speaking and writing English, and I encouraged them to go for their dreams and make their world a better place. I might hear that I have taught them how to pursue education and job opportunities in the first world, not just the third world. I may have helped them build their school, or helped prevent them from getting AIDS--- you never know, there is so much that can be done. I would hope my colleagues were glad that that I was there, and be inspired to do good work from my example

Chris Lewis