Last night I stopped in the for the last hour of class and got to play the role of returning sensei. While the younger folks worked on exercises, I would get to make comments and correct areas of issue. I forgot how pleasant a task that was. Although it was mostly picking up on small things I realized that I remembered all the stuff I needed to be a good teacher.
I went to the local bar with Teacher afterwards so we could have a moment to ourselves to say goodbye in some kind of formal fashion. It turned out to be rather informal, but we were still able to pick out the reasons our relationship was helpful to both of us.
to wit:
- he said that he wouldn't have learned to be a teacher without me being his primary student for so many years
- I said that he'd been a teacher, a counsellor, and a friend.
- he said that he grew from knowing me.
- and I said me too. I'm better for the experience.
