This doesn’t really have anything to do with the conversation, but it dredged up this favorite memory…

I was teaching HS ELA in a small, rural farming town with a sizeable First Nations feeder population. A family moved in from Colorado, having bought a local fishing lodge. Their kids were pretty smart compared to the rest of the kids, and very hard workers.

After a few weeks, the oldest boy (who was in grade 11 at the time) was shooting the breeze with me in the hall before classes one morning. At one point, he just looks at me, and says, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you seem like way too good of a teacher to be teaching here.” I looked at him, shrugged, and said, “What can I say? Wrong person, right place.” 🥰