Ninja Sighting

Today was the second time in the past month that I have been spotted minutes away from my hometown.  The only problem is that I have not been anywhere near New England since July.  I have a twin sister and the people in question automatically assumed that I was her.  The Ninja spotters had no clue who she was, so I can't assume that it's a twin thing.  The people in question happened to be educators.  According to my sister, this happens quite often.

The fact that this happens at all somewhat baffles me.  I was a quiet kid throughout school and did not learn how to make myself stand out until I went to college.  I never spoke up and while I was a member of two athletic teams, I was one of a few hundred students at my school that fit this profile.  On the other hand, my sister has always been the more outgoing one.

Now that I am a teacher, I try to bring the students (like myself) who prefer to blend in out into the open.  I explicitly tell them what makes them unique and encourage them to use their God given talents to do good in the world.  I make the effort to do this because my teachers (while excellent educators) did not take the time to tell me how my uniqueness would make them remember me fifteen years into the future. At an age where I was constantly questioning my self-worth, it would have been encouraging to know this information.

In order to satisfy my curiosity, I have asked my sister (who is a big fan of this blog) to do some investigative work next time there is a Ninja sighting.  Perhaps if I know what my teachers saw in me, it will change my perception of the past.  As teachers, we always try to ensure that our students' school experience is somewhat an improvement over our own.  This information may be the key to making sure that continues to happen in my classroom.