Welcoming Surprise

The view from Barb Sorenson’s kitchen window is reason enough to stay home, as is the quiet pace of retirement, but there’s another reason as well. Anywhere she goes in Thetford, VT, people are drawn to her. The mere sight of Barb fills people who know her with delight. In the hardware store and at the Post Office, former students approach her and relive memories, from both inside and outside of the classroom. “Remember the prison project?” “Remember when our classroom adopted the litter of abandoned kittens?” Barb is a teacher who didn’t just teach; she cleaned the lens, giving students a new perspective on their world.