Circulating on the Internet is something called the Philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip. It asks readers to recall several things: Name the world's five wealthiest persons; Name 10 people who have won the Nobel prize; Name the last five Miss America winners.

His point is that although these people who you can't remember are the best in their fields, applause dies and awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten.

Then he asks us to list five teachers who have aided our journey through school, to name three people who have taught us something worthwhile and to name three friends who have helped us through a difficult time.

This list is a lot easier to compile because, while honors fade, we always remember people who cared about us. I thought immediately of three teachers who influenced me greatly: Vincent Tampio, my high school drama teacher, John Hepler, my theater professor at Bowling Green University and Robert Leist, my high school band director.

I'm sure you could also come up with a similar list of teachers very quickly. Writing in the Nation magazine recently about the war in Iraq, 81-year-old former presidential candidate George McGovern recalled that it was Mrs. Wagner, his fourth-grade teacher, who first introduced him to the rich cultural history of the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq.

Here at the Farmingdale Federation of Teachers, our professional motto is "We Shape the Future." And every day we see examples, such as Sen. McGovern and Charles Schultz, of people who vividly remember teachers who have strongly influenced their lives.

As teachers, we understand that long after students may have forgotten the lessons we taught, they will remember our attitudes toward learning, our life lessons of creativity and dogged perseverance and the respect that we show parents and our colleagues. We have had many Farmingdale graduates return to teach here because of this attitude of collegial respect and the high value we place on teaching and education.

We recently had a reunion of the Playcrafters. I taught them drama for more than 30 years. It was great to see so many of them and to renew our friendships. But I was stunned by the vividness of their memories of what I said and did so many years ago. If I had known how sharp their memories would be, I would have taken more care with what I said.

It was a thrilling experience for me and it is an experience many of our teachers have had. Having students who remember us and the life lessons we taught them is as close to immortality as most people get.

While it is probably true that more students remember our names than we remember theirs, we remember their faces, their quirks, and their memorable moments in and outside of class. These memories nurture us and we take justifiable pride in the success and good fortune of our former students. They are an integral part of the magnificent continuum of education here in Farmingdale. The past is rich and varied, but we shape the future.