Every year I have the 8th graders write a letter to one of their former teachers for Teacher Appreciation week. We've been working on these recently, and I was proofreading the rough drafts last night. I was so touched by many of the things the students wrote, but one letter in particular brought me to tears. A boy who has struggled academically throughout the years and has had some behavior issues off and on wrote a very heartfelt letter to his fifth grade teacher. He thanked the teacher for taking the time to ask how he was when they saw each other in the hallway even when he wasn't in this teacher's class any longer. He also thanked him for planning activities that were interesting to the students because it made school more fun. He closed the letter by saying I hope you won't forget me because I know I won't forget you and all you have done for me. I am so happy that this student made such a good connection with this teacher, and I am glad that this teacher will get to know what an impact he had on the student.
That made my eyes tear up too. I have several teachers I would love to go back and say something now that I'm grown. Two of them I have had that opportunity. One I can't find. Another one I can't remember her name.... (my fifth grade teacher) This 5th grade teacher sent me a newspaper clipping of me winning an award. I would have actually missed it had she not sent it to me. What's more, I was in the 9th grade when I received it. It included a hand-written note and was sent to my home. I don't remember much about the teacher other than that. That single act though was so profound that I kept it up on my bulletin board in my room throughout my high school years. It bothers me a little that I can't remember her name. I'll never forget her act of kindness though. What a wonderful assignment for you too! You get to see how students are inspired by teachers everywhere and know that you are in the same profession and somewhere along the lines (and probably often) you are inspiring and impacting students the same.
That's awesome! This reminds me… a few years back, after I had just started college, I was on my way home from wherever I had been. I decided to take a detour through my old town past the Elementary School I went too. School had gotten out maybe 15 minutes prior to when I got there… so I stopped. I went inside, attempted to find the office, and asked if Mrs. ___ was there. The guy in the office had asked a bunch of questions and then finally gave me the room number. Well I had started walking down the hallway and all of a sudden I heard my name. It was the teacher I had asked about!!! She was shocked to see me…. I on the other hand was shocked she knew who I was. I had only gone to that school for 2 years (Kindergarden and 1st grade) before moving a few towns away. But my 1st grade teacher made a huge impact in my life.
My special education teacher made me who I am today. She made it so I was able to thrive in school. Before I had a 1 hr 45 minute long seizure when I was 6, I was completely unable to do math (I knew that one apple plus one apple was two apples, but I was unable to answer that 1+1=2) After that seizure, she worked with my daily to help me catch up to my peers, and when I was 8 (In 3rd grade) I was no longer in self-contained due to her work with me. I observed with her in the fall and it was amazing. She was surprised that any of her students came back to her (She only recently started teaching resource room and before that, she taught a multiply handicapped classroom. I was the smartest person in the MH classroom, verbal IQ of 85, performance IQ of 69, then after a year in her class it was verbal IQ 105, performance IQ 85)
I had always had to do a lot more effort in math than in other subjects, and got lower marks than in other subjects. In my HS senior year, I had a very amazing calculus teacher. He was pretty demanding and had high standards, really made us work. But he was always supportive, warm and caring. I passed the AP test (AB), which enabled me to pass out of the 1st semester of math in college. And in my first semester of math, I had to do the least amount of work and got the best grade that semester of any of my classes. That never happened with me before. Sadly, though, he passed away before I could come back and thank him. So anyone who feels that a teacher has really helped them, tell and thank him/her.
One of the things I remember most fondly about my high school senior English class was an assignment to write a thank-you note to the teacher I felt had influenced me the most throughout my school years -- I chose my seventh-and-eighth grade English teacher, and she was so surprised and touched that she wrote me back a very long letter, and sent me a copy of the book she had read along with us throughout the eighth grade year. It really made me happy and conscientious of how students can also impact teacher's lives simply by showing gratitude to them. I only hope that a few of my own students will someday feel that I helped their lives as well! --Owen
