Dear Sir/Madam,
It has been quite a while since I sat in your classroom last -- almost four years in fact. And let me tell you this, a lot has changed in my life, for the better.
I remember high school; the love/hate relationship I had with it. I had days where I didn’t want it to end and other days where I thought I was living in an absolute hell. But let us be honest here, most people felt/feel that way about high school, as teenagers, we grow and learn so much in and outside of the classrooms.
I can honestly say that I do genuinely miss some of my high school teachers, a few of them in particular helped me discover my strengths as a student and to work on my weaknesses. But you? You were in different.
I remember that day you gave me my first “F” on a essay; a four-page essay that I spent hours on. It didn’t make sense to me, I followed the criteria given. Plus, this was not even an English class. So what went wrong?
The day I stayed after school with you was one of the most shocking moments of my high school career; I have never been so put down over what a teacher has said to me.
You told me I wasn’t good enough.
You told me that my writing was poor.
And then, you continued to tell my mother that.
I could never imagine saying a something like that to a student; to watch tears welt up in their eyes and break their aspirations over and over again.
I dreaded going to your class every day, sitting in your classroom literally felt like time had froze on me every time.
The day that class had ended for me, a weight was lifted off my shoulders, but I still have that doubt within myself that I am not good enough.
Yet here I am, sitting on this beautiful summer evening, writing this article, as a journalism major.
In the end, what you had said to me ended up lighting a fire within me. Determined to make myself better, to make myself stronger.
Just because one person has told you that you weren’t good enough, doesn’t mean what they have said to you is true at all.
And to the teacher who thought I wasn’t good enough, I hope you I was the only student you were ever to say that to.
Sincerely,
Your “F” Student
