Dear Teacher,

First of all, I’d like to apologize for having to address you as “teacher.” Yes, you have taught me important lessons that helped me succeed in the SAT’s, confidently answer questions in a college setting and be able to recite facts on command.

However, this title often implies that my relationship with you is solely academic, and that it doesn’t extend beyond the confines of a classroom. While your influence was greatly appreciated in regards to my high school career, its significance did not cease to exist upon receiving my first diploma.

Because of you, I understood what it means to be passionate about something. When most people envision a classroom, regardless of how old the students are that fill it, they envision a setting whose exuberance is dimmed by the lackadaisical, uninterested pupils. However, I have sat in my fair share of classes where the teacher’s passion has been dulled by the grinding redundancy of routine. After years of teaching the same material, they lose the initial drive that motivated them through years of college education and find the lessons equally as unappealing as the students to whom they teach.

However, your unparalleled interest in each lesson, each assignment and maybe most importantly, each student, is what made your class a break from the redundancy that so many of your fellow staff often fall victim to. Thank you for exemplifying the importance of committing to a job and doing something you love. So many adults hound kids on the importance of making money, being high up in a business, thinking logically about our majors, etc. However, your impact on me did not concern future income, numbers or the average success in my desired field. Instead, it highlighted happiness, a concept often glazed over by the adult figures of many youth.

Thank you for giving me a space that allowed me to unapologetically express myself, free of potential judgment. Going to school requires attending an institution whose primary occupants are juvenile, underdeveloped and typically unsure of themselves. During this time, it was not the latest teaching technology or nicest desks that we needed, but an accessible space to figure ourselves out in company that promoted such self-reflection. Although the primary purpose of school is to learn what is in the books, teachers rarely stress the additional points of growth offered at school, especially inward growth. However, thanks to your classroom, this important lesson was not overlooked and has been a large contributor to the person I proudly am today.

Thank you for your accessibility, both then and now. Having a teacher whose willingness to help, whether it was academically, personally, socially, etc., goes further with the average student than you probably know. While your availability was appreciated during the days when I occupied a seat in your classroom, I know that your eagerness to converse with me now wouldn’t be compensated by the amount of time that has passed between my high school graduation and today. The close adult figures that often maintain their tight bonds while growing up are often constricted to a parent, family member or close family friend. However, regardless of how well these individuals may know us, they don’t understand who we are in the same context as you do. Having a relationship with someone that has witnessed and contributed towards our personal evolution is an amazing tie to maintain as we grow older.

Lastly, thank you for making growing up seem a little less scary. The time following high school graduation is a difficult and very unclear one. We thought we knew who we were, but now we’re getting thrown into a whole new college environment with all new people, and find ourselves questioning everything we thought we previously solidified. People ask us what we want to do with our lives, and we find that as our mouths begin to open in response, but we don’t know what words we even want to say. However, you taught me that everything is going to be OK. The future is a daunting concept, but holds vast amounts of exciting potential. While yes, it’s mildly horrifying to think 10 years down the road and have no idea what life will look like, that’s the beauty of it.

I suppose addressing this letter to “teacher” is the most appropriate title after all. Titling it to a “hero” wouldn’t be fitting because although you often do heroic things, heroes’ lessons aren’t always fully grasped by those that are benefitted. Sending this letter to “my role model” makes it sound like I want to be just like you and have the same job and lifestyle I’ve witnessed you have. However, after learning to be my own person within the walls of your classroom, I’ve explored the plethora of options I can take, and you happen to exhibit only one of them.

You have been a teacher to me. You’ve taught me the importance of leading a life of passion, happiness, self-discovery, willingness and growth. When I walked into your class on the first day of school, I never would have anticipated that the most valuable things I would learn would be concepts untouched by our syllabus.

Sincerely,

An Alumnus