Thank you. People expect their favorite teacher to stick out like Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World who just exudes guidance and life lessons at all times of the day. People far often don't recognize the teachers who keep a more low-key dynamic but are more frequently the must influential. High school just isn't like it's portrayed on television. For some, high school sucked. It was four years of doing what needed to be done to get out. I was one of those kids. I was indifferent about the whole thing and was just waiting for it to end. It all seemed so menial, you know, going to the same classes day after day memorizing information I would often forget the first week of summer vacation. Nothing really stuck, to this day I can't tell you a lot of what I learned or who some of my teachers were. Everything just blends together.
You were one of the few teachers whose class I enjoyed attending day after day. Although I might not be pursuing a career in anything you taught me, I never forgot anything I learned in your classes. It's still pertinent to this day in the middle of my college career. Thank you for making school more than just memorizing. You incorporated personal stories or pictures from places you've traveled to in your lessons and it made me that much more interested in listening to you. It's one thing to read about places and look at pictures in school provided textbooks, but it's something else entirely to hear it from the perspective of someone who's been there themselves.
Thank you for always being hard on me and challenging me to do better. An 85 was a solid test grade, but a 95 was something I could be proud of.
Thank you for always encouraging me and believing in me even when I didn't in myself. You didn't even blink when I told you I got accepted into all the colleges I applied to, despite the fact that I was nervous about it.
Thank you for being more than a teacher, but also a friend. You always took the time to ask how things were going, and you were an easy person to talk to when things got rough. Whether you realized it or not, it meant an awful lot when you took the time to ask how everything was going.
Thank you for being passionate about teaching because it made me interested in school again.
Thank you for still keeping in touch with me all these years later. I truly enjoy letting you know how I'm doing in college and hearing about your family.
You told me once that you only became a teacher to be better than the ones that you had growing up. Personally, I think you've achieved it. I am forever thankful to have had a teacher who encouraged me day after day.
I know you've had hundreds of students over the years, and will continue to have them for a couple more years. Just know that even out of those hundreds, you inspired me enough to pursue my dreams. I've had countless teachers since Kindergarten, but know you will always be the one who sticks out the most. I might not have been the kid in the class with the highest average, but I know I learned the most from you. So, thank you. I can only hope there are more kids out there like me who feel they've been changed by you. You made all the difference in high school and I am forever grateful to have had you as my teacher.
