I just got a letter from a former student. It caught me off guard as I read it walking through the hallway in our school's office. I try not to get sentimental or emotional at work, but this letter choked me up. You never know what little things you do affect those around you. I keep a lot of the notes I get from my students, but this one is going in a special place for when I am feeling at the end of my rope. I will post the letter below, changing some of the names in it to maintain confidentiality as much as possible. I am not editing for spelling or grammar. That is not important here. What is important is that I am grateful that she thought enough about me and our experience that she took the time and effort to write to me. I am very touched:
May 24, 2009
Hi Mr. Selvin,
It’s been a little while since I was 10 and in your 5th grade class. It was your first year at [the school where I work, WTP], and you were the first male teacher I ever had. The first time I ever met you was during the summer right before school was about to start. I had been at [WTP], helping out teachers get ready for school. I was so anxious, yet nervous at the same time to meet you. As a normal 5th grader would, I kept wondering, “What if he’s really strict? What if he doesn’t like me? What if none of my friends are in that class?” I remember, walking down and seeing an unfamiliar face walking towards me and I asked, “Are you Mr. Selvin”, and you replied “Yep, your Dalia, right?? I think I have you in my class”. I was so surprised that you already knew my name and school hadn’t even started! I already like him I thought to myself.
Now, I currently go to school at [BHS], and am going on my 10th grade year here. This year, I had the privilege of being on [BHS]’s pom team, who won first place in the county in Division 1. So far I have successfully gotten straight A’s throughout this whole year, and am doing best to continue the hard work. High school is nothing like I thought it would be. I thought all the teachers were going to be really strict, and being a freshman, I thought I’d get pushed around a lot. It’s almost the exact opposite. The teachers I’ve had this year have been some of the nicest most generous teachers, with whom many, I’ve developed good friendships with. Completing all 3 years in middle school, I’d love to come back to [WTP] and tell your 5th graders about the whole experience.
Mr. Selvin, you are the one teacher I have shared the most memorable experiences with, which is why I wanted to write to you. Everyday, at about 2:30 when I’m passing [WTP], I look up to the window remembering what it was like to be in 5th grade. My mind begins to flash back to all those times as if it were yesterday.
I remember when you first showed us that game boggle. After that, I fell in love with playing it. I could never forget the talent show of 2005 when Aliya Lydia, Kira, and I , all did the number 2 pencils skit with you. I always wondered if you ever kept the pencil that I had made that you wanted keep, so you could show it to your students the next year.
That year, after we took our fall pictures and we had gotten them back, you had called us up one by one to ask if we were going to buy them. My picture, I hated because I thought I looked like a boy because my hair was pulled back and my head was big. When you saw it you asked why I wasn’t getting it because you thought in fact, I looked very nice. I just wanted you to know that, you telling me that meant a lot to me because as a child, and even now, I am very self-conscious about myself.
During the time when we were talking about civil rights, I brought in a bible that had been my great grandmothers. It had gotten burned when somebody had tried to burn her house down, and she grabbed it before she escaped. My dad was unsure about letting me take it in to school because he thought I might break it because it was so fragile. I begged him to let me show you, because it was something that was special to my family, and I couldn’t help but want to share it with you because I knew you would grasp the importance of it.
I’m not sure if your 5th graders now still have to write the poem book, like we did, but I enjoyed doing it. That was the first time I learned about cinquain poems. One of mines that you liked in particular was called “Snow”. It went…
Snow
Cold, breezy
Rolling, falling, piling
Finally it melts away
Gone?
You told me you liked the last part that said “gone?” because we do wonder if it’s really gone or not. When we first got the assignment that we had to write a poem, I wasn’t very thrilled, but after that, I developed a likeness for it, and now writing poetry is one of my favorite hobbies.
Aside of all those times, you have taught me some of the most valuable lessons on life than anyone has ever given me. At the end of year about this time, I remember you telling us a story about these heavenly gods, and an average man who wanted to be like them. One day the man asked the gods if he could join them and be popular like they are. They said to him, he could join them, but if he didn’t he would have to have a sword hanging over his head, held by just a measly thread. Although I didn’t understand the story that much then, I now understand the reality of it. The more popular you are or try to be, the more you’re a victim of something bad happening to you. This happens a lot in high school because the more popular or well known you are, the more there are people subject to not like you, even if you don’t know them. Rumors get easily passed around, leaving you to deal with a lot of drama. I often think back to that story when in situations like that where I’m the average guy wanting to be with the gods.
This letter is just to show all my appreciation for you and all that youv’e done for me. You prepared me well for middle school so I thank you for that. Continue being the wonderful teacher that you are. I hope yo’ve influenced many of your other students, like you’ve don me. I’ll stop by one day to say hello. If I don’t see you before schools out, I wish you a great rest of the year, and many m ore.
Sincerely,
