Dear Teachers,

You are the underappreciated heroes of society. You take kids and mold them into contributing members of society. A new school year brings with it the prospects of immediate hope and pending responsibility. Who knows if you are teaching a future president of the United States, a future Nobel Laureate, or a future astronaut? Who knows? When your students stroll into class on the first day of school, you have no clue who these kids will be in the next week, much less the next year, and even less the years ahead. To you, every kid is a blank slate with the ability to be and do anything in his or her lifetime. For this, I thank you.

The blank slate you grant each of your students is a gift unlike any other. In a world that is often stratified by advantage, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, family composition, access to technology, etc. a kid’s success can often be handicapped by their own perception of reasonable accomplishment. You level the playing field and make sure that kids know the actual realm of their goals, what they are capable of, and on top of that, you insure that us students know that we have the skill and ability to obtain these goals. In the middle of the semester, we may complain about homework or assignments but just know that with anything come growing pains. Please take this as our sincerest thank you, because we may not know it in the moment, but your expectations and determination will mold us into the people we aspire to be. For this, I thank you.

As I have spent years sitting behind a desk, listening to lectures and taking notes I have learned more than just the material on the curriculum. I might not always remember what the derivative of arcsin(x) is, but I will always remember that I should take pride in my work. I might not always remember every literary technique and when to use them, but I will always remember to take risks (within reason). And, I might not always remember what the right hemisphere of your brain is responsible for, but I will always remember to approach a problem from multiple perspectives. Of course I also learned about integrals, comma usage, and cognition, but so much of who I am now as a person, not just as a student, has come from learning from you. You’ve taught me how to think critically, you’ve taught me how to analyze and synthesize information, and you’ve taught me how to be resilient in the face of adversity. For this, I thank you.

You see, your impact reaches far past the walls of your classroom. I’ve learned how to advocate for myself as a female in a mostly male class, representative of our working society. I’ve learned how to constructively and mindfully break rules, so that I may break boundaries no longer necessary. And above all else, I’ve learned how to be an all around good human being, so that no matter what I do in the future, it will be out of the goodness of my heart. You work tirelessly, day in and day out for the academic and personal improvement of your students and you rarely get the recognition you deserve. It takes a special kind of person to put your personal needs aside for the betterment of the generations to come. For this, I thank you.

Just like you, I am excited by the encroaching school year and the opportunities that come with it. The days will be long and the night seemingly nonexistent, but I want to reassure you that the time spent and the sleep lost is not for nothing. So many times in life, the accomplishments we render materialize long after we see fit, but I hope you know that you played a role in everything your students have achieved and will achieve. Not a day goes by without me using something I’ve learned from you. You are an inspiration, my inspiration. So, for this, I thank you.

Sincerely,

Your students