About this time of year, Amy and I both receive lots of thank you cards from students. Amy got a beautiful note from a father the other day thanking her for all she did for his daughter. Earlier this week, I got two very sweet handwritten notes from former students for whom I wrote letters of recommendation for graduate school. I have kept all such notes over the last, well, 21 years if you count student teaching and three years teaching as a grad student at Humboldt State. I have a very swollen folder in a file cabinet in my office at home, and many of the most recent notes are propped up or affixed somewhere in my office at UConn. I also have several tchotchkes and other gifts, like books, that I have been given lining the shelves of my office. One very considerate former student sent me a Spanish-language edition of Moby-Dick this year for Christmas and a very nice copy of Dos Passos’ U.S.A. trilogy for my birthday. Another from my first year teaching in Connecticut just sent me a signed copy of her first novel.
Of course social media has changed this dynamic, and often I now receive emails and Facebook posts or messages to thank me, and of course Facebook lets me keep in touch with so many of these former students. Just today I wrote a happy birthday message on the wall of a beloved former student I named my daughter after. I love being able to stay in touch with so many former students this way. They send me articles they think I’ll find interesting, or write me with funny classroom stories.
I’m also really amazed and pleased to see how many of my former students have become not just teachers but English teachers! The same is true for Amy. Many of her former students have gone on to study languages, travel and study abroad, and go into teaching. The last two Outstanding Scholars in Spanish at UConn were Amy’s former students. And at this point, I’m starting to see more and more former students come back to take graduate coursework with me in the Summer Institute. Four of this year’s participants are former undergrads!
I, too, have managed to locate and be in touch with several of my favorite former teachers, like my high school Spanish teacher Kathy Bonn or my English teacher Joe Miata, both of whom are still teaching. But there are so many, especially from elementary school, that I have completely lost touch with. One former teacher I’d love to locate is Mr. Brucker, my second grade teacher at what was then High Hill Elementary School in Madison. Mr. Brucker was an amazingly kind and gentle man who softened a difficult year of transition for me after my family moved from Hamden to the shore line.
When I first sat down to write this evening, I debated whether or not I wanted to rail against Malloy’s reform proposals, or promote some of the CWP’s May events, like our 30th Anniversary Reunion or Recognition Night for Connecticut Student Writers magazine (the 11th and 15th, respectively, in case you’re wondering). But then I got thinking about the thank-you’s Amy and I received this week, and I also realized that Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up next week, and it made me think about the teachers I appreciate most, not just the good teachers, of whom there were many, but the ones who made more than just an intellectual impact.
I know from the stats page that Blogger provides that many more people read this blog than ever post responses. (I might get only two or three posted responses but a typical post gets about 125 views). We’re all so, so busy, but if you can find a moment, please post something brief about your favorite teacher or about a student whose appreciation made you feel special.
I imagine most of you have read the reports about how demoralized teachers are these days, so let’s all give ourselves a boost by celebrating our profession. Use this space (or my Facebook wall, which often times gets more posted responses to the blog than within the Blogger account!) to share a good anecdote, or even shout out a name. Who do you appreciate for their teaching?
OK, so this is the last week of the semester at UConn, and I’ll be taking a break from this blog for the summer. Do check out the CWP’s website for upcoming events, and think about us next year for PD in your school or maybe a recommendation for the Summer Institute. Have a good last few weeks. Enjoy your students, read some good books this summer, do a little writing for yourself, and I’ll see you in September!
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