Dear kind and decent student,
I am grateful for all my kids. The shy ones, the quiet ones, the weird ones, the smart ones, the too-smart-for-their-own-good ones, the silly ones, the class clowns, the teacher’s pets, the athletes, the bookworms, the I’m-just-here-because-I-have-to-be-ones, the sad ones, the puppy-love-eyed ones, the ones with awesome&meaningful questions, the ones that are still my head with pride as I’m falling asleep, and the ones that are still in my heart with worry as I’m waking up.
Every single one of them – I love ’em.
but you;
kindhearted, decent, patient kid,
I am most grateful for you.
thank you.
thank you for being exactly you.
thank you for coming to class on time, smiling at your classmates, and sitting in your seat to be ready for the bell.
thanks for saying hi to me in the hallway on your way to your other classes.
thanks for saying hi to the custodian (yeah, I saw that).
thanks for waiting your turn and sharing and cleaning up after yourself (and the student next to you – yeah, I saw that too).
but most of all, thank you for being the one I know I can trust with the student that no one else is going to pick to partner with in class.
Maybe it’s the kid who doesn’t ever have their work, or the kid of 1000 immature jokes, or the kid who isn’t so good at hygiene yet, or the kid who is so quiet and shy, or the kid who talks about off topic subjects that no one else has ever heard of, or the kid who is a perfectionist, or the kid who gets so mad they crumple their paper up into a ball, or the kid who won’t stop tapping the pen, or the kid who answers all the questions without raising their hand.
Because you know what – I love that kid too.
and I worry so much about that kid
but here you are relieving a tiny bit of that worry.
I don’t know why you choose to be kind –
maybe you used to be that kid?
maybe you have a sibling who is that kid?
maybe you were raised up learning that everyone deserves respect and decency no matter how different they might be from what is “cool” in high school
but whatever the reason,
I know I can count on you as I scan the room for group work
and it means more than you could ever know.
thank you.
to the ends of the marking period,
to the ends of the school year,
to the ends of the Earth.
thank you.
I know I rely on you too much, I know I probably take advantage of your patience and kindness too often. I also know I don’t tell your momma (or coach, or dad, or grandma, or caregiver, or teachers, or whoever it is that you care about) nearly enough how grateful I am to be your teacher.
Let me say it now –
Your kindness changes the dynamic of our classroom.
Every single person in our room has a better day because you show up with kindness and positive vibes.
Just so I’m clear –
I am so grateful that I get to be your teacher.
I am so grateful that your peers get to be your classmate.
I am so grateful that our school gets to be your alma mater.
I am so deeply grateful that this world; who needs more people like you so badly, gets to have you a part of it.
thank you kind kid.
from your indebted, proud teacher.
ps. to the parents and caregivers raising the kind kid – keep doing what you’re doing and then write a manual for all of us please.
