Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/55384
MAKING A DIFFERENCE Thank You, Teacher! Letters our members have received from appreciative students continue to roll in to the "Thank You, Teacher!" Project, so we thought we'd share a few more, including a poem! We're finding that our teachers, counselors, librarians, and education support profession- als not only hear from students, they hear from parents, which is always a sign that they are involved in their children's education. Take a look at this month's offering. And if you are interested in sharing notes you've received from students, send them to the "Thank You, Teacher!" Project, CTA Communications Department, 1705 Murchison Drive, Burlingame, CA 94010, or to dmartin@cta.org. LEIGH ANN MCCREADY, a veteran Milpitas Teachers Association member, has kept one letter of thanks from a parent since 1985, when she was a student teacher being supervised by her father, a 39-year teacher. Her dad told her to hang on to it because there would be days when she needed it. Apparently it was advice taken. She writes, "The letter still hangs on a bulletin board in my home office, LISA WILANDER, a member of the College of the Desert Faculty Association, received a poem from a student she counseled. If I could teach you, teacher, I'd teach you how much more You have accomplished Than you think you have. I'd show you the seeds You planted years ago, that are now coming into bloom. I'd reveal to you the young minds that have expanded under your care. The hearts that are serving others because they had you as a role model. If I could teach you, teacher, I'd show you the positive effect you've had on me and my life. Your homework is To know your value to the world. To acknowledge it. To believe it. Thank you, Teacher. and there have been days in the past 26 years that I have needed its gentle reminder. There are other thank-you notes that I've collected over the years, but this one continues to remind me why I chose this field." Because you took the time to let me know how Linda is doing in your class (which makes me very proud of her), I thought I'd let you know how well you are doing with her. I can remember when Linda hated history. She now comes home and tells me how interesting you make it. She tells me she's not bored anymore and that she really likes it! You must be one good teacher. Keep up the good work. We need you! ANN SIMS, a Lake Elsinore Teachers Association member, keeps a letter from one of her eighth-grade students framed on her wall. She says, "It reminds me how very important my job is and how the slightest word or look can ultimately change my students' lives forever. Continually, my stu- dents humble me as a person and a teacher." I was waiting for you to finally drop me, to finally give up on the lost cause I thought I always was. I was waiting ever so impatiently for that bomb to just drop, just as it had so many times before. But you didn't let it. You refused to give up the hope you had for me. Because of this, I finally, for once in my life, have hope for myself. When I was going in all the wrong directions, you gently showed me the right way. When I was caving in, you were always there to put my pieces back in place. You not only helped fix me, you gave the necessary tools to help me deal in the future. P.S. You have helped inspire me to fulfill my dream of being a writer. One of these days, you are going to see one of my books sitting on a bookshelf in the library, just wait! 26 California Educator / February 2012 T h EAn T Ck yo E a Hu R