Have you see the film Mr. Holland's Opus? Or any number of Hollywood movies which feature teachers. There's always this (obligatory) you've-made-a-difference-to-my-life scene where the students with tears in their eyes thank the teacher (with tears in his/her eyes) for turning perception of themselves and their abilities around. Hugs and smiles for everyone.
Well, real life ain't like that. Not usually. Generally a course finishes, or you change jobs. You shuffle off into the sunset. Your students embrace their bright and brilliant futures. And often you don't hear from them again. Or not usually. Though I do bump into my MCKK boys from time to time in shopping malls and weddings.
Anyway, this e-mail was in my inbox this morning and I'm going to treasure it.
salam sejahtera
we met almost 20 years ago. i was this young lad on the verge of finishing high school. you were, well, you were younger. in fact, you were then known as ms young. i was a student in your english class and we were in the malay college. it was english 1119 and you were the teacher. i was eager and excited. for the very first time, a native speaker of english was teaching me to write good proper english. i had always loved english. but i could never make much sense of my thoughts in the reports and the summaries that i wrote and especially in the rigid formats that limited the way i wanted to express my thoughts. then you introduced creative writing and that opened a whole new avenue for me to release all the pent up aching yearnings that were welling up inside of me. since that piece i wrote for you about the point of view of a frog, i have written many pieces, long and short, that won me praises and A's in numerous english and literature classes here in malaysia and the US. i've had many teachers whom i am grateful for enriching my life with writing. each one had that special touch in guiding me. each one had that unique style which captivated my interest. each one had that wholesome way of building up my confidence that allowed me to express myself freely in words. you had your way. before you came, i did not know that i could write. you showed me that i was not only good but that i could do better. i cannot tell you how much writing have benefitted my life. but i can tell you that you made a difference in my life. i thank God for you. terima kasih.
There are several teachers in my life I wish I could thank ... Perhaps I shall do it here.
5 comments:
Hi. I got to know of your blog through Chet.
I just wanted to say that many good teachers make long-lasting impacts and are never thanked enough for them. I was lucky enough to have at least three of them who made a difference in my life; and was lucky enough to bump into them as an adult and acknowledge them.
How wonderful that your student actually looked you up and wrote you an email.
Recently I too posted on To Teachers with Love after watching an episode of Boston Public ...It's on Sat nights still on one of the local channels.
Yes, one can't write enough in praise of certin teachers who could influence you to such an extent it could have impacted on one making a certain career choice.Indeed, I owed mine greatly to one teacher who later progressed to become a hiughly successful lawyer. (That particular Boston Public's episode was one ending with a successful lawyer turning up at the school wanting to become a teacher!)
Glad to read about one of your students' remembering you with such gratitude! reminds one of Lulu's "Those schooldays of biting nails and ponytails are gone ...
I don't think Sharon's students at MCKK sported ponytails! Well, maybe now, but certainly not then!
ooops, poor memory recall in earlier comment:
The lyrics should go: "Those schooldays, of telling tales and biting nails are gone..."(Can I be excused, that movie starring Sidney Poitier goes back a lo-oo-ng time...)
Actually, it's "those schoolgirl days ... "
Oops, showing my age.
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