This article was originally published in the fall issue of LightLines, a publication of Christian Light, Harrisonburg, VA. For a free subscription, email subscribe.lightLines@christianlight.org.
Dear Mr. Wood,
You may not remember me. My maiden name was Deana Forester, and I was in your junior English class during the 1979-1980 school year. I was pretty quiet and sat in the back of the room. Ours was a small class with mostly guys who enjoyed playing sports. The reason I am writing this to you is to say thank you, because that class, and even more specifically you as a teacher, changed my life in a very positive way.
I had not ever thought of myself as a writer until I was in your class. Do you remember all those journal writing assignments you gave us? At first I was a bit intimidated by them, but I grew to love them and eventually filled up several notebooks that year because of your class. It was that year that I began to love writing, and I thank you for all those journal assignments, and for giving us the freedom to write about whatever we wanted to.
I was also impressed by your calmness and responses to some of the things that happened during class. I remember you asking us the first day to call you "Mr. Wood" and not "Mr. Woods", because, as you explained, there was only one of you. You always answered the students politely, even when some of the boys repeatedly called you "Mr. Woods" on purpose. Do you remember the time that one of the boys dropped a desk from out of your second story classroom window? You just looked out the window and kept on teaching, not giving him the response he wanted.
One of the changing points in my life came the next year, my senior year, when I was placed in the advanced honors English class. At first I protested and went to the school counselor to ask to be put into a regular English class. When I asked the school counselor why I was put into the honors class, she told me that it was because you had recommended that I be put there. I decided that if you thought that much of me, then I would try it. You helped to boost my confidence and morale at a time when I really needed it, and I began to sincerely enjoy academics for the first time because someone – you – thought I was good at it. That made a huge difference in my life.
I went on to write articles in the school newspaper my senior year, and later studied English so that I could be a teacher. I have now been teaching for fourteen years and have plans to teach for many more. And, one of my favorite activities is writing - something I began to love that year I was in your class. I’m not sure if any of this would have happened had I not had the privilege of having you as my teacher.
So, I want to sincerely thank you. Thank you for teaching English to a challenging group of students. Thanks for making us write. Thanks for your calm, steady example. And thanks for recommending that I be placed in that honors English class. It changed my life.
Sincerely,
Deana
Author's note: After I had written the basis of this letter, I was trying to find Mr. Wood’s address and instead found his obituary. He died six years ago in 2017 at the age of 80. I regret that I hadn’t written this sooner so that he could have read it.
Teachers, which students in your classes need encouragement, a tough assignment or two, and a good example?
Perhaps this would make a good assignment for all of us teachers as well as our students. Who has inspired us, and how could we thank them?