This is a letter I received upon graduation of a student in 2013.
I had the student as a 9th grader and he and I had a very negative exchange over a persuasive letter he was writing. I crossed the line with my comments and subsequently our working relationship was broken. I then taught him again in the 12th grade as he was a student in the IB Program. There was much trepidation on my part and his (and his mother). This is the email his mom wrote me.
A Lesson in Forgiveness
Dear Ms. Swift:
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for being a caring and
wonderful teacher. As you know, our relationship started out a little rough,
but in the end, we came together for the good of *****.
I am so grateful that there are teachers like you who truly care about our
children. You have demonstrated this higher love and care to my son,*****, on so many occasions.
Thank you so much for overlooking his youthful stupidity and immaturity.
I look forward to seeing the successful man that *** will eventually become and will always be grateful to you for assisting in that process. If there is anything I can assist you with in the present and/or future, please feel free to contact me.
May God Bless and Keep You.
I have kept this letter on the desktop of my computer as a reminder of what not to do with students and that forgiveness has the power to heal and mend relationships.
I admire you for your candor here, and for showing that while we all have our off days, that forgiveness, respect, and love can still win the day.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the November challenge! It's wonderful to have you in our community. I absolutely respect you for your honesty and sharing of this letter and the experience around it. I think we've all had moments like this that don't always turn out as well. As you say, it's something we learn from. Powerful. Looking forward to reading more posts.
ReplyDeleteJustine :-)