I can't emphasize to you enough how very special it is for a teacher to receive a note of thanks from a parent for a job well done. I treasure each and every one that I have ever received because to me they are more valuable than gold. When I go back and read one, memories of a particular school year flood back through my mind like a motion picture. The child and the mother who wrote the note below will always have a special place in my heart. The fact that she would take the time to write a note and thank me for my efforts means so much to me.
Letters from children are just as precious. I received this from a child twenty-six years ago when I was named Outstanding Educator in the State. This little boy is now a thirty-two year old man with a family.
The year I received this note was a very special year. I received flowers, cards and lots of special gifts to celebrate the award. My most memorable remembrance is not one I can post on here for you to see. It is a plastic wrapped mint one little boy gave me that year. I knew this child's home circumstances were very difficult but the thrill on his face every day as he entered the classroom will be forever stamped in my memory. He was like a little beam of sunlight. Although his clothes were worn and I often had to wash his face for him when he got to school, he had such a sweet precious spirit. He loved school and every Friday he would wait at the door before he left holding out his arms to me for a big hug and saying "I love you".
He was so proud of himself the morning that he came in and marched up to my desk announcing that he had a present for me. He held out his little hand and proudly placed the mint in my palm. I oohed and aah-ed and gave him a big bear hug. His grin spread across his little face as he told his little classmates to come and see what he had brought Mrs. B for her "A-ward!" I keep it nestled with all of the letters, cards, etc. that I have collected over the years to help me remember him by. The red stripes on the mint are beginning to blur and the white is mottled but my memories of this child are still fresh.
