An Open Thank You Letter To My Teachers

On average, considering primary and higher education together, a student spends almost 15 to 16 years under the canopy of teachers. Including graduation years, it counts to 19 to 20 years. This article is a mere attempt to thank all the beautiful souls out there whom we address like our ‘Teachers’. It is in the form of a letter to thank teachers, who made a great contribution to our life. No matter how good or bad we were as a student, we still reminisce our teachers and miss all those dynamic moments which we will always cherish.

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Dear Teachers,

You are one of the dearest parts of our lives. This is also one of the reasons why many students develop almost parental relationships with you. For some students, you are their role models while a few others recall you as their nightmares because of your strictness.

Most often, because of our habit of taking the things for granted, we overlooked your importance in our life. We usually forget to give you the respect and appreciation that you deserve. We may not have realized it at that time, but now when we look back, we know that we would not be who we are today if you had never been our teacher. No matter how hard we try, we won’t be able to thank you enough for whatever you did for us.

Still, there exist a variety of reasons for which we, your students, would always be thankful to you.

1. Thank you for believing in us even when we didn’t believe in ourselves.

For every child who says, “I am not smart enough” or “I can’t”, there is always a teacher who says, “You can!” Thanks for making us realize that we were good at something we once thought we can’t.

Often when we get stuck by the obstacles of our life, it’s only you who show us the way through those obstacles. Thank you for always inspiring and encouraging us to keep moving forward. Thank you for never giving up on us.

2. Thank you for teaching us not only the lessons from our textbooks but for teaching us the lessons of life.

Your few simple words have the power to change our outlook towards our life. You know very well what’s right or wrong for us. You always focused on nurturing us with good ethics and values so that we can be good citizens. Thanks for guiding us to the right path in life.

3. Thank you for your relentless and innovative efforts while teaching.  

We are well aware of the fact how this COVID-19 crisis came out of nowhere and its drastic effects on our lives. Within 48 hours, you transitioned from physical classrooms to a new world of online learning which is itself a challenge for you as well as for students. Even in this lockdown, you are attempting different ways to deliver lessons reaching out to your students, ignoring your own discomforts. You’re adapting your teaching styles in the blink of an eye only for the sake of your students.

Yes, you are one of the unsung heroes of this crisis. We neither clapped for you nor appreciated you. What we only did was make fun of your commitments, dedication, and passion for your work. Still, it didn’t affect you and you continued your service for your students on a selfless note.

Thank you, teachers, for always trying to be a good mentor even if you never felt adequately appreciated. Click to tweet.

4. Thank you for not judging us irrespective of our success or failure.

It’s only you who always motivate us to dream, fight, and never give up. The only person who is genuinely happy over our accomplishments other than our parents is you. Thank you for your constant support and cheers through our bad times and for your appreciation through our good times. Thanks for caring about us even in those times when we were not at all bothered to care about you.

5. Thank you for accepting us despite our flaws and weaknesses

If you would not have scolded or punished us for our irresponsible behavior, we would never have known the actual meaning of the word DISCIPLINE. Thanks for dealing with our rude and impatient attitudes.

You must have faced those days when the last thing you wanted to do was to teach a bunch of uninterested and undisciplined students. But you did anyway. Considering your act of selflessness, we still remember those days when in classrooms, with scorching heat, without water, and without a fan, you were still continuing your lectures.

Thank you for having the strength to teach through whatever was bothering you.

6. Thank you for coping up with an educational system that is itself sometimes flawed

As far as the Indian education system is concerned, both teachers, as well as students, have a list of problems that are still waiting for their solutions. Like we know that our system concentrates more on marks than on talent, more on theory than on practical, and many more such issues.

You are after all bound by a set of instructions and rules of the syllabus and the education ministry. There is only little you can do about it, still, you try every possible way to cope up with this system. You don’t let us stop at one thing but continuously encourage us to explore and learn new things. 

7. Thank you for making our school and college days a golden period of our life.

We still remember those applauds of yours whether it comes to performing on stage in an annual function or winning a medal on annual sports day. Those ‘Antakshari’ sessions at school picnics or the teachers’ day celebration of our schools and colleges are still fresh in our memory as if it happened only yesterday.

Even now, we remember that proud look on your eyes when we represented our schools for various quizzes and competitions on a national or state level. Thanks for all those fun along with learning.

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If there’s anyone who is in a position to bring positive change into the world every day, it’s you. The person behind every successful scientist, doctor, engineer, entrepreneur, etc is you. It’s only you who immensely contributes to our growth as an individual.

Making you proud was something I always aimed for because I knew you would be more thrilled at my success than I was. I want you to know that your impact on me didn’t end the minute I left your class.

Thank you for every lesson, smile, piece of advice, punishment as well as for a vote of encouragement. Thanks for always being there whenever we needed you. We owe you a lot. We love you.

Cheers to all the teachers all over the world.

HAPPY TEACHERS’ DAY!