Thank You, Teacher

THANK YOU MRS.AGNES OJARA P O BOX 12345, 00600 Nairobi.

Dear Mrs. Ojara, I hope this missive finds you well.

It has been said, “A good teacher explains. A superior teacher demonstrates. A great teacher inspires.”

At the risk of stating the obvious, I realize I may not have been your prize English student.

In fact, I struggled with learning Shakespeare and other classic Literature. I began your Introduction to Shakespeare class with great trepidation.

From Day One you began revising my once-poor opinion of English Literature and English grammar in general.

Words cannot tell you how much I appreciated your passion for the English language and your patience with us during English lessons. You must have infected me with a bug because I tell you Mrs. Ojara, I have had a loving affair with the English language since I left Moi Nairobi Girls High School.

I remember in particular how fervently and zealously you discussed Romeo and Juliet. To this day I can still remember the names of the main characters. However, more than anything, you taught us the lesson of passion. Passion for what you do, no matter what it is that you do.

I want you to know, I have carried that lesson with me all my adult life. Passion has served me well whether it’s at home or at work. I’m currently employed by an Airline here in Florida. I work on the ground as a customer service agent, booking tickets and checking in baggage. A job that I love to bits since each day is as alike as chalk and cheese. I’m known at work for my passion for a job well done, for my explanation skills to befuddled first time flyers, for my clarity and uncomplicated, easily digestible instructions to trainees (when I trained.)

Most of all, my boss is impressed by my level of commitment to my job, and my superlative communication skills; all of which I emulated from you.

Mrs. Ojara, I regret not writing you sooner. I got derailed by a defective marriage, a prolonged divorce and an even more delayed bounce back. Nevertheless, as soon as I caught my second wind, I was up and running with my writing expertise.

I cannot say Thank You enough for instilling in me discipline and a reverence for the English language. 

May God Bless and keep you Mrs.Ojara,

Your Student,

Judy N. K.

If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job. ~Donald D. Quinn

A good teacher is a master of simplification and an enemy of simplism. ~Louis A. Berman