"I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead."
— Mark Twain
Mr and Mrs. Longhenry were teachers in my high school. They were both very influential to the way I viewed my education. Mr. Longhenry taught history and Mrs. Longhenry taught English. Both of them always encouraged their students to go above and beyond what they thought they could do. I don't think I would be as passionate as I am today if I hadn't had the privilege of having the Longhenrys as my teachers. I don't think I would be as interested in teaching as I am today if I hadn't seen how they truly changed their students lives. Below is a letter I wrote to Mrs. Longhenry. I hope both of them know how many lives they have touched.
Dear Mrs. Longhenry,
I’ve thought of writing to you for a long time. I often wonder if you have any idea what an influence you had on my life. I had always loved reading but it wasn’t until I had you as a teacher that I truly began to love literature. You had a passion for teaching that was palpable and more importantly you truly believed in your students. That belief that we could do better than we thought we could made me want to better. It made me want to work harder and it made me want to make you proud. I hope I succeeded in that.
Once, we needed to find sources for a paper. I had procrastinated and the day before it was due I had no idea where I should start. I was so scared to come to you for help, but you did not yell at me or belittle me; you did not scold me or even give me a disapproving look. You let me come to your house and borrow books that you had on my topic. You simply helped me and it meant the world to me. Until I had you as a teacher I believed that teachers were fearsome creatures. They could not know if I was uncertain or behind in my work. They must not know that I didn’t comprehend the reading for today. But with you I felt encouraged to admit my shortcomings and to ask for help.
You wrote a letter of recommendation for me for college. You let the students that you wrote letters for read them if they wanted to. I’m sad to say I don’t remember the exact words you used but I do remember how it made me feel. I felt so honored to have been the subject of one of those letter, and that I had made you proud and that you believed in my success post-high school. You also wrote your letter by hand. That always stayed with me. You could have typed the letters and saved the time and energy, but you didn’t. You took the time to sit and write each letter of recommendation you gave. You thought about the student, you knew the student and you were invested in them and in their future.
It was because of you that I majored in English in college and it’s because of you that I ever considered becoming a teacher. I wanted to be the kind of teacher you were to me to other students. I want to make students feel like they can be better than they ever dreamed they could be. You and Mr. Longhenry were inspirational teachers. You both wanted your students to learn about not only the topics you were teaching but about life and how to exist in the world as a useful human being. You never belittled us, you treated us like our ideas mattered and you helped us. You taught us.
Thank you for dedicating your life to teaching and to your students. I know I am not the only student whose life you touched and changed for the better, but I am grateful to have been one of them. Thank you for my education,
Fondest Regards,
Lisa (Mills) Eckardt
Dear Mrs. Longhenry,
I’ve thought of writing to you for a long time. I often wonder if you have any idea what an influence you had on my life. I had always loved reading but it wasn’t until I had you as a teacher that I truly began to love literature. You had a passion for teaching that was palpable and more importantly you truly believed in your students. That belief that we could do better than we thought we could made me want to better. It made me want to work harder and it made me want to make you proud. I hope I succeeded in that.
Once, we needed to find sources for a paper. I had procrastinated and the day before it was due I had no idea where I should start. I was so scared to come to you for help, but you did not yell at me or belittle me; you did not scold me or even give me a disapproving look. You let me come to your house and borrow books that you had on my topic. You simply helped me and it meant the world to me. Until I had you as a teacher I believed that teachers were fearsome creatures. They could not know if I was uncertain or behind in my work. They must not know that I didn’t comprehend the reading for today. But with you I felt encouraged to admit my shortcomings and to ask for help.
You wrote a letter of recommendation for me for college. You let the students that you wrote letters for read them if they wanted to. I’m sad to say I don’t remember the exact words you used but I do remember how it made me feel. I felt so honored to have been the subject of one of those letter, and that I had made you proud and that you believed in my success post-high school. You also wrote your letter by hand. That always stayed with me. You could have typed the letters and saved the time and energy, but you didn’t. You took the time to sit and write each letter of recommendation you gave. You thought about the student, you knew the student and you were invested in them and in their future.
It was because of you that I majored in English in college and it’s because of you that I ever considered becoming a teacher. I wanted to be the kind of teacher you were to me to other students. I want to make students feel like they can be better than they ever dreamed they could be. You and Mr. Longhenry were inspirational teachers. You both wanted your students to learn about not only the topics you were teaching but about life and how to exist in the world as a useful human being. You never belittled us, you treated us like our ideas mattered and you helped us. You taught us.
Thank you for dedicating your life to teaching and to your students. I know I am not the only student whose life you touched and changed for the better, but I am grateful to have been one of them. Thank you for my education,
Fondest Regards,
Lisa (Mills) Eckardt