Join us in saying thank you to our AMAZING educators who are preparing students for their futures! Within our school district, there are 95 licensed staff, including 85 classroom teachers, who provide instruction and help all students do their best work and become their best selves.
Below is a love letter to teachers compiled from South Umpqua School District students, beginning with words from kindergarteners and ending with high school seniors.
Dear Teachers,
Elementary – I love you. My teacher is really nice and helps us learn. I’m so glad I’m in your class. My teacher is the best teacher and teaches us very goodly.
Since starting school I’ve learned that when raindrops drop down, they evaporate into air. What makes a great teacher is that she gives us snacks. My favorite thing about the teacher is the classroom. It’s like a normal classroom but it has pretty things in it.
My very favorite thing about my teacher is about learning. In kindergarten I used to know what 15 plus 19 is, but now I’m in first grade, I know that 400 plus 400 is 800, and 800 plus 800 is 1,600. We used to not know stuff, but now we do. Teachers make our brains grow so we have more memories. My brain gets smarter. Math makes my teacher amazing to me. To make learning fun, my teacher tells jokes sometimes.
What’s the best advice from my teacher? Take a deep breath and try to give the best answer that makes sense to you. I just want to thank her for everything she’s done for me and the class. My teacher cares about everybody equally and isn’t harsh if they do a bad job on a test and says you can always do better on the next one.
I’ve never learned more in a year than I did this year in fifth grade. I’ve learned from all different kinds of categories, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, multiplying decimals, all sorts of stuff. My teacher doesn’t let people mess around, and if you need help with something, she’ll go and help you. If you feel like you’re going to give up, my teacher helps you to get through it. Kids could show their appreciation by not talking back and saying please and thank you more and be nice to them.
Middle School – I like all of the teachers and all of the teachers like me. My teacher encourages everyone. A few years back I was playing catch with my friend, and I couldn’t catch a single ball, until my teacher encouraged me saying, you can do it. My second-grade teacher encouraged me to make friends. My teacher is my favorite because she’s chill.
When I was doing my math problem, my teacher said, you can do it. Thanks for always encouraging me and for helping me with my work. I had to do a slide show and I had to present it, and I was not excited about it, and I told my teacher who encouraged me not to be afraid. That helped me a lot when I did the presentation. Thank you because you’re nice and you let us listen to music.
What makes a good teacher? A teacher who is nice and encourages you to do your work.
Kids can show appreciation to their teachers by being nice to them.
One word to describe teachers is kind.
High School – Students can show appreciation for their teachers by being better in class, like listening. One time our teacher put in six hours preparing a lesson for us . . . six hours is a long time. A lot of teachers allow you to work in groups. When we’re learning together, we get to add new ideas I can’t think of that that someone could add.
My teacher taught me about a ton career paths, from welding to ag. My teacher continuously encourages me to talk to people and get out and about in the school, and continuously pushes me to do better. He helped me a lot with choosing what school I want to go to and what career path . . . from researching what college I want to go to and finding the best financial path for me.
What makes a teacher a great teacher? A lot of listening and trying to understand what people are going through. I think it’s just a lot of understanding and being willing to talk. There’s obviously a professional boundary but having the chance to build a connection with a student is always a really good thing. Respect teachers and be kind to them.
Appreciation can be shown to teachers by realizing that teachers do it for you [the students], realizing that teachers are real people as well, and they’re dedicating their life to you and realizing that, taking that in, spreading love to your teachers.
Sincerely,
Students