on appreciation

Every once in a while one of my kind students will write me a little note telling me how much they liked a class, or appreciated my support, or whatever. I keep those notes. Some of them even have funny little drawings on them--I like those a lot. These notes only come once in a while; maybe people even feel silly writing them. But a kind word like that means so, so much to us troopers in the field. Mostly what we get are complaints: I don't understand the assignment (and it's all your fault); the assignment is too hard (and it's all your fault); there's not enough time to do the assignment (and it's all your fault).

I get a lot of that, and I weather it as best I can. I figure students don't have that many professors they can go to where they express their pressures and general stress. I suspect I am one of the few, and I try to be responsive.

But it does take its toll....and that's why the thanks mean so much.

So here's mine: thank you, too. Thank you so much for getting something out of my classes. Thank you for coming, and talking, and caring about what we read. Thank you for remembering me afterward. And thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to write.

You guys are what make it all worthwhile.