Open Email to My Students

Containing an English-teacher-worthy number of inside jokes and silly literary allusions.

I just would like to let you know how much I appreciate you and everything you do. Most wouldn’t call you a favorite, but you are definitely mine.

-Excerpt, one of the best Teacher Appreciate Week notes I ever received

Inspired by this post from Paul Bowers (please subscribe to Brutal South if you haven’t already), and by this beautiful open letter from Samantha Rainwater, I thought I would share the following email, which I sent to all of my students from this year (with some very slight adjustments to remove identifying information). I would have sent it to every student from my fifteen-year career, if I could have. If I every taught you and you are reading this, I love you and I hope you are doing well.

Good morning,

I had a very rewarding and often very fun year with all of you, and it was a great pleasure to learn and grow with you, even though we all had to adapt to some challenging, Kafkaesque, and sometimes even Sisyphean circumstances. 

I really appreciate the contributions eac…