Now that we are towards the end of the semester, there’s time take a look at your grades, your efforts and your teachers. I looked and realized that there was one adjunct professor that I really felt grateful to. I decided that it would be nice to give her a professional recommendation for her personal file. If there’s a teacher who you feel has gone above and beyond, you may do the same. Don’t worry about whether it’s geeky or not. Yes, being grateful may not look cool to your friends but it’s good karma and you can use all of that you can get, especially when you’re the one looking for a job later.
Here’s my letter, and yes, you may use the format or any style ideas from it to thank the professors who are making a difference for you.
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this letter of recommendation for Heidi L. Ferry because I truly believe she needs some credit for being a terrific math teacher. She is currently teaching Basic Algebra 091 and is the only math teacher that I’ve ever had that could explain to me the “why’s” of the math operations clearly. She has a lot of patience and checks with us to make sure we are getting the concepts right. Before tests, she gives us reviews and for the first time in my life, I don’t feel like a hopeless dunce in math. I have an A average; me, the girl who in first grade was told nicely by my math/reading teacher that “It’s okay, not everybody’s a math person.” I thought she was being kind pointing out that it was just the way nature made me. My non-mathematic-English-artsy brain just couldn’t deal with all those number thingies.
Thirty some-odd years later, I’m happy to say she was wrong. It is with the help of Professor Ferry that I have this confidence. Most of my class and I wish she could stay our teacher throughout our college experience but know this cannot be the case. I hope my next algebra teachers will be as thorough and patient as her and I wish her all the best in her career.
A Very Thankful Student,
Jennifer Smith-Jamieson
SUNY-Ulster Community College
Thanks to Professor Heidi L. Ferry.
Thank you Jennifer for sharing your comments and compliments about Professor Ferry. I hope more students follow your lead and send a letter of appreciation to their instructors; perhaps if more students do the same, it will dispel the idea that it is a geeky thing to do. It is sad that showing gratitude/appreciation for someone has a negative connotation, for it is a very human thing to do, and as you stated it is good karma. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for this! A true teacher loves what they teach and imparts that love to their students, and you have been fortunate to experience one of those teachers. Gratitude is an act of grace. There is nothing wrong with grace, and geeks are really courageous people who love what they do (and become our future teachers!