I don’t know you and you don’t know me, but today you become one of
the most important people in my life. You are the one. The one who I’ve
entrusted to take care of my girl in my absence. The one who I’ve tasked
with teaching her things that I cannot. The one who will make an
indelible mark on her little soul that will forever shape her
perspective of learning.
This is a difficult transition for our family because until this
moment in her life, it’s been her Dad and me who’ve made these
impressions. We fail and fall short each and every day, but everything
we’ve done has been done with great love. Now, we’ll share our influence
with you, and we hope that you understand your significance in her
life.
These are the things we ask of you as we place our most precious gift in your hands:
Love her
We are sending her to you to learn reading and writing and
arithmetic, but greater than her need for any academic pursuit is her
need to be loved and cherished. Take the time to see her unique gifts
and her unique challenges. You cannot love her if you don’t know her,
and although your day is undoubtedly filled with a to-do list longer
than anyone realizes, make this one first on your list. She will learn
far more from someone who delights in her than someone who doesn’t. Show
her that there are other adults in the world besides her parents who
will love her, who she can trust, who will advocate for her, who see the
good in her and will help her along this journey of life.
Encourage her
Although it’s easily lost in the day-to-day shuffle, remember the
weight that your words carry. Our teachers carry incredible power in
their words, and in many ways they tell us who we are and who we will
become. Use your words wisely. Use them to encourage and empower her, to
build her confidence. Open her eyes wide with the excitement of
learning. Be the teacher who shows her that learning brings with it a
world of adventure. More important than any lesson you can plan is to
teach her to love learning. It’s the one lesson that will stay with her
forever.
Teach kindness and respect
I know you will be focused on reaching academic milestones, but also
know that more than any letter on a report card, I desire for my child
to learn to live well with others. I tell her that she is special and
wonderfully made, but she also needs to know that each and every other
child around her is, too. Demand respect from her for yourself and for
her peers, and do not accept anything less. Guide her to be patient and
kind. Care for her and teach her to care for others.
Know how much we appreciate your sacrifice
Please know that I understand how much I am asking of you. I know
that you stand in between these walls each and every day not in search
of financial or professional rewards, but because you care about my
child and many others. While you may feel undervalued by the rest of the
world, please know that you are incredibly valued by our family. Thank
you for the sacrifices you’ve made to spend your days with my little
one. Thank you for all of the time, money and effort you spend preparing
lesson plans, decorating your classroom, obtaining supplies that the
school can’t provide. Those hours that you’ve spent that no one knows
about and no one pays you for are not spent in vain.
You are investing in the future of my child, and for that I am forever grateful.
Courtney Schmidt is medical communications editor, Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Orlando, FL. She blogs at Illuminate.
P.S. I totally stand by the words penned down by the writer. This note from the beginning till end is hers, but they resonate my feelings as a mother word by word. My letter to Vrinda's teacher, as she commences the new chapter of her life, reflects a lot of these aspects. As she begins her Pre-School tomorrow, 12.01.2015, it also embarks me on a new journey, a new dimension and a new life. Tonight as she sleeps tight in her bed, all my heart goes out to my little angel, wishing her the best in the world of learning and education.
