Teaching affirmation

Yesterday I got the most lovely email from a parent whose son I teach in my Maths class. I had called her concerned about her son's attitude towards Maths, not because he was exhibiting any negative behaviours, but because he had seemed to have lost his love and enthusiasm for Maths, in such a quick period of time.

We met that afternoon in my classroom for an informal meeting, and it turned out he was just having a few "off" days because his friend was not at school. I had such a nice conversation with both the boy and his mother, who was so affirming and encouraging. His mum said such nice things about my teaching style and how I was her son's favourite teacher, and then followed up with an email the next day discussing the conversation she had with her son after they came to see me.

She ended the email with "So, once again, I would like to thank you very much for all the wonderful work you have done and also for your time, enthusiasm, patience and outstanding professionalism as a teacher, towards our son. I hope that you are here at this school for many more years to come, because the students here are very lucky to have such an amazing & caring person guiding them through their school years."

But that wasn't my favourite part- even though it was very sweet.

This was the kicker:

"I would like to share with you these appropriate quotes:

· The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. ~William A. Ward (her emphasis)

· The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book. ~ Anonymous "