Often, teaching feels like a bit of a thankless job, but there are moments when I have realized that no, in fact, it is not. It’s difficult, emotional, and it’s incredibly easy to lose perspective with the day to day grind, but it’s not thankless. Lot’s of people are incredibly thankful of the work that we do, none more so than the lab rats that are forced to sit in front of us 45 minutes a day for 9 straight months. They seem to appreciate any attempt to make your classroom more than just a knowledge factory. It’s easy to forget that they are thankful when it’s 3 am and you are cleaning puke off of someone’s floor, or when a student has been negotiating with you for 12 minutes about a single point on a test, or when you have a group of 18 unruly teenagers for two periods in a row on a Thursday afternoon because the school moved your block that is normally comfortably in the morning to the last period of the week to accommodate a school assembly.

But the emails I received from students at the end of the year were a perfect reminder that, yes, students are very thankful. And just like they mean more to me than receptacles of math and science goodness, I seem to mean more to them than just an equation pusher.

So below are snippets from some of the (completely unprompted) emails I received from various students at the end of the year. I debated about whether to share this, because they are fairly personal, for both my students and for me but I want everyone to see what is bringing me back next year and what is keeping me so excited about teaching. Also, I wanted to demonstrate the power of a simple thank you note, a lost art nowadays…

I just want to say thank you for such a wonderful year and I really enjoyed your fun and exciting math classes : ) You are an inspiring teacher : )

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Thank you for a great year in calculus. You’ve really taught me a lot in math, and you are truly a great teacher to have. Thank you for teaching me although i came late to your course, and even though i was a pain in your ass : P Have a great summer : ) Thanks for everything, and yes i still will try to get you to teach me next year *evil_grin*

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Sorry I didnt get the chance to say this in person, but I just wanted to say thank you very much for an amazing year.  thank you for making math mean more than just numbers.

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Your class was a bless! I’m in love with physics, but you made me even enjoy it much much more. You have this cheerful pleasant personality that you just know how to make us happy in class. Thank you for putting your time in teaching us, and for your excellent effort! I swear you are the fastest grading teacher, and probably the most organized!

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I just wanted to say that I had my best days in your physics and calculus class. I will miss you. You have been my teacher for two years, and now I’m leaving I just wanted to say thank you for everything and it was my pleasure having you teach me, you taught me a lot and you will always be my role model. I wish you all the best and we should keep in touch : )

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I wanted to thank you for everything this year! It was more than amazing having you as a teacher. I have never enjoyed math in my life like this year. Really I’m going to miss your fun class Mr. B.

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And my two favorites…

I guess I was a little embarassed saying this right now at the end of Physics, but I must really thank you for reliving my interest in sciences after 6 years. I must really thank you greatly.

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Thank you, Thank you for these great years that i have spent with you. You were more than just a teacher. You were the older brother I never had. We will definetly stay in touch after I leave as people like you are hard to forget

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So if your career doesn’t allow you to develop close relationships like this, or if your job’s meaning isn’t really derived from the people involved, then you have every right to be jealous. This is by far the best part of teaching and might be the reason why I make this a career and not just a job for right now.

Sometimes, I laugh out loud at the emails I receive from students. I thought I would share a few anonymously. This first chain of emails happened during finals…

I’m sort of terrified to ask- soooo would you know what my overall grade in class is??
If it is anywhere near the letter C- please do not tell me.
Thanks Mr. B!!!!!

Then, an hour and a half later because I didn’t happen to check my email between 7:55 and 9:22…

does this mean I have a C?

Dear Student, I can’t check my email every moment of every day, so I suggest that you not ask a question where “say nothing if blah blah blah” is one of the options. (PS the student had a much higher grade than that, so I’m not sure why they were so worried in the first place)

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The next couple are all from the same student who provides CONSTANT amusement in and out of class.

Dear Mr Bowman
What does the word “oscillate” mean?
Thank You
Sincerely,
Student

Dear Student, in the time it took to write me that email, you could have looked the word up in your textbook or gone to dictionary.com.
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Dear Mr Bowman
I have a strange sort of dilemma that has sustained into my very being (I am confused about something). It involves immense integrational irking that I have endured since its angelic arrival from the heavens above. This gift from the heavens has hassled me like a hurricane and i have my head over heels trying to understand….

Dear Student, you don’t get extra points in Physics for alliteration.
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Dear Mr Bowman
Here it is! I’m sorry for the really lame presentation but the thing was there was this dragon and it came and it was like “PIGS!”… no. What really happened was I couldnt save the PDF file so I decided to print screen it onto a word document.
Thank you for the chance that you gave us to complete our work
Sincerely,
Student

Dear Student, I actually like the dragon excuse for your late homework better than the lame pdf one.
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Dear Mr Bowman
I have just finished attempting the quiz and got 9.9 out of 10 because of a stupid mistake!!!!! is this the end?!
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Im a peacock you gotta let me fly! (The Other Guys!)

Dear Student, I’m not sure what you mean by the end, but any way I imagine it, it sure sounds a lot worse than getting 9.9/10 on a quiz. Also, your signature quote is… beautiful.

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And last, a one-liner from another after I agreed to an extension…

Sankss
(Thanks in some accent)

Dear Student, you’re velcome.