Teacher feels valued after a former student sends mail thanking him for refusing to give up on him

Being a teacher is incredibly hard. No matter how much you care about your students and do good for them in the world, you can never get enough gratitude. However, there are glimmers of hope that remind them why they fell in love with the job in the first place. One example revolves around a teacher who received a sweet mail of appreciation 16 years later from a former student.

In a Reddit post, user Disgruntled_Veteran shared his story on the r/Teachers subreddit, explaining, "Just a short story about an email I got today. A former student, one I taught 16 years ago when he was a 6th grader, tracked me down. He got my email from a former co-worker. He apparently was looking for me for years. He wanted to tell me that I apparently made an impact on him. He wrote that he always remembered the skills I taught him, like addressing people as Sir and Ma'am, as well as how to properly shake a hand and make eye contact. He also wrote that he felt like I refused to ever give up on him and pushed him harder than any other teacher. He is now an ER nurse who is married and has 2 kids. He even invited me to stop by for dinner if I am ever in Kansas (where he went to college and currently resides)." 

While the teacher admitted he has often received emails like this every once in a while over the years, from both teachers and parents, it is just a pleasant reminder that his work matters. "It makes me feel like I do make an impact when it happens," the OP concluded.

Reddit users were delighted to read about the touching story. u/Eclectique1 wrote, "I print emails like this out and have a folder with them in my desk drawer. I'll read them back once or twice a year after one of those days to change my mood around. I don't think I would still be in this line of work without that folder. Seeing posts here asking about gifts for teachers are always kind of funny because sure, I'll appreciate a gift card, but those handwritten notes are the stuff that I truly treasure." u/nardlz added, "Things like that are what keep us going through the tough times! I hope you get to see him in Kansas. I've managed to meet up with some faraway former students and it's always been a blessing!" 

Teachers inspire hundreds and thousands of people (or more!) through their dedication and hard work. Here's your reminder to reach out to someone in the teaching world who never gave up on you and pushed you to be the best version of yourself!