Every year I receive gifts from my students a day or two before Christmas break. I teach high school, so I don't get quite as many as an elementary school teacher, but I can always count on a wide and assorted collection of chocolate. I appreciate the thoughtfulness of each gift and admire the wrapping and sparkly ribbon. I feel bad though because I know I won't eat most of it. I'm trying to be semi healthy and even if I weren't, it's just too much for one person. I end up bringing it home to pawn it off on my family. Don't get me wrong, I really do appreciate the thoughtfulness, but there is such a thing as too much chocolate.
Even better than candy canes and chocolate snowmen are the notes of appreciation I receive from students. Teachers live for this kind of thing. Notes written by students are the best. I received a letter from a former AP student in her first semester of college. She wrote about how glad she was to have had my class because it pushed her and prepared her for college. She learned a lot about herself and learned to distinguish the things that really mattered from what was unimportant. I had another card from a student this Christmas that said she was enjoying chemistry a lot more than she thought she would. I love getting notes like these. So, the next time you're worried about what to get your kids' teachers for Christmas, have them write a note or a card. It'll make the teacher's day.
