npr:
In Molly Pollak’s second-floor Manhattan apartment, the spare bedroom is filled with decades of classroom memories.
“Those are all my high school yearbooks,” Pollak says, pointing to a shelf stacked two books deep. “Those are my middle school yearbooks. There’s more over here.”
But after 40 years teaching English to middle and high school students, there’s one book Pollak will never throw away. It’s a big book with a striking orange cover, sitting proudly on a table in the living room.
She received this book a few months ago. It was the end of the school year and the students were taking off for the summer.
But Pollak was taking off for, well, forever — a bittersweet moment in the life of any teacher.
As news of her retirement spread, Ora Bayewitz-Meier, one of Pollak’s former students, reached out to other former students and invited them to write in. They did. Eagerly.
She received 75 letters. These weren’t just a paragraph or two — many are pages long.
“I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that you changed my life,” wrote Rebecca Rosenthal, who took Pollak’s English class in the 1990s.
Letters To The Teacher Celebrate A 40-Year Career
Photos: Alex Welsh for NPR
sassystudent liked this qthewetsprocket reblogged this from npr
heykyr4 liked this
cloiebobowie reblogged this from npr
knucklebone-jones liked this
ketchup-and-apples liked this
marilyngardnerlawyermilton reblogged this from npr
blushingforyouu liked this
hthrloooo liked this
thinkbrit liked this
randomrambleramble reblogged this from grayer
eshatologie liked this
hakuna-matataaaaaaa liked this
szymplicity reblogged this from thepeterpancomplex
pinkcadillacranch liked this
careful-icarus reblogged this from npr
kinda-kawaii-punk liked this
rainhitspavement liked this
donnavt liked this itspaulpolk liked this
cheeserepair reblogged this from vdoc
cheeserepair liked this
jensen-prozackles reblogged this from npr
jensen-prozackles liked this
ohgodithurts liked this
saidandseen liked this
black-moon-fox reblogged this from npr
black-moon-fox liked this
marihuertas liked this
szymplicity liked this
strangevine liked this
dabeez reblogged this from doux-amer
gamercat05 liked this
read-4-ever liked this
escapebefree-blog liked this
dontlivewithregret liked this
putinsputamen liked this
estherparkerartist liked this
missknightinshiningarmor-blog liked this
miamizigzag liked this
imkindaacooldude liked this
npr posted this
- Show more notes