Dear Frequently Absent Senior,
We have missed you in class these past five weeks. Your
classmates have been learning crucial career related skills. We have written
business letters in order to expand writing skills beyond essays and poetry.
The resume unit was very productive and useful because your classmates now have
a proper resume ready for any interview that they need to go to in the future.
This week we are starting the interview unit, which will be exciting and
informative because we will teach you the tricks to nailing any interview.
There is still time for you to come in and get caught up
because this nine-week period is not over yet. This class is a requirement for
you to graduate. It is also important for you to show up each day because we are
trying to teach you the skills that you are going to need to know when you go
out into the workforce after you graduate.
Please let me know what I can do to help you succeed in this
class because I am here to help you. I would really like to see you graduate in
spring with your classmates, but you need to show up to class in order for that
to happen.
See you in class tomorrow,
Miss. Schmidt
Thank you for sharing your letter. I have a student like this as well and know how impossible it is to build a connection with a student, that may encourage them to attend more often, when you never see them in the first place! Your care and concern for this student really shines through.
ReplyDeleteDear Kaila,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this letter. It is genuinely interesting to see this written out like a letter. If you were to actually give this to a student and they do not get on track they could be seeing letters like but (but definitely not as nice) from future employers. The way you presented this reflection seems out of nowhere but fits perfectly in the emotions you want to express. Thank you for sharing.
I find this very funny in a sarcastic way, but perhaps it is because I've heard you read it. We all have those students and will have many more.
ReplyDeleteDear Kaila
ReplyDeleteThank your for writing about a phenomenon that happens all too frequently in our classrooms. I can hear your concern for your student in this letter and I find that extremely touching. Don't ever lose your capacity to empathize with your students!
Dear Kaila, thank you for sharing this! It is definitely something I am seeing with my seniors as well. Not only is the class required for graduation, but these students seem to actually be learning important information. If only we could get each of our students to understand the importance of showing up for class every day!
ReplyDeleteDear Kaila,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your letter to your “Frequently Absent Senior.” I appreciate your formal tone (modeling the appropriate voice for a business letter) as well as your encouragement for the student to come in for help before the nine-week period ends. You effectively express your desire to help your student while also reminding him/her that some responsibility for learning and succeeding also rests on his/her shoulders. Thank you for sharing this letter with us, Kaila.
Katie