Charles-City-HSCharles City High School teachers recently took time to stop and write notes of appreciation to two people who made a difference in their life. Angela Holzer is a Spanish teacher who took part in the project.

“One Teacher, One Student is just a way for teachers and students and former educators to reconnect and just share that relationship that they’ve had. And it’s a way to thank some of those people for the things they do in the classroom and outside of the classroom,” Holzer says.

Holzer says there are some different combinations you can use. “It can be a former teacher or educator, a former student, and even a current student that you have, so it can actually be three different people,” Holzer explains. The event was coordinated so the notes would get to the recipients around Christmas.

Holzer says some teachers had to do a little more searching than others. “As some of the teachers went through this process this year, they realized that some of the educators had passed away, so they were no longer able to send them a letter or do the thank-you notes,” she says.

With all the technology in use today, writing a letter or thank-you note is sometimes a lost art. “To a certain degree, I think most of us probably in education yet still do some of those things as far as writing letters,” Holzer says. “I know that there was a younger teacher sitting across from me who said ‘I have this person on Facebook, can I just Facebook them?’ She was not really sure that she wanted to do the thank-you not. But for myself it wasn’t a real big deal to do.”

Holzer says it was emotional at times creating the letter. “I actually almost got a little teary eyed thinking about the past and how this person has made a difference, and to actually put it into words,” Holzer says.

She recommends that everyone try something like this. “I think it’s a good way to thank those people who have made a difference in your lives, and I think we often forget to do that. And as a teacher myself, people often come back, and that’s what makes this rewarding, is to hear the positives. Because you often don’t hear the positives,” Holzer says.  She has been a teacher for 19 years.