Gladly Would I Teach

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At the end of the semester, I like to give my students a special gift that will remind them of the class and the students. I modified this activity from a story I read in one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books several years ago. Here is how I create the gift.

• Five or six weeks before the end of the term, I distribute an alphabetical list of all of the students in the class. I ask each student to write a kind comment for each student in the class. Comments can be only one or two sentences or they can be as long as the student cares to make them. I emphasize that they should write a comment about what they will most remember about the student or what they consider special about the student. I give students a couple of weeks to compose their comments.

• I then have students type their comments in a WORD file and email the file to me.

• I compile all of the comments that students send. I establish one page per student and copy and paste the comments that each student in the class writes for that student. For example, Bob’s sheet will include comments that 25 students wrote about him.

• I also write a comment/message to each student.

• When I have typed all of the comments, I print each student’s list of comments on colorful paper and seal the sheet in an envelope.

• At the end of the semester, I distribute the envelopes and allow students to open and read them in class. Most students are truly touched by the thoughtfulness of their classmates and thank them profusely.

• While this activity does indeed take hours to compile, I continue the activity year after year because it means so much to students. It’s possible to reduce the teacher’s time by allowing students to compile the comments themselves or by simply passing around sheets of paper and allowing students to write their comments. You could also have students type and then cut out their comments to students and then distribute them to their classmates in class.

When I talk with former students, they invariably bring up this special gift that means so much to them and often tell me that they still have their comments. If you would like to try this activity, I have just posted the assignment on my class website. Feel free to use it or modify it to use with your students.

Student Comments and Messages to Each Other