the day is dimming, but I'm not ready to let it go

[framefolly]

I have now worn all four pairs of my new sandals out into the big bad world. They have acquitted themselves very well. I am pleased.

Thus, a few days ago, I finally took my old sandals -- they might be more properly called sandal-shreds -- and put them gently in the trash. I would have shed tears if I were the crying type. Those shoes carried a lot

Comments

[zandperl]

I am thankful for students who express their thanks.

I hear you on this! It's also interesting how different students express their thanks. A mainland Chinese student I had this semester kept bringing me gifts as a thanks for tutoring, which I actually found irritating (I don't need more junk, plus there's actually a state law that I can't accept more than $50 in gifts per year) not to mention unnecessary (tutoring during my office hours is part of my job). On the other hand a white American I had as a student last fall sent me a really thoughtful thank-you email just yesterday, and I really appreciated that (since it was so long after I'd had zim as a student, the email showed ze thought about it for a while, and it was updating me with where ze got into college since I'd written letters of recommendation). And on the other hand I've had many students I wrote letters of recommendation for who didn't even write a thank you email (where I consider a thank-you card to be standard).

[thisficklemob]

That's interesting, because I never wrote thank yous for letters of recommendation -- oops? Last I got were in high school, though. And I would have thought that thank you cards/emails anywhere near the end of a semester would have been looked upon as shameless grade-grubbing, so I never sent them. I tended to express my appreciation in professor evals (which I know they saw) and in person.

OTOH, I recently sent a thank you card to a professor I had about ten years ago... so I guess I'm not totally awful.

[framefolly]

I always find them a chore, actually, which is probably how my recommenders feel about having to write the letters, which is fair all around... :P

Several of my students have told me that they didn't want to give me a card/send me an email because it might have looked like apple polishing. I respect that. Personally, these kinds of gestures have no effect on my students' grades. And I consider grade-grubbing to be only when students demand grades they don't deserve.

Leaving honest and good evals is AWESOME! You must have given many professors many good days :)

And you are the opposite of totally awful!

[thisficklemob]

I kind of meant apple-polishing. Same diff. And, I never expected they would have an effect on my grade, I just didn't want to give the appearance of hoping that it would.

Well, not always. But there was one class, essay writing, where we were all flailing around on the eval trying to express how much we loved this class, but also do it in ways that didn't make us look like terrible essayists. *g*

There's another professor I should send a thank you to, now that I think of it... several, actually. Seriously, it never even occurred to me to do, but since I remember them fondly and/or refer to their insights after years out of college, I should drop them notes.

[framefolly]

I don't know why -- I never expect students to thank me (is it like the Spanish Inquisition? hehe), so every time it happens I am pleasantly surprised. Usually it's just face-to-face (I think I got applause at the end of the term a few times -- not this time, though), but when it takes more tangible form I put it in a box :) Except for the $5 Starbucks gift card -- that goes in my wallet ;)