Comments on: Writing Letters To Students

By: Mary Howard

Mary Howard — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:13:17 +0000

This is SUCH a nice idea. You’re right, you just never know how far and how great of an impact your letters might have. One day your letter could be the difference between a life ending or beginning. Keep up the good work and keep sharing–I love reading your tweets!!

By: Thing 7a: Blogs and Items of Interest | Patty's Web 2.0 Blog

Thing 7a: Blogs and Items of Interest | Patty's Web 2.0 Blog — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:33:59 +0000

[...] to Mr. Ferlazzo again. . . One of his posts concerns writing letters to students to address issues, give a shout-out, or just to shore up a sagging ego. This is a wonderful idea [...]

By: teachin'

teachin' — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:53:56 +0000

When I was in high school, my English teacher wrote each of us a note before our IB test about what our strengths were and what we needed to be careful of on the exam. It made a huge impression on me of how well she knew me and how much she cared.

I wanted to do something similar, so I write my kids year-end notes about things they do well. The notes are only three or four sentences long, since I have 125 students , but the kids seem to find them pretty meaningful. I like it because it ends the year positively and gives them something to remember over the summer.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 07 May 2009 02:07:44 +0000

This is a great idea! I sometimes feel nervous before student-teacher interviews and such (yes… I am the teacher)! I love the idea of encouraging a student through a personal letter. It gives the student time to think through a response too.

By: Carnival of Education: Teacher Appreciation! | Steve Spangler's Blog

Carnival of Education: Teacher Appreciation! | Steve Spangler's Blog — Wed, 06 May 2009 05:26:58 +0000

[...] Larry Ferlazzo’s students face a lot of challenges in their inner-city high school, and sometimes, a personal letter can make a lot of difference. [...]

By: MrG

MrG — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:48:36 +0000

I like this idea. I get a decent response with email to students and parents but I think the personal and physical approach of using a letter has a greater, tangible impact. Sometimes, in a digital world, person to person contact gets lost. Thanks for the example too!

By: Larry Ferlazzo

Larry Ferlazzo — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:23:17 +0000

That’s a great thing to do. It sound similar to a Dialogue Journal, a device often used in ESL classes.

Larry

By: TeacherC

TeacherC — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:00:30 +0000

I have 32 5th graders. I do an interactive letter with them. They write to me, I write back. Sometimes the correspondence goes for awhile, other times I pause and come back. Now, instead of having everyone write to me at once, I write 8 letters per week.

By: Larry Ferlazzo

Larry Ferlazzo — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:09:10 +0000

Jo,

If you can do 110, you’re a far, far more committed teacher than me!

I figure I’ll do seven or eight all year — all with students having particular challenges in school.

Larry

By: Jo Hawke

Jo Hawke — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:05:06 +0000

I love this idea! There’s never a good, private time to speak with students about these kinds of things; a letter is perfect. I have about 110 students, so maybe I’ll aim for something brief to give out at the end of the year…