A lot of the time, we don’t realize just how much of an impact our teachers have had on our lives.
Growing up, they are such a prominent feature of our daily lives; and, while it is common for people to vent about how much they hated school, for a lot of people, teachers can be a real support network for kids not getting help at home.
For struggling students, teachers can be a familiar and authoritative face to talk to.
When confronted with a problematic home-life, teachers are somewhat perfectly situated as figures which occupy a position of authority and guardianship, and yet are removed from the family dynamic.
It is far from uncommon for students to confide in teachers when they have seemingly no one else to talk to at home, and the results can occasionally be wonderfully enriching for both parties.
One such student recently shared their heartwarming experience confiding in their teacher.
The student took to Reddit to explain how they had confided in their teacher about the struggles they had been having at home. The student had eventually moved out of their parents’ house following the trouble, and their teacher did something wonderful for them.
The teacher sent the student a letter and a voucher to buy food for their new house.
The student wrote alongside the photo, “I moved out of my toxic household a few days ago. I am a senior in High School and I moved in with my friend. My math teacher today gave me this envelope containing this.”
The post quickly went viral, receiving over 60k likes in just one day!
The post was praised for its wholesomeness and generally positive message. There were plenty of people brought to tears by the letter, and even more people who definitely weren’t crying, like me — it’s just allergies, shut up!
According to the student the voucher was for ShopRite and was “for any food, anything you need”.
Moving out can be a very daunting notion for someone still in school. Balancing finances, a job, and school work can make the prospect quite intimidating; however, it is not impossible, and students such as this one show that it can work.
The student also revealed that their aim is to ultimately join the navy.
In response to one of the comments on the post, the student wrote, “I’m really lucky as I have two jobs, a friends family that loves me, and I have a future in the Navy.”
It is uncertain what the two jobs are, however, being able to juggle two jobs and schoolwork is a fantastic achievement.
A lot of people took to the comments to share their own similarly positive experiences with teachers.
There was a great deal of praise for the good work that teachers do throughout the comments, with one person writing:
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“Teachers don’t get the respect they deserve. Some of my teachers in elementary school changed me as a person into and better human being than I would’ve been without them.”
Another person shared a time that a teacher helped them with the passing of their mother:
“Me and my brother were in middle school when my mom died, and one of our French teachers (we’re French), who taught us both during different years, sent us a letter in support that was heartbreakingly adorable. I still keep it and read it once in a while and holy shit does it hit right in the feels every time.”
High school is a time where students can be particularly prone to depression and stress.
The pressure of exams, homework, and planning the route they want to take heading into the future, all of which may determine the rest of their life, are all factors which can cause school kids to feel stressed, depressed, and isolated.
According to Very Well Mind , “3.1 million young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have experienced at least one major depressive episode in the past year in the United States”.
Furthermore, studies also show that 60% of children and adolescents with depression aren’t receiving any type of treatment.
With those stats in mind, it is amazing to see teachers going above and beyond to help their students.
It is not necessarily the teacher’s job to offer emotional support of such a magnitude to students. While they are trained to teach, they aren’t necessarily trained to deal with emotional support. Is it not surely time that we look more seriously into the mental health of students more seriously, and work towards removing the stigma around the topic of depression, with the aim of changing these statistics?
Thankfully, this teacher has gotten some recognition for her stellar work.
Mostly everyone remembers at least one teacher who has had a profoundly positive impact on their lives, so take a moment today to think of who that teacher was for you, and how they impacted your life. I’m sure that for most people in Justin’s school, the wonderful person who sent this letter will be that very teacher.
h/t: Reddit
