“When to the sessions”

Dear Mrs. Pedersen,

Toblerone, I love toblerone, the creamy Swiss chocolate filled with sweet chewy honey and crunchy almonds, makes my mouth water just thinking about it. And, every time I think about, eat, or see the delicious treat I always think of you. This may come as a surprise, but I can’t help it, you left a lasting impression on me and the thousands of other students who walked through your classroom door. But, why are toblerones a trigger you might ask, and the answer is simply because, as Mark Twain wrote, “it’s the little things that smooth people’s roads down here the most.”(1) During your thirty-three years of teaching you certainly smoothed a great many roads with your simple acts of love, kindness, and authenticity. I know my memories of you are a treasure and that many others feel the same way. I heard their stories and praises of you years before I had the chance to sit in your classroom and now many more years after I left your class I still hear your name spoken in reverence and love. I wanted to share just a few of the moments, from my own experiences, that made you the best teacher ever, including why toblerone, building castles in the air lunches, and Sonnet 30 tears.

Why do I always picture you when I spot a toblerone or on occasion pop one heavenly triangle in my mouth? It comes from one of my first memories I have of you. I can still picture the delight in your brown eyes as you stood, rattling off in German, behind that little podium, the one you had put atop your desk to lean on while you stood teaching. There next to you was the much sought after surprise brown paper bag. I listened intently to your calm voice, wishing I could speak as beautifully and fluently as you, but mostly just straining to understand. At the end of every week you would set that paper bag on the podium and start to discribe, in German, the treasure we would find inside. The one to raise their hand and accurately tell you what was in the bag would get to keep the yummy treat. This particular day something finally clicked for me as you spoke, and while I couldn’t understand everything you said I picked up enough. I tentatively raised my hand and squeaked out my guess, toblerone. I remember that smile spreading across your round face as you beckoned me forward to retrieve my reward, saying, “nice job, that was a hard one to get!” As my mouth slowly devoured that treat my insecure mind devoured the praise you gave me. You knew me, as you did every student, you knew this scrawny struggling girl could use a boost of confidence. You were amazing at finding natural ways to help improve someone’s life. That dear Mrs. Pedersen is why you will forever be linked with toblerone, because you not only gave me a sweet treat that day but also a taste of belief in myself.

The next memory that is dear to me is the many days we would come eat lunch in your classroom. Looking back now I am overwhelmed with gratitude that you willing let students in your classroom and you stayed there visiting, getting to know us, and helping us with assignments. I realize now, as an adult, just how precious those moments of free time you willingly gave up for us are. We learned more about you in those lunchtime visits, especially just how amazing your mind was and your complete love of knowledge. It was that love of knowledge and enthusiasm in sharing it that drew us in and made us want to know and understand it all as well, especially with your love of literature. You may have been fantastic with German, but we all knew teaching literature was your true love. I remember the one lunchtime we decided it would be fun to act out some of the quotes and poems you assigned us to memorize. I can still hear you laughing and proclaiming how you’ll never say Henry David Thoreau’s “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them,”(2) quote again without picturing us. How could you not what with me, as the castle, shaking and screaming atop Melissa’s shoulders when she decided to be my moving foundation. What joyful times we all had together during those lunches. I am certainly grateful you helped myself and so many others start to lay the foundations under our castles.

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 30 hit a deep nerve with me when you shared it and offered it as one to memorize. It has remained dear to my heart all these years, but more so the gentle act of caring you showed to me. The year you taught us about this sonnet was the year my little sister, along with five others, died in a horrible car accident. I often found myself in “silent thought,”and “drown(ing) an eye.” You allowed me extra time to work on assignments as I grieved my sister who was “hid in death’s dateless night.”(3) I remember the day I came to your classroom, after the last bell of the day rang, to pass off Sonnet 30. (How I loved that you didn’t force us to pass off our quotes in front of the entire class.) I stood before your desk and you kindly told me just to give it a try and see how it went. I stared off towards the blackboard and shakily recited Sonnet 30. As I finished I looked to you to see if I had remembered it all correctly, and I saw tears rolling down your cheeks. I realized you were grieving with and for me and also for the lost students who would never walk into your classroom. You may never know just how much that meant to me; those tears shed during a shaky, yet heartfelt rendition of Sonnet 30 spoke volumes.

Sonnet 30, classroom lunches, and toblerone are a few of the reasons you helped shape my life. The words you taught me may have begun to fade away, but your kindness and caring will forever be a part of me. Our little high school was extremely blessed to have you, an amazing teacher who loved what they taught and loved each student. I know I can never thank you enough for opening my eyes, mind, and heart. You truly are a “dear friend,” that when thought of “all losses are restor’d and sorrows end.”(4)

Much love,

One of your many grateful students, Viltinga

Ps

I hope you took note that I used the five paragraph format you instructed us to use on every paper we turned in to you. I’ll be sure to add my references here as well, because I remember how important those were to you, though I’m not positive I’ll get the correct citation format.

1: Mark Twain, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” 1885

2: Henry David Thoreau, “Walden,” 1854

3: William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 30,” 1609

4: Ibid

Thank you for reading my letter to a teacher and friend who was truly a hero to so many. If you’d like to read a more detailed account of my performance building castles in the air check it out here.

If you would like to hear about my sister’s death click on this one.