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Dear Miss Wilson | A Teacher Who Changed Me · The Letterbox Podcast

• 0:00
  Hello and welcome back to the Letterbox podcast.
• 0:03
  I'm Lucy. And this is the place where real
• 0:05
  people share the real letters they've written about the things
• 0:08
  that mean the most to them. Today's letter is such a lovely
• 0:13
  one. Our writer has written to her
• 0:16
  Year 6 teacher, Miss Wilson. And as you'll find out, this
• 0:21
  teacher had a massive impact on this girl's life.
• 0:26
  The writer told me that she hasn't seen Miss Olsen since she
• 0:30
  left her primary school in July 2015, but would love to see her
• 0:35
  teacher again. She said that writing this sent
• 0:37
  she was all over her and that having the opportunity to
• 0:40
  actually sit and think and remember was so special.
• 0:46
  Teachers are incredible people and when you stop and think
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  about all of the people in your life who have been teachers to
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  you, whether formally in school or out, but have spent time
• 0:59
  truly helping shape who you've become, it is really, really
• 1:03
  amazing. Before I read you today's
• 1:06
  letter, I would really, really love to ask you a favour, and
• 1:10
  that is to help me grow this podcast, to help more people
• 1:13
  here, to help Miss Wilson's out there, to know how much they are
• 1:17
  loved. You are already doing an
• 1:19
  incredible job of telling people about this podcast, sharing it
• 1:23
  with other people, but I really would love more help.
• 1:28
  If there's somebody who you haven't already told about the
• 1:30
  podcast, go and tell them. Share your favourite episode
• 1:34
  with them, get them to come and have a listen, encourage them to
• 1:38
  follow. Share.
• 1:39
  If you haven't rated, rate the podcast.
• 1:42
  It all does so much to make sure that these letters are being
• 1:45
  heard by as many people as possible.
• 1:48
  But now the reason that we are here.
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  Today's letter to an amazing feature.
• 1:57
  Dear Miss Wilson, It's been 12 years since I first met you and
• 2:02
  11 since I last saw you, and I'm not entirely sure what I want to
• 2:07
  say to you, but there must be a lot, given that I think about
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  you nearly every day. So here goes.
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  You were the kindest, most genuine teacher I ever had.
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  You knew my name, which, trust me, some didn't bother to learn.
• 2:27
  You bothered to get to know me, my sense of humour, what I
• 2:31
  couldn't do and what I could do. You knew that some kids my age
• 2:36
  scared me, so you let me stay in your classroom at lunch,
• 2:39
  sharpening pencils that really didn't need to be sharpened.
• 2:44
  But you also knew that sometimes I needed to be scared.
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  So some lunchtimes you were busy and I had to go outside.
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  Your classroom felt like home. It was safe and I was safe.
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  We were all safe no matter what. For the first time ever I was
• 3:02
  scared of getting sick because it meant that I would have to
• 3:05
  miss a day of school and I really didn't want to do that.
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  This may or may not have led to the crippling emetophobia I
• 3:13
  later experienced that Oh well. But for a 10 year old not to
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  want to stay home, and mine was a very safe and loving home
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  because she didn't want to miss her teacher and learning was
• 3:27
  quite something. The day I told you I couldn't go
• 3:31
  swimming with school, I'd got my period earlier than all the
• 3:34
  other girls. You automatically knew from my
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  face the reason why you didn't make it awkward or ask
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  questions. We came up with an excuse
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  together to tell my friends it was fine and I felt seen.
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  And in an odd kind of way, I felt loved when I had fold
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  yourself over in half because it hurts so much stomach pain.
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  You let me walk around school slowly with my friend until I
• 4:00
  could breathe again. When I did badly in an English
• 4:04
  test, I mean, it wasn't bad at all, but it felt catastrophic at
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  the time and I burst into tears. You took me outside and told me
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  it was OK and that I wasn't a failure.
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  I think I could have done with that.
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  For the next 12 years you taught me confidence and that I could
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  actually do hard things. I've been crap at maths and all
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  the other years, and before you knew it I was the top five in
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  the whole school. I still remember the day we
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  learned about fractions to this very day.
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  It was a Friday and I'd had wheat picks for breakfast.
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  And those math skills came in handy, I guess, because we went
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  on to get first in biomedical science at a top uni and I'm
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  just about to start my masters. And one day, hopefully not in
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  the too distant future, I want to get my PhD.
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  And above all that, I think I kept the kindness you instilled
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  in me. I think I had a positive impact
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  on certain people like you did on me.
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  Oh, and yes, I did move to London.
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  You changed my life from the first day of that school year
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  and I have never, ever forgotten you.
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  I wish you could see all the things I've done and I wish I
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  could tell you what you did for me.
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  I wish you knew how important you were and still are to me.
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  I wish now we can meet over a glass of wine and talk like old
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  friends. I wish I could give you the
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  biggest hug. But mostly I hope you're proud
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  of me and if I can be to someone what you were for me, I'll have
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  done good. How lovely was that?
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  If you're a teacher, I hope that the next day you go into school,
• 6:00
  you take a moment to think about every child sat in front of you,
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  every child that has been in your class beforehand and the
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  lasting impact that you will have on there, because that
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  shouldn't go unrecognised. And Miss Wilson, if you hear
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  this, which I hope you do, you are amazing.
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  Thank you again to our letter writer today.
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  And if this has inspired you to write a letter that you would
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  like to be featured on the podcast, I'd absolutely love for
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  you to get in touch. In the meantime, don't forget to
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  like, share, follow, tell your friends all about the Letterbox
• 6:40
  podcast. But until next time, be kind,
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  look after yourselves, and think about the things that you're
• 6:48
  doing today that will impact others forever.
• 6:52
  All my love Lucy.