Teacher Appreciation Week

I have a student who is basically mute in my class. I want to say she has said a total of 20 words all year. Through March I was only able to ask her yes and no questions because she could shake her head otherwise she would just cast her eyes down until I eventually gave up. However, being the stubborn person I am, I would go out of my way to say hi to her every time I saw her, compliment her art work when I visited her art class, and give her a huge smile. April saw a break when she finally said hi back.

This week, for Teacher Appreciation Week,  I received the following from her:

There's a lot of things I could say right now. A lot of cliches to justify this and the things I do every day. But all I am going to say is this:

Thank you. Thank you for being brave enough to write this. Thank you for making me cry.

I really appreciate it...Honestly!