A letter to an Inspiring Educator

Editor’s note: This post comes from Maria Vitória, a 2016 Google Science Fair global finalist who is a high school student from Londrina, Brazil. Her teacher, Mr. Fabio Bruschi, won the 2016 Google Science Fair Inspiring Educator Award, which acknowledges an educator who goes above and beyond in encouraging his students to achieve great things. In honor of Mr. Bruschi, Maria wrote a letter to say thank you for everything that he does. This is part of our ongoing series sharing stories that celebrate our teachers around the world, leading up to our global online gathering of educators for Education on Air on December 3. Join the movement by sharing what teachers mean to you with #ItTakesATeacher.

Dear Fabio,

Sometimes people ask me, “What makes Fabio special as a teacher?” Every time I try to think of a response, there isn’t just one reason to point to. In a nutshell, you are exactly what the award you received says: an inspiring teacher. Without a shadow of doubt, you are an educator who inspires, motivates and encourages me. You truly care about seeing your students happy and you carry a sense of pride for what we accomplish.

What makes you an amazing person is the gift of making us, students, believe that we can achieve anything we put our hearts and minds to. No matter how old we get, where we came from or what we like, you show us that our willpower can take us anywhere we want.

What makes you an inspiring teacher is your ability to coach, the love you give while working, the way you guide students, the simple gesture of seeing bad situations in the best light possible, the ways you’ve shown me that studying can be fun and that learning new things is the best part of each new day.

Thank you for believing so much in my potential, for encouraging me to enter the Google Science Fair, and believing my project was good enough. When the deadline was coming up, I didn’t have enough time to send it in but your motivation and encouragement inspired me to make it a top priority. Thank you for enabling me to have experiences and achievements that I couldn't ever have imagined.

Thank you also for being both a teacher and a father to me. You care about not just what I am doing in the lab, but also how I feel about things and how I’m doing in my personal life. If I win a contest, you cheer as if you’re cheering for a daughter who’s been successful. If I don’t win, you comfort me with advice that encourages me to move on, telling me that I’m a winner for everything I’ve already accomplished.

You deserve this award for a thousand reasons. For me it was an honor to be part of this moment with you! Congratulations on your achievement - showing all of us in Brazil that it is possible to make a difference, that while education can be sometimes be undervalued, it is still worth it. The world would be lucky to have more teachers like you.

Love,

Maria Vitória