Dear Mr. Schlitt,

I am writing to you now because in Creative Writing I’m writing about an educator that has had an impact on my life. My thoughts immediately landed on you. Maybe that’s because you teach my favorite class, Woods, or maybe because you teach Woods, that it is my favorite class. Either way, my junior year has been a lot better with your classes.

It’s always cool to learn how to use different materials and how hydraulics work and how to find IMA in the engineering block at the end of the day that you co-teach. And when I was ahead of the class in Woods you trusted me with other projects. Like how you taught me to make that awesome cutting board or how you showed me how to cut the shelves for the cabinets we were making. 

It had been some time since I felt passionate or motivated to give a lot of effort in anything–outside of hockey–and I have you to thank. When I’m in your Woods class, I feel like I know what I’m supposed to be doing. Not messing around, not playing games on my computer, not just watching other people do their work. I’m motivated to get ahead of the class. Every night that I had Woods the next day made that night of sleep just that much better.

I know that you're not very happy with me sometimes. Like when I left class before the bell and I heard “Hey, get back here” and you had me sit on that green couch in the back for 10 minutes.  Or the one time we were working with hydraulics and I was shooting the syringes across the class. I remember you banned me from using the syringes that day. I’m sorry for the trouble I cause sometimes; it’s only that some of the things you have us doing that has me so curious and intrigued that sometimes I go a little over the top.

I’m excited for next year when I get to take cabinetmaking and you're stuck with me for another year. The fun I have in your classes are the reason that I am excited to take so many manufacturing and engineering classes next year. 

Sincerely,

Elijah Finke