A while back I asked about thank you notes. I have another question about them. I know thank you notes today are done by email but my teen has some older (in age) teachers that he needs to thank to whom I think he should write handwritten thank you notes. (For businesses and stuff I would not have him do that. I would have him send email.) I’ve decided that I am getting him some note cards or stationary for this purpose. Like most teens he normally types everything, so teen’s handwriting is questionable. I am trying to figure out a way for teen to send handwritten thank you notes that aren’t technically handwritten. Can teen type out a note on a note card or stationary and hand sign? Or does that defeat the purpose. I have even been looking at apps that allow you to “font” your own handwriting. What do you think is the best way to do this? The goal is to give the teachers in question a physical thank you note and not send an email thanking them.
Is it a problem if his writing is questionable? My adult son’s handwriting looks like he is 7 years old, but he still writes cards to grandma.
I’d just have him write the cards.
If they are his teachers, haven’t they already seen his handwriting?
My kids write handwritten cards (they print). Just received a nice hand written thank you for a shower gift (with the actual gift mentioned, 2 weeks after the shower).
I think anything legible is going to be fine, and nicer than something typed/printed.
My daughter writes handwritten cards, but my son prefers to type. As a result, his thank-you notes are longer and more detailed than they would be if he had handwritten them. My preference is for handwritten cards, but a nice thank-you note can take any form. So what about some personalized letterhead stationery instead of note cards?
Have him get a nice thank you card. Sign that…and then include a typed letter to the teacher.
I have a neuro issue and type my thank you notes, cut them out, and glue them to cards. For one thrifty recipient, I put my note in and leave the card blank for future use!
High school teacher here. I’d love to receive a hand written card in not-so-good handwriting. We’ve had plenty of practice deciphering them.
My own children wrote cards to their teachers for thanksgiving and teacher appreciation every year and then before graduation. My daughter has great handwriting and my son’s is hard even for me to read. It’s the gesture that they put in the effort to write in hand that counts. For some teachers when they wrote lengthy notes, they typed it up on computer, edit it to satisfaction, then copied on cards.
My D was excellent at writing but not so much handwriting. She printed out her notes (to fit the notecard), glued them in and then signed. My mom (who was something of a stickler about TY notes) loved it. It’s more about what you say than if it’s written in your own hand. It’s nice to send an actual note vs e-mail.
100%
I think anything here is going to count. Last year the kid typed thank you notes and then cut them out and glued them on notecards and signed them for teacher appreciation week. This year, the kid had shorter but hand-written notes (and the teachers surely knew that this was the kid’s best handwriting…far more legible than normal). Just something personalized that the kid had to take some time to do is appreciated. Spoken as a former middle school teacher.
I kept every single thank you note I received for 30 years…and there were a LOT. I had some that were total scribble from preschool students that were just as meaningful to me as beautifully scripted one.
Really, teachers appreciate any thank you note, and they are not critical of the writing or anything else.
I should say even though I expressed a preference for hand-written, I also think whatever it takes to get them to do a heartfelt note is obviously fine. But as a backup position, I would suggest not trying to get too fancy with the fonts and such. Just my way of thinking, but I believe the goal here is personal and sincere, and too much polish might undermine that a bit.
I required my D25 to send handwritten thank you notes to her teachers that wrote her LoRs. One teacher was astonished (and grateful), and said that in all of her years teaching she had never received a thank you note. I also requested that my daughter follow up with each of her teachers to let them know her plans (this is for the coming summer programs) so that her teachers can see the “fruit” of their effort.
As everyone above has said, it is the thought and gesture that counts here.
Thank you all so much for this input. This was very helpful!
I’d say both older and younger teachers would appreciate a handwritten note. Two or three handwritten sentences will outweigh a long email note, both in the business world and academic world. I have a foot in both worlds.
Have any of you ever seen an emailed thank you note printed and posted on a wall? Neither have I.
But I’ve seen plenty of handwritten notes in offices and classrooms.