Atlas Twp.- Every year at this time, English teacher Bill Duso gives a special writing assignment to all the seniors at Goodrich High School. He tells them to write a letter to their mothers.
Duso doesn’t read the letters, but he mails them and has been doing so for 20 years.
‘When I watched seniors in the last two months of their career, I heard them talk about all these precious ‘remember whens? and I just thought one day that there was something missing,? Duso says. ‘The timing just happened to be near Mother’s Day… Moms change into strange creatures this time of year when they have a senior, and I asked the kids to take a step back and thank their mom.?
Duso suggests to students that they write about what is happening to them, whether they are leaving for college or going into the workforce, or joining the military. He asks them to remember in the letter a time when their mother went to bat for them and tell her what she means to them.
Then, he tells the students to have someone else address the envelope so that their mother doesn’t recognize the handwriting when it arrives in the mail with the school stamp on it. The reaction of the mothers on seeing this mysterious envelope from the school in the mail can sometimes be an angry one, he said.
‘They are on the verge of, ‘What did you do now??? laughs Duso. ‘And then, within 20 seconds, they have tears out of the corners of their eyes and rolling down their cheeks.?
The school district pays for the postage and stationery now, but for many years, it was paid for out of a fund established following the death of GHS senior Jamie Soli in the mid-90s in an automobile accident. Jamie’s parents asked that memorial contributions be deposited into a school account to continue the tradition of Mother’s Day letters. The last intimate correspondence that Charlene Soli received from her son was the letter he wrote in Duso’s class.
‘It was extremely important to her,? recalled Duso.
David Garr, 17, thinks the assignment was a good idea and really enjoyed writing the letter to his mother, the most serious thing he has ever written to her.
‘I told her how I appreciate every little thing she does and how I don’t get to tell her how much I love her,? he said. ‘It’s nothing she doesn’t already know, but she probably wants to hear it again. She will be really happy.?
Lindsay Mata, 17, agreed it’s a good way to show that mom is appreciated.
‘I wrote about how she’s always been there for me and I hope to do her proud in the future,? she said. ‘She means a lot to me and she is my best friend.?
Garr and Mata are just two of about 200 GHS seniors who had the opportunity to write something that their mothers will treasure. For students who have lost their mother, Duso encourages them to write to their grandmother or another woman in their life who is a mother. For students who are not on good terms with their moms, Duso discusses with them their willingness to write a sentence or two.
For all, he asks simply that they step back from the hectic world they are living in and take 15 minutes to thank someone they may not have done for some time. Some have never written to their moms.
‘I get both extremes,? said Duso, who was mailing the letters this week, including some out-of-state and even out-of-the-country for foreign exchange students. ‘One girl said this morning, ‘I couldn’t help it, I wrote three pages.??
Duso laughs.
‘I told her we’d get extra postage.?