A compliment, sort of

A little background, ... For the most part, I really like my stats students. They're a pretty good group (grade-wise) and they certainly have personality. Many of them have been with me for 2 semesters in stats and some have taken econ from me as well. In other words, we've gotten to know each other.

In econ, I always make out a "things to know" sheet to help the students focus their study efforts on the most important points. As I haven't taught stats as much, I don't always do one for those classes. Besides, stats is more of a "procedural" class and it should be obvious where you need to focus your efforts, right? Anyway, the stats students always beg and plead for a study guide. They started this on Tuesday and I told them it wasn't going to work because M (a student from stats 1) is not in this class. M was the world champion of begging and pleading without being annoying. Whenever she worked up a big, "PLEEEEEEEEASE, can we have a study guide?", I'd always give in and spend the time to make one up for them. So anyway, I told them they were wasting their time since they couldn't beg as well as M.

Well when I got to work this morning I had an email from M:

Well hello [St. Caffeine],
I heard that you might give your class a study guide if I requested that
you did... and here is my request and reasons why. Actually, I must be honest I
liked you as a person but HATED your classes I thought they were the hardest
classes I had ever had! Well, now I would give anything to have you as a teacher
I have not learned hardly anything at xxx [her new school] so far and although your classes were hard I actually left with some knowledge :) I have been meaning to tell you thanks and try to talk you into transfering to xxx with me and be my teacher
and just haven't gotten around to it but a little bug asked me to send you an
e~mail so here it is.

Though her English teachers might not be pleased to read it, I thought it was a rather nice sentiment -- except for the part where she told me she HATED my classes (she took 3 from me)! I don't believe I've ever had a student brazen enough to tell me that, but at least she couched it in a compliment. So how do I "take" this email? Well I chose to concentrate on the good parts (and ignore the little bit about HATING my classes), so I'm taking it as a good thing. Hey, sometimes "ego boosts" are few and far between in my world so I can't be too picky.

P.S. They got a study guide.