I would like to thank you and express my gratitude to you for helping me become not only a better person but also a better student.  I have come away a more enlightened individual.

I have applied your study methods to my subjects this semester, and with that same dedication and enthusisasm you have taught me I am very proud to tell you I am an "A" student in chemistry, my personal harderst subject!! Never in my wildest dreams did I believe I could achieve an A.  I also have the highest average in our class.  I love it!

I feel I'm also a more understanding person ... You'll never know how many times I've been able to relax using the breathing techniques you have taught.  (Being a mother of two children, it's helped.)

... Thank you for being at Camden County College.

This is a letter of thanks.  I would like to thank you for the lessons you've taught me (whether you realize it or not I've learned a great deal from you) and most importyanly, for your friendship.  I didn't realize then, as I realize now, that I wasn't a very good student.  I've always believed that I could be a good student and I still believe this. I've decided to return to school to finish what I've started.

... now instead of searching for a group of people who share my beliefs , I think it is better to learn how to present my ideas as clearly as possible, communicate those ideas, and let those with similar ideas find me. ...

Wanting you to know how very much I appreciated you as a teacher and the effort you made to get the material across to us. ... you were attemptng to stimulate and challenge us ...

From a young man who was kind of a "hippie" type, who after graduation moved to the desert out west:

... I have all the desire to ... become ... a totally accepting person and now I realize even more that your class was more than Camden County normally offers.  Thank you for the introduction to freedom and if you want to correspond and teach me more I can use your guidance.

... If I had learned nothing else over the two years, it would have been worth it.  It has already made a difference in my life and my relationships. ... Your energy and enthusisam helped make this semester one of the nicest educational experiences I've had. ... What you are and what you're dong is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Your lectures made me cognizant of factors in the environment - and within ourselves, that until then had been discounted or overlooked altogether. ... helped me to evaluate situations ... from a new perspective.

And that is the real reason for this letter, to thank you for all your time and energy that you put into your lectures.  Hardly a week goes by that I don't experience some situation ... that strikes a familiar chord that I recognize from your class.

... thank you for your time and efforts in class.  Although your class was an elective in my field of study, I feel I have learned more about myself in these four months than in the last four years.  Not only have you given me a broader perspective of that which surrounds us, but the very definition of the word "us".

From a student who had just been awarded a scholarship for which I had written her/him a letter of recommendation:

Psychologically I seem to thrive on your repeated displays of confidence in me.  They have become part of the wind beneath my wings.

... I thoroughly enjoyed your class.

It gives me something to think about any time I say or do anything.

Thank you.

Thank you for the direction.

It was time.

I have found my way again.

I felt compelled to send you this thank you.

Your dedication, professionalism and vast knowledge have been an inspiration to me.

In choosing psychology and having you as a teacher the experience of going back to school after ten years has been such a rewarding experience.  It has given me the background I needed to continue.

From a student at the University of Virginia:

Thanks, my friend, for the opportunity to acquire a good base on which to build in psych.  It's very reinforcing to understand the material my profs are giving us.  I feel I should have told you this long ago.

I would like to say "thank you" for all that you've done for me ... I pray that someday I can touch someone's life like you've touched mine!!

... I was a student at Camden County a few years ago. ... I remember you as a teacher who took a real interest in your students and the effect your teaching had on them.  I would like to thank you for the effort you made then.

In the years since I left C.C. I have often used what I learned in your classes.  I thought you might like to know that.

Thank you.

I just wanted to give you a special thanks.  You opened a whole new world for me with psychology. ... it's turned into something I want to pursue further in my college classes and into my career.  You're a great teacher.

Your passion for what you're doing was not only evident in the way you put your curriculum together in your book and class time structure, but also in the way you sought to challenge us as people who are living in a society where we can truly make a difference.  You have placed an indelible challenge in my inner being to not only discover who I am but how I can make a difference.

Thank you for everything.

... Thank you for sharing your knowledge with such enthusiasm. ...

And this card from the parents of a student:

"As the parents of _____ we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for what you did for our son.  He has changed his attitude and is actually enjoying school.  He has the highest regard for you and has spoken of you often.  In fact. while he was at Camden County you were the only one he spoke of.

_____ is now at ______ [a well-known private four-year college] and doing very well. As parents, it is frustrating when you can't seem to help your child, but we are grateful he met you, and as a result he is really showing just what he is capable of.

I've been hoping to get over to CCC to say hi, but no time these days ... Thomas Jef is a killer, however I'm holding my own. ... I want you to know that your class has proved to [be] invaluable.

Your encouragement and help have been true gifts I am very grateful for.  

Thank you for your special thoughtfulness. ... no act of kindness goes unnoticed.

"The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness.

"If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind."

Taken from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Excerpts from a letter I received from a telecourse student:

I found the second half of the readings fascinating.  Things became much clearer to me ...

All of Chapter VII was an eye-opener.... It is making me take a closer look at myself and my reactions to different situations and people.  In the end it will make me a better person ...

... my experience in taking telecourses is that most telecourse professors don't want to be bothered with you.... My last telecourse came complete with a letter implying that since you (the student) had chosen to learn the material without the ususal classroom involvement and interaction, you "obviously did not want" a student/teacher relationship and so, therefore, you were on your own.

... Having a telecourse professor who cares about how you do and who wants to help you do better is not the norm. ... Nothing replaces the one-on-one relationship that a real class affords, but this telecourse was the next best thing.

Thank you very much, Dr. Cohen, for an interesting and well-presented course ... I have a feeling that much of it will stay with me throughout my life.

Where do I begin to thank you for your course? I think the thing that I most appreciated about your class was your passion for what you taught. ... I am just grateful that God saw fit to let our paths cross at this particular time in my life.

... I can't even begin to tell you how many times I left your class and for days pondered over the things we discussed.  Some days I felt I was in therapy and was sent home with a challenge to change.  Other times I felt like my head was going to explode just trying to grasp the immensity of this "piece of machinery" my mind actyually is. ... I could go on and on telling you what I've learned, but instead I thought you might appreciate hearing about some of the things that have encouraged me this semester.

.... I can see where understanding this theory will be a valuable tool for me in the future. ...

... The morning before class I had been in a battle with God. "Why?" I asked ... But for now I'm grateful that in His sovereignty He brought you into my life.  Thank you so much for the impact you've made on my life and the valuable lessons I've learned from you.  You've inspired me to know that there's a lot more I can do if I put my mind to it.

I was Dr. Jack Cohen's student in Basic Pscyhology ... I have appreciated him since that time and have compared his efforts to the efforts of other instructors.  Although I have been fortunate to have had good teachers at Camden County College, Professor Cohen's excellence stands out!

... Professor Cohen saw beyond my struggles, and focused on my long-range potential ... Professor Cohen was always available to give me his time.  His continued patience, help, guidance and encouragement gave me the confidence I needed to achieve success in his class and in other courses to follow.

Not only did Professor Cohen teach me psychology, he taught me to "open my mind."  He is not just a teacher; he is an educator!

Professor Cohen's dedication to education is is rare and special and I feel this should be acknowledged by one who has benefitted tremendously from it!

I am writing to tell you of the excellent performance of Professor Jack Cohen. ... I have learned more in his psychology class than I thought could be learned in such a short period of time. He commanded the full attention of his class for the full class period from the first day to the last.  Professor Cohen ... would bend over backwards to to help any student who was truly making the effort to learn.

In speaking with his other psychology students I find that we agree that the quality of teaching that goes on in Professor Cohen's class is comparable, if not better than the quality of teaching in any university, anywhere in the country.  I feel that Camden County College is lucky to have Professor Cohen workng for it, and I am proud to say that I studied psychology in his class.

I was a student at Camden County College from [semester] to [semester].  I am currently a psychology major at Rutgers ...

When I entered Camden County I was the 'typical student.' I had an interest in learning but by no means did I want to strain myself and have too many demands placed on me in order to earn my degree.  It was then that I had Basic Psychology with Dr. Cohen ... I got out of that class as fast as I could.  I withdrew because I found Dr. Cohen to be too demanding of a professor. ... but then something wonderful happened.  The following semester I ended up with him as my professor for Basic Psychology once again ... and what a revelation it was! I was ready to learn -- and here was a teacher who not only was ready to teach, but who actually took great joy in teaching -- and who had made it his life.  

Because I had such a wonderful teacher in Dr. Cohen, I not only have a solid foundation in psychology, but I have also improved my skills in all areas of my education.  WHen I first applied to Rutgers I was turned down.  It was only after two semesters with Dr. Cohen that I was accepted and truly ready to go.

... every psychology professor I've ever had at Rutgers has remarked on my thorough knowledge of the subject. ... my success must be attributed to the patience and caring of Dr. Cohen, who was not only available to me but to each and every student who came to him for help. ... I've never had a teacher at Camden County College or elsewhere that has been as prepared for class, available for extra help. and as determined to get his students to work as Dr. Cohen.

I feel that more and more students are not willing to work for their education ... and most faculty are not willing to put themselves out very much either.  What a very sad commentary that is.