Dear Learners,

I’ve been playing guitar for a long time and I’ve played guitar with a lot of different people. And I’ve found that it’s nearly impossible to compare two guitar players and say who’s better. That’s because everyone plays different styles, plays different songs, and knows different things.

But if you play guitar long enough you learn one thing for sure: everyone has something to teach you.

The same is true in our classroom. Everyone in our class has something to teach you. And you have something to teach everyone else.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

Making someone’s day might just be the easiest thing you do today. A heartfelt and specific compliment, a thank you note, or just a hello. These are all extremely easy things that any of us could do in a few seconds.

But the action behind them–that of putting someone else before our ourselves–is incredibly difficult to do. We’re stuck in our own minds, focused on our own survival and well-being. Putting others first–if only for a moment–is often the last thing we think of.

But compassion is like a muscle. Exercise it regularly and it will grow stronger. How will you do that today?

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

There’s a reason we say “pay” attention. It’s because what we give our attention to shows what we think has value.

When we buy something with money, we make sure it’s something we really want, something that will make our lives better. Well, attention is even more valuable than money, so we should spend it even more wisely.

There are distractions every minute, but you are in control. You get to decide what you spend your attention on. Will you invest it wisely? Or will you squander it on cheap junk?

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

Following the rules and doing what you’re supposed to do will get you far in life. But it won’t get you everywhere.

Life demands more than compliance. Life demands courage: to imagine a world that’s better, to imagine a world that’s more fair, and to imagine a world that treats everyone with dignity and respect. It takes courage to ask questions about the world and refuse to accept the easy answers.

Merely following the rules of the world might get you a job that pays and a car that runs, but it won’t satisfy that part of you that wants to live courageously.

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Students,

I don’t want you to do your reading every night and dutifully fill out your reading log just because that’s what good 4th grade students do. I want you to do it so you become the kinds of readers and thinkers who can make sense of and find beauty in this complex world.

I don’t teach you write in proper paragraph from because that’s what the 4th grade writing rubric says you should do. I want you to write in proper paragraph form so some day you write inspiring and persuasive words that change the world.

School is just a practice space. But the things we learn are real.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Readers,

Tiger Rising is such a great book. And now, it’s a part of your reader identity. You will take it with you to whatever new book you read. You’ll compare it, contrast it, connect it, and extend it. You’ll use it as a measuring stick to hold up to every book you read.

And my hope is that someday you will reread the book but through the lens of new experiences, new identities, and new knowledge about the world.

Readers aren’t just people who read books. Readers are people who open themselves up to books and let those books become a part of who they are and who they will be.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Writers,

Good writers don’t save anything. They put their very best ideas out there first. They don’t hold anything back. They don’t worry about burning up their fuel. Because good writers have faith that they will always be able to come up with something new. And good writers believe their new ideas will be even better than the old ones.

This is good advice for living. Don’t hold anything back. Put your best out there as soon as you have it and whenever you have it. Have faith that tomorrow’s you will be an even better you.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Truth Finders,

Last week, one of your classmates asked a seemingly simple question: is Blue Mesa the biggest lake in Colorado? But, like everything, the answer is a bit more complicated. And like the best questions, it leads to a rich conversation rather than a simple answer.

It’s a reservoir not a lake. There’s a larger reservoir in Colorado that also stretches into New Mexico. And the levels of all reservoirs go up and down because they are fed by rivers, which are fed by snowfall.

So we’re dealing with tricky things that all interact and make a giant mess–human-created dams, weather, human-drawn borders.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Truth-Seekers,

In today’s world, finding the “right” answer is easy. Google it, ask Alexa, copy it off your neighbor’s paper, or just make it up and keep on repeating it with gusto.

But finding true answers is more difficult. Finding true answers requires a lifetime of searching and doubting and asking questions. Finding true answers makes you to dive deep into history and culture and really think about the things that make us human.

Retrieving the “right” answer might momentarily scratch an itch at the top of your cerebral cortex. But discovering true answers satisfies your mind, heart, and soul.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

Yesterday on my way to work, one of my tires was low on air. So I had to turn around, drive back home, haul my tire pump out to my car, and pray the tire held air. It did, but I was pretty grumpy about the whole ordeal. I thought the universe was picking on me.

Then, later on my drive I saw a tow truck hauling two cars out of a ditch as a result of a wreck. Suddenly, my low tire didn’t seem like such a big deal.

Everyone is going through something. And their problems might just be worse than our own. So treat each other with patience, grace, and understanding.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck