letters to my class

October 8, 2012

October 7th, 2012

Dear Samplers and Strivers for Excellence,

How long would it take you to count to one billion?

There’s not really an exact answer to that question. And even if there were, it wouldn’t really mean anything. Who cares how long it takes to count to a billion? That’s not going to help us put a human on Mars. Plus, there are so many variables: How quickly do you count? Can you break for meals? Can you stop counting at night to sleep? Etc, etc.

What is useful, however (and what will help us put a human on Mars), is designing an efficient and sound method for making reasonable estimates. Today we’ll sharpen our estimation skills and teach ourselves to always think strategically. Doing so will help us immensely in our lives.

We’ll also medtiate on this bit of advice from my good buddy Aristotle: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

Be excellent,

Mr. Heimbuck
October 5, 2012

October 4th, 2012

Dear Measurers of Time and Space,

One of the most ingenious things humans came up with is the many ways we have to measure things. We use body measures, strides, kings’ appendages, the ticking of atoms, and countless other distances and times to be units for measure. However, when humans got together and agreed on some similar units of measure, science was forever revolutionized. That revolution in science continues and will keep going on.

Science is not only about observing the natural world but also about communicating those observations. To do that, we have to speak some kind of common language. For scientists, that language is one of measurements and data. To be a scientists, you have to know how to measure, know how to collect data, and know how to analyze, interpret, and communicate that data.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
October 4, 2012

October 3rd, 2012

Dear Woodshedders,

Woodsheddin’ is a term musicians use to describe the type of dedicated, independent, and intense practice that being great at a musical instrument requires. I know I’ve spent many hours woodsheddin’ on my guitar. In those hours of practice, my fingers grew stronger, my mind saw patterns on the fretboard, and my ears heard new sounds that I didn’t previously think possible.

To be great at anything requires intense practice. Yesterday, we practiced our multiplication algorithm. We’ll continue that today. To become proficient at these algorithms, you have to spend lots of time doing problems over and over. I can show you the process. I can coach you through the process. I can even show you cool new processes that might better fit your mind (we’ll learn the Egyptian method today). But I can’t do the practice for you. You have to put in the work. And if you do, you will get the rewards.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
October 3, 2012

October 2nd, 2012

Dear Debaters,

Being engaged and aware of the political process is part of the good life. America is one big experiment in self-governance. That means that we are a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. That takes work, however, and as responsible citizens we must make ourselves aware of what’s going on in the world. We must also have the courage to make our voices heard and stand up for what we think is right.

Tonight, the two presidential candidates will have their first of three debates. The debate will take place just a few miles south of where we are right, and it will be on almost every channel on TV. I urge you to watch at least some of it. The issues they’ll talk about are things that do and will affect you. They are issues that you will also deal with and maybe (hopefully) someday solve (or at least making less bad).

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
October 2, 2012

October 1st, 2012

Dear Book Readers,

This week is banned books week. That means we read and honor books that have been censored, challenged, or banned in the past. Censorship is when a group keeps someone from expressing their views because they disagree with those views. Your individual good judgement and personal taste might sway you away from reading certain books, but we should never keep others from expressing their views or bar people from reading those views.

There are a lot of terrible ideas in the world, but as enlightened thinkers we know that the best way to silence bad ideas is to overwhelm them with good ideas. There will never be too many ideas and there will never be ideas that are too dangerous for human beings to ponder. They all get tossed into that messy and complex mix out of which some of our greatest human achievements grow.

Keep reading,

Mr. Heimbuck
October 1, 2012

September 30th, 2012

Dear Talkers,

This weekend I was reminded of the Three Sieves. I’m not sure where the three sieves came from–some people say they came from Socrates–but I can see why they’ve been passed down through the years. They remind us that we should always be careful with what we say. To help us, we should pass everything we say through three sieves (a sieve is like a filter. Remember when we used the Sieve of Eratosthenes to filter out all the composite numbers through 100.).

The first sieve is to ask ourselves if what we’re about to say is true. The second sieve is to ask if what we’re about to say is kind. And the last sieve is to ask if what we want to say is necessary. If our words can pass through all of these sieves–if we can be sure that they’re true, that they’re kind, and that they’re necessary–then we truly have something meaningful to share with the world. If not, we should probably leave it unsaid.

I can’t wait to hear your true, kind, and necessary words today,

Mr. Heimbuck
September 28, 2012

September 27th, 2012

Dear Storytellers,

I just got a copy of my favorite author’s latest book. That makes it a sweet day indeed. If you’re a book reader, and a book lover, and you have a few favorite authors, your life will be incalculably sweeter because you’ll always have a new book to keep you satisfied and an upcoming book to look forward to.

Being a book reader is an essential part of the good life. Books not only teach us about the possibilities of our world, but they also teach us of the potential of the human imagination. When you read a book, you enter a world that was created completely by another human being. That’s an amazing thing. My hope for you is not only that you find some of these amazing worlds, but that you create them as well. We always need more storytellers to make the previously unimaginable real.

Happy Reading,

Mr. Heimbuck
September 27, 2012

September 26th, 2012

Dear Innovators,

I saw on the news that California just allowed driverless cars on the roads. That makes it the third state in the country to do so. Can you imagine driving down the road and seeing a car being driving by no one? In just a few years, I think that will be a common sight.

Nowadays, computers and machines do a lot for us, but those computers and machines can only follow instructions humans give them. In the past, humans measured their skills by how well they could handle tools. Now, we measure our skills by how well we can give instructions to those tools. Computers and machines can do amazing things–things we never before thought possible–but we need smart and ingenious designers and programmers to imagine those things. I hope that many of you in this room will be those people.

In order to do that, however, you must have a strong foundation in math and science. That doesn’t mean you have to memorize every single concept we cover in math class, but it does mean that you have to learn to think mathematically. Machines speak in numbers, so you have to have a strong foundation in how numbers work so you can tell those machines all the world-changing things you want them to do.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
September 26, 2012

September 25th, 2012

Dear Judgers of Chance,

Everyday we face countless probabilities. It’s difficult to get ourselves to think probabilistically because we like to believe that life is a series of simple cause and effect events. It’s usually not, however. Things might happen, or they might not, or something completely unexpected may happen instead. The only thing we can do in the face of all this uncertainty is to think reasonably about what is most likely.

Math equips us with all sorts of tools to think probabilistically. We have dice and cards and spinners and coin flips and rock, paper, scissors, and countless other ways of modeling probability. Today we’ll use these tools to help us build our skills at estimating probability. Some things are more likely to happen than others, and it’s our duty to figure this out and be able to explain why. We might turn out to be right or wrong, but what’s most important is that our estimate is reasonable and based on evidence.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
September 25, 2012

September 24th, 2012

Dear Poets,

Our oldest and best known stories come from poems. There’s just something about the rhythm and language of poetry that makes it the perfect medium for sharing deep truths about what it means to be human in the world.

I think some of America’s greatest treasures are hidden in its poetry. We already saw how well Woody Guthrie captured the beauty, diversity and free roaming nature of America in “This Land Is Your Land.” You have all heard Francis Scott Key’s words about America’s resilience in “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Today we will meet another great American poet, and throughout the year we will learn about American history and geography and culture by studying the rich song and poetry of the American people.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck