letters to my class

Dear Humans,

The best answer to a question is another question. This will irk some people. “Give me a straight answer,” they’ll say. But when people insist on a straight answer, it means they don’t care much about the answer anyways.

Take the simple question “What’s the longest river in the world?” You’d think there’d be a straight answer. But rivers aren’t much interested in answering our questions. Because rivers are always changing, making themselves anew, and they don’t clearly announce where they start and where they end.

And most things in the world  are like that–changing, complex, and uninterested in human questions. So before we can answer a question, we have to ask the question some questions.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

I can tell how well a student will do on an assignment as soon as I put it on their desk. It’s all about body language. Either they’re eager and ready, or they’re passive and ill-prepared.

Skill level matters, of course. If you have the skills to complete an assignment, you’re more excited to complete it. But those skills didn’t just naturally form. They were picked up by the students who were eager to learn them.

Because even if we “deserve” something (and we all “deserve” knowledge), it doesn’t just come to us. We have to take it. There’s enough for all of us, so we don’t have to take it from one another. But we still have to reach for it, grab at it, and make it our own. 

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

We’re learning about the history of corn cultivation. And that means we’re reading one of the oldest stories in human history. It’s a major plot point in the first chapter of the bestselling book of all time!

Throughout history humans have taken things from their environment and reaped great benefits from them. But for every benefit we reap, we also sow the costs that will soon come to harvest. 

Right now there are more humans living longer and more fruitful lives than ever before. And yet, our future seems as uncertain as it ever has.

Those are the costs and benefits. And you’ll spend the rest of your lives weighing them against each other, trying to figure out the best way to live–just like humans always have.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

A couple weeks ago Merriam-Webster yeeted a whole bunch of new words into their dictionary. Yeet–a verb meaning to throw something recklessly–was among the words added.

You probably know a lot of the just-added words. Because new words often get coined by young people who are trying to figure out the best way to make sense of our shared world and the experience of living in it.

And by the time a word gets put into the dictionary, the cool kids aren’t even saying it any more. Anytime I try to use slang, my daughter says, “It isn’t 2018 anymore.”

So don’t ever underestimate your powers of language. You know how to communicate. It’s what humans do–whether the words are in the dictionary yet or not.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

There will always be distractions. The world is vying for your attention. Indeed, some of our biggest companies’ business models depend on it.

But remember that your attention is the most valuable thing you have. Think about the phrase “pay attention.” We don’t “pay” for anything else. We don’t “pay” for breath or movement or heartbeats. (Although those things all require energy.) But we do “pay” attention.

Maybe we ought to change it to “invest” attention. Because what we get in return for our attention can be much more valuable. But it all depends where we put it. Some of us invest our attention in scratch tickets and other get-rich schemes. It’s up to you.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

Yesterday we played what I called “a paying attention game.” But for sure all games are paying attention games. Some people pay attention only when it’s their turn. But good players pay attention all the time. 

Because if you want to be really good at games, you can’t just know what’s in your hand. You have to figure out what’s in other people’s hands. And what’s in their mind.

Life is the same way. If you want to be successful, pay attention all the time, not just when it’s your turn. Because life isn’t about what you know; it’s about what you can figure out.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

Yesterday we watched a video about the long, complex process of making pencils. Who knew it entailed so much? The cutting, grooving, mixing, sanding, painting, and finishing. There’s even a specialized  machine that pinches the ferrule (the metal part) snug to the pink eraser.

And to think that some of you just shove such specially crafted items deep into the bowels of your desk.

If we let ourselves see all of the care, ingenuity, and resources that are poured into the simplest things in our world–such as the simple pencil–we feel more alive. So next time you hold a pencil in your hand, take a second to think about the guy who invented the machine that pinches the ferrule around the pink eraser.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

They’re building some homes down the street from my house, so I travel by a construction zone a lot. And a construction zone almost always has someone working on something and that someone is almost always listening to music. 

Usually the music is country or music with a lot of accordion. But the other day I heard the loudest music I’d ever heard and that house under construction was rocking out to the B-52’s “Love Shack.” And I’m pretty sure I heard singing along.

One of the best things in life is when people surprise us. When they show us they’re more than we thought they were.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

Get yourself some friends who can tell you the truth. Because we all are a little full of it. Full of ourselves, full of nonsense, and blind to our biggest flaws. And we need trusted people who can give us some loving spoonfuls of truth.

And as hard as it is to swallow these loving spoonfuls of truth, it’s even more difficult to give out our own loving spoonfuls of truth. And it’s only possible if we have a strong foundation of friendship and trust.

Because no matter how gently we try to say a thing, it matters a whole lot less than all the other things we’ve said before.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

You’ve probably figured out that I love flags. I’ve got about 200 of them hanging from the ceiling over your head. 

I like flags because they seem like simple things (at least the good ones do). A couple of colors, maybe a few stripes, and that’s about it. But flags are not simple things at all. T

hey have a whole lot of history and culture and conflict woven into every fiber. Just like the countries and people they represent.

Turns out that the simple things usually are the most complex of all.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt