letters to my class

Dear Humans,

I’ve pulled into my garage thousands of times. At least once a day for years and years. And yet I’ve still clipped my mirror, every once in a while I’ll bang my door on the wall I parked too close to, and about once a month my wife comes in from the garage and says, “You parked like a real moron out there.” 

If I were smart I’d get some sort of parking aid: hang a tennis ball on a string from the ceiling, place a parking mat on the floor, or mount one of those parking assistant lasers on the wall.

Because being smart starts with humility. It means knowing our limitations and knowing when to ask for a little help. But rather than doing that we too often rely on our own woeful skills. Rather than ding our pride, we ding our car doors.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

I’m not sure it’s that important that you learn the phases of the moon. I can count on one hand the number of times someone has asked me when the next full moon is. Most adults don’t know what the current moon phase is because it’s not important to our lives.

But the process of learning it is important. The lunar cycle is just a system. It’s a phenomenon that exists because of complex interactions between different parts. And learning that–figuring out the rules that govern a system–is something that you will spend the rest of your life doing.

So we’re practicing. And, when you’re older and look up and see a waning gibbous moon and can explain why it looks like that, you’ll feel the satisfaction of knowing a thing–even if it might not be that important to your life.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

I play cards with my dad and brothers and I really, really like to win. And I really, really hate to lose, especially to my brothers.

But when I do win, it’s usually because of luck or my opponent’s mistake. And that doesn’t teach me much about the game. In fact, sometimes when I win I’m not sure how it happened at all. Often the only lesson we learn from winning is “Hey, that worked! I’ll keep doing that.” Which can often lead to disaster with the next shuffle of cards.

But when I lose, especially when I lose a tough hand, I learn a lot. I’m more likely to see what went wrong and think about what I need to do differently next time.

If we’re reflective and willing to learn, losing is the best teacher. As much as it might sting.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

The other day my daughter said the sky looked just like a painting. And it did–fluffy white clouds stacked up against a blue sky like they’d been put there by a paint brush.

And to think those incredible clouds are nothing but water vapor condensed on particles of dust in the air. That we see beauty in such simple things, tells us that it’s something that it’s important to humans and our survival.

Because if you think about art, it too comes from simple stuff. Sculptures made of clay, paintings made of oils and clays and eggs, drawings made of charcoal. But then humans do that something that humans do: we combine it with something inside of us to make it more. More meaningful and more beautiful. Because we know that doing so is somehow essential to our survival.

Sincerley,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

Over the weekend we celebrated my daughter’s birthday. We went out to a restaurant she picked and she got a Dr. Pepper (her favorite drink) and then her first Boba Tea (which is not her favorite drink) and finally she went shopping and added to her extensive collection of oversized sweatshirts (so maybe she’ll stop stealing mine).

And it was a great evening and she felt like the center of the universe.

Which made me think what a good thing it is that we only have one birthday per year.

Because though we are the center of the universe for a small circle of people, so is every other person on our globe (or at least they deserve to be). And the vast, vast majority of people on Earth will never meet us or even think about us. That truth doesn’t make us any less special; it just means that our specialness is an unearned gift and it is not unique.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

Our world loves the idea of secret knowledge. We want to find the hidden truths, reveal the inner workings, unlock the secrets of how the world really works. We watch viral videos about hacking our lives, uncovering the “real” truth of history, and getting rich using tricks “they” don’t want you to know.

But the truth is that most knowledge is freely available for the taking. It’s in the world if we know how to look, and it’s written down in books if we know how to read. 

But it seems like it’s hidden because it takes a lot of time and effort to get it. And if you want to hide something really well, place it behind walls of time and effort. People really don’t like looking there. 

The truth is out there. And it’s also right here. If we take the time and effort to find it.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

Stickers from the grass get stuck in the cuffs of our pants and the laces of our shoes and then they end up in our kitchen rug. And then I go barefoot to make coffee in the morning, step on one and think, “How did that get there?”

The world gets in. No matter how tightly you lock the door or shake your shoes when you cross the threshold, the world still gets in. So we have a responsibility to tend to the outside world. Not only because it’s the right thing, but because we know the outside world will get into our own homes.

The best way to get rid of stickers in the grass is to choke them out with lush, healthy grass. If you water and cultivate the things you want, the things you don’t will go away. But if we leave the world to the weeds, the weeds will always get in.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

Twenty years ago terrorists attacked America, killing over 3,000 people. Anybody who was old enough to remember it, remembers exactly where they were that Tuesday morning.

But the 20 years that came after it are sort of a blur.

That’s why it’s so important to study history–not just the far off history that came before we were born, but the times that we experienced ourselves. Because we go through life at 1,000 miles per hour. We can’t see everything and the things we can see are filled with mystery and uncertainty.

But the past is a little easier to grasp. We still can’t know everything. There are still mysteries about September 11th. But by looking back we can know a whole lot more than we knew at the time. 

And that just might help us know a little more about tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

We stayed at an Airbnb over the weekend, and one morning I woke up early and checked on my daughters sleeping in the basement. I didn’t want to wake them by turning on the light, so, of course, I walked right into a bed and smacked my knee.

But I banged my knee so square on the bed frame that it didn’t hurt that much. Because I didn’t know the layout of the room, I didn’t know what to avoid. If I would’ve had an idea where the bed was and tried to avoid it, I probably would’ve caught the corner and hurt myself a whole lot worse.

Oftentimes in life, we make our worst mistakes when we’re trying our hardest not to make one. But if we walk confidently through life–even through the unlit parts that we’re not too familiar with–it won’t hurt as much when we fall.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt

Dear Humans,

The other day I was filling up my car with gas when a loud advertisement popped up on a screen on the pump. I couldn’t figure out how to turn it off, so I had to pump my gas while being screeched at.

Pop-up ads and autoplay videos on the internet, talk radio blaring from other cars in traffic, televised advertisements in the checkout line at the grocery store. We live in a noisy world. And all this noise keeps us from having the time and attention for deep thought.

So anytime we can get a break from the noise, we should take it. In school, we try to provide some of that time. A time when it can just be you and your thoughts during writing. A time when it can just be your thoughts and a book during reading. 

Real learning requires quiet reflection. Embrace the quiet times.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt