letters to my class

Dear Humans,

Thoreau has that famous quote that we should beware of any enterprises that requires us to buy new clothes. And I think I know what he means. The clothes do not make the person. Just because I spend $40 on workout clothes at Target doesn’t mean I’ll start working out.

But when I wear my apron in the kitchen, I feel a lot more capable. I make crisp, assured movements and work at a steady and efficient pace. I feel like a professional.

Because the truth is that lot of life is about putting on an act. The ol’ fake it till you make it. But there’s not really a point where we look around and say, “I’ve made it!” So we just keep faking it. Not because we’re trying to fool other people; mostly because we’re trying to fool ourselves.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. I like to assume that everyone is doing the best they can and that people will do the right thing when given the chance.

Of course, that doesn’t always happen. And some people will some times take advantage of you and make you look and feel like a fool.

But the alternatives is that I live with my guard constantly up, treat other people as enemies, and always expect the worst. And if I go and do that, then I make of fool of myself.

I know which I prefer.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

I was driving home from work yesterday, feeling tired and a little stressed and just all wrapped up in my own business. And then I saw a Mary Kay pink Cadillac and that quickly unwrapped me from my own stuff and reminded me how big the world is.

Because it reminded me that though my stuff is important to me, most people in the world are wrapped up in far different stuff. Some people are out here selling over $100,000 of makeup door to door every year. They most definitely have different worries and concerns than me.

It’s a good reminder that the world is a whole lot bigger than our view of it, and our way of being in the world is just one of billions and billions of possibilities.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

Do me a favor: anytime you think something is weird or strange or you think you just don’t like it, learn more about it. Get really knee-deep thick into it and make yourself feel uncomfortable and foolish. Because, remember, I used to think Steely Dan wasn’t worth listening to. And boy was I wrong.

But it’s okay to be wrong. Its okay to change your mind and believe something that you didn’t used to believe. That doesn’t make you a hypocrite; it makes you human.

And if you don’t try every day to make yesterday’s you look like a know-nothing fool, then you’re just not living right.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

Every once in a while one of you puts a weeks-old assignment in the turn-it-in bin. And it’s always crumpled up, like it’s been in the bottom of a backpack for weeks, and it usually has a smudge of grape jelly in the upper corner.

And though at first I’m a little put out that someone would dare turn in an assignment so late, I actually love it when that happens. Because it’s never too late to do the right thing. And it’s never too late to learn something new.

Most of what we learn in life comes a bit too late anyway. You’ll find yourself often saying, “I wish I would have known THAT before.” But then the next day comes and perhaps you’re a bit more ready for the next day’s lesson.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

Today we’re playing with bubbles. The lesson plan says that you’re going to learn about surface tension and surfactants and those are important science-y things. And we’re going to rigorously test a few different bubble solutions to see which one makes the best and longest lasting bubbles.

But I hope you also just have fun making bubbles. And I hope you see that learning science isn’t just about storing up a bank of skills and knowledge that may someday help you get a six-figure STEM job. It’s really about better understanding the natural world that you live in right now, so you can live more fully in it.

And what’s better living than making the biggest bubbles you can?

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

My pantry is always a mess. I’ve bought and given away many canisters, wire racks, and baskets to try to fix it, but they never help. It’s because I can’t decide on a spot for everything. So I just put things back wherever I feel like they should go on a certain day.

But it’s hard to organize a pantry because I’m not sure what should go next to what. Should I put my rice on the same shelf as the pasta or should I keep it next to the dry beans? It seems like pasta and rice should go together, but rice also seems to go with beans. And what about fruit? Should I put the fruit cocktail next to the raisins and cranberries? Or should it go next to the creamed corn and kidney beans?

Making sense of the world is a complex ontological nightmare. And the pantry is only the start of it.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

This weekend my family drove north on I-25 and there was a lot of road construction. It was stop and go all the way past Ft. Collins. And I loudly complained about it. And yet there I was driving on a road that itself had just recently been constructed. Without these same types of delays every few years, I never could have been driving on this road at all.

Thinking about this didn’t make me feel much better, but it did put a grin on my face. And it did remind me that the world that we live in is a whole lot bigger than our present experience of it.

Knowing this doesn’t doesn’t get you to your destination any faster. But it does help you enjoy the journey.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

When I was a kid I read the almanac all the time. Nothing made me happier than a list of the longest rivers in the world. And while many of those facts are the same–like the longest rivers–a lot of them are very different.

There are probably many adults like me walking around who would be shocked that the global population is almost 8 billion people. Because when I was in school, I learned that it was about 6 billion. When my parents were in school, they probably learned that it was about 3 or 4 billion. When my grandparents were in school, they learned that the world population was 2 billion.

We teach you the facts whenever we can. But the truth is that the facts change all the time. So we also have to teach you to think about the forces that drive that change and how to think and live in a world that doesn’t stay the same for very long.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

When I finish washing dishes and cleaning up the kitchen, I feel a very specific and strange good feeling. I’m a little tired, but I’m also very proud of what I just accomplished. I look over my recreation of a sparkling kitchen and let out a proud sigh.

So it’s weird that I can’t ever seem to remember that good feeling. Because the next night, or even a few hours later, when the dirty dishes pile up on the counter, I look over at them from my comfortable spot on the couch and want nothing to do with them whatsoever.

Life isn’t just about knowing the right thing to do. I think most of us know it most of the time. Life is about convincing that lifelong enemy of ours that we should do it.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck