letters to my class

Dear Students,

It’s Friday apparently. Although, it sure feels different than other Fridays. But it has been great to see your faces (on a screen) and hear your voices (in the Google Classroom comments).

Even though it looks different and feels different from in-person school, you have to know that the learning work we’re doing now is the same as the learning work we’ve always been doing.

Universal schooling is a relatively recent invention. But humans have been learning since we arrived on the scene. And we do it everywhere we go: in our homes, on a screen, in a classroom, in our backyards. We are learners. It’s what we do. And there are lots and lots of ways that we can do it.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

We’re stuck in our homes. And we might be bored. But as one of my favorite authors, Robert Louis Stevenson, says, “The world is so full of a number of things, I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.”

When Stevenson’s talking about “the world” he doesn’t just mean the world out there. He means the world that each of us carry inside. That world is more than enough to keep us busy, happy, and entertained. If we tap into it.

People are running marathons in their backyards. Memorizing or writing poetry. Baking bread. Doing puzzles.

Boredom doesn’t have anything to do with our surroundings. It has everything to do with what we bring from inside ourselves.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

They say time is a gift. And that’s true in many ways. Sometimes we get the gift that we asked for. But other times we get a gift that we never could have expected.

The gift of time that the pandemic has given us is not one we asked for or expected. But we have it now and it’s up to us to use it in the best ways we can. Since I’m your math teacher, I think mastering multiplication and division facts is a good use of this time.

But there are many ways you can choose to use this time. It’s a good time to do something you’ve never had to time to do before.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

I’ve been sweeping my floor a lot lately because my children basically just hang around and munch on goldfish crackers all day.

And as I’m sweeping the piles into the dustbin, there’s always a line of dust left. I scoot back and re-sweep it into the dustbin, and it gets a little smaller, but it’s still there. I turn 90 degrees and sweep it into the dustbin from the other direction, and it gets fainter yet, but still a little line of dust remains.

Eventually I just kick the leftover dust into the air and let it fall where it may. Because I know I’m going to be back to sweeping the floor in no time at all.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

People from my generation figure out how old someone is by asking them where they were on September 11th. My parents ask people where they were when JFK was assassinated.

This pandemic will be your big event. In 20 years you’ll figure out how old someone is by asking what grade they were in during the COVID-19 shut down.

I’m not trying to find the bright side of this pandemic. There isn’t one. But this is a big event that will have big consequences in how we live and who we are. So we have an opportunity to shape that. We have the opportunity to change our lives in ways that are positive for the most people.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

People lie for all sorts of reasons: to make ourselves look better, to make other people feel better, or to keep a hold on power. But we also lie because we know that the truth has a dangerous power that might disrupt our lives. If we tell the truth, we might have to actually do something about it!

But there’s an old, worn saying that’s one of the first things I remember learning: Honesty is the best policy. And it’s true. In the long run, your lies will catch up with you. It’s best to stick with the truth.

But remember, your opinion about something or someone is not the same thing as the truth. Usually best to keep that nonsense to yourself.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

When I pull the bag of corn tortillas out of the refrigerator, they are a sad sight. They are dry and tasteless and so brittle that if you even look at one it will break.

But then I put it on the stovetop for just a few seconds and it is magically transformed. It becomes pliable and soft and the deep taste comes out of hiding.

People are kind of the same way. We can all be magically transformed with just a little bit of care and patience. So let’s not treat each other like we just came out of the fridge; let’s give each other a little time to warm up over a low flame.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

I was reading my toothbrush packaging the other day, and it told me that we are ruled by our habits. It was a good reminder. Because it’s easy to overlook the things that we don’t “choose” to do, but that we do everyday.

We like to think we’re pretty smart. We like to think that our brains are in charge. But usually our brains get dragged along by our bodies following the same paths that we’ve followed before.

But it’s never too late to change paths. It’s not easy–we have to practice going down a different path quite a few times. But it’s never too late. And if we can convince our bodies to do it, we’ll end up in a better place.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

My youngest daughter was telling us about a book she’s reading and she kept referring to a character as “Dirty.” At first I thought she was saying “Gertie” but then she kept saying it and I definitely heard an initial D. And when I finally had her spell it, she said D-E-I-R-D-R-E.

It reminded me of the time I went to the library in my tiny little town in Wyoming and asked them for the book On The Road by Jack Ke…r.. ow..ick?

We only know something because we learn it. If we’re not willing to be wrong or make mistakes or risk looking a little foolish, then we’ll never learn a thing.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

Yesterday I stapled my own finger. I used to think you had to be really dumb to staple your own finger (and maybe you do), but there I was yesterday with a staple sticking out of my finger.

It’s best not to hold yourself in too high esteem. Because up until yesterday, I thought I was the kind of person who would never staple their own finger. I was too wise. Too careful. Too smart.

But now I have a tiny little hole in my pinkie to show that I’m not all of those things. At least not all of the time.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck