letters to my class

Dear Explainers,

We expect too much from science. We want explosions, mind-blowing discoveries, and earth-shattering ideas. But science is really just about explaining how things work. We may use beakers and Bunsen burners and chemical reactions to get there, but really science is the art of explanation.

And explanations are powerful things. Because if we know how one thing works, then we can apply that explanation to how other things work. And when we know how a thing works, we can apply it to solving real human problems.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

Robert Johnson was a blues singer and guitar player in Mississippi in the 1930s. One time he played for some other bluesmen. He wasn’t very good and they laughed at him. A year later he played for the same guys, and they were amazed at how good he had gotten.

So they came up with the story that he went to the crossroads and sold his soul to the devil to be able to play that well.

Of course, that’s not true. But I don’t even think it’s a better story. I think the story of Robert Johnson practicing, learning, and mastering the guitar is much more intriguing. Because that’s a story we can all tell about ourselves.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

The way humans use language is always changing. You and I–we–are each and all the drivers of that change. That’s the way it’s always been, and I think it’s the way it always will be.

In such an ever-changing situation, memorizing rules doesn’t help us as much as recognizing  patterns. The only rule in communication is to be understood. And as life changes and technology changes, we find different ways to do that.

But if you become the type of thinker who can recognize those patterns, hear those patterns, and follow those patterns, you’ll always be understood and you’ll always understand.

And that’s the best thing a human can be.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Chemists,

Sometimes people ask me why you need to know what we’re teaching you in science. Well, the truth is that “you” probably don’t. For most of human history, humans were perfectly content thinking the earth was the center of the universe. They still went about their daily lives.

But we would never have sent humans to the moon if we hadn’t learned about the stars and created the tools to help us understand them. We would never have increased global life expectancy by decades if we didn’t have technologies that came from scientific discoveries.

What we learn is not just about us. Sometimes we’re just passing along the torch of knowledge.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

There I was: shoving my kitchen garbage down into the can; making more room for coffee grounds, leftovers gone bad, and banana peels; putting off taking the garbage out to the can. Because there was something on TV. Because I would do it later.

But later comes soon enough. And later comes with a vengeance.

So here I am now: sweeping up coffee grounds that spilled all over the kitchen floor; trying to put the ripped garbage bag into the fresh garbage bag without spilling more; wiping up the trail of rank garbage juice that’s dripped all the way to the door.

Cursing the guy who put me in this position.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Problem Solvers,

Think of math class as practicing scales on a musical instrument. You don’t go to a concert to watch someone play scales, but scales teach us something central about patterns in music. And if you play scales enough, you start to “see” those patterns in real music.

Also, playing scales strengthens your music-making muscles; we call that chops.

Likewise, most of the problems you’ll solve in real life are much more complex than the math we practice in class. But in math class we work with the patterns that exist everywhere around us. And we also work on our chops.

And then we’re ready to make music.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

I have drawers full of colorful plastic kitchen gadgets: garlic mincers, garlic presses, egg crackers, apple slicers, and on and on. And I don’t ever use any of them. But when I bought them, I honestly thought they were going to make my life better. I thought, “I won’t have to worry about garlic juice on my hands any more!”

But I kind of like garlic juice on my hands.

I mostly use my chef’s knife, a wooden spoon, and a few pots and pans. And I’ve learned the best “life hack” there is: do something over and over and try to get good at it.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

When I hear you talk about Fortnite, there’s a lot I don’t understand. And when you hear me talk to Mr. Vince about our fantasy football teams, there’s probably a lot you don’t understand. We all live on the same planet; but we live in different worlds.

But on this first day after the fall equinox, we should remember that there is a wider world of seasons and change that we all share. And while it’s fine that we spend some time in our fantasy worlds of football and Fortnite, it’s good to remember that there’s a real world out there. And it’s one we all can understand.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Stargazers,

Last night was clear, so I looked at the stars. I saw the Big Dipper, part of Ursa Major (which didn’t look much like a bear) and the Little Dipper with Polaris at its end. And I saw Jupiter in the southwestern sky. It was so bright that at first I thought it was an airplane.

But the coolest thing about looking at the stars is thinking of the people thousands of years ago who looked at the exact same stars in the exact same places. They could probably see them better because they didn’t have as much light pollution. But they also didn’t have an iPhone App that helped them identify all of the constellations.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

I’ve told you this before: when I was your age, I cared a whole lot about what people thought of me. And because of that, I never put myself out there.

But when I look back now, I see how much time I wasted. I could have spent that time becoming the best me I could be. Instead, I tried to be the me that I thought other people wanted.

You all are some of the coolest people I know. I hope you spend the time you have now working on yourselves. Because that’s who you’re going to spend the rest of your lives with.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck