letters to my class

Dear Humans,

Some things in life are hard: creating a meaningful life, finding true friends, figuring out the truth.

But some things in life are super easy: making your bed in the morning, following the rules of the road, putting your name on your paper.

If we do the easy things automatically, then we free up brain space to focus on the hard stuff. But it takes practice, and it takes discipline, and it takes focus: you’ve got to do it everyday, every time, without fail. And soon, it just becomes part of who you are: a person who is ready to tackle the hard stuff.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Creators,

The indifferent world is big, busy, and crowded. And it doesn’t pay much attention to us as individuals. So we have to shake it awake and make it take notice.

We do that by creating beautiful things.

No matter what you’re making–a painting, an essay, a math test, or even a grocery list on the back of a piece of junk mail–make it the most beautiful thing it can be. Put your best into it because what you create is you on the page and you out in the world.

Make sure the world takes notice.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Writers,

The world is a wild and chaotic place. But our human minds structure it in certain ways so we can understand it. Often, we take these structures for granted. We don’t think about them or investigate them. But if we do, our minds, and the world itself, becomes much more understandable.

So when you’re reading something or writing something or thinking about something, don’t just focus on the thing itself. Don’t just ask, “What is it?” Ask how it works. Don’t view it as something that just exists in the world, investigate where it came from, who made it, and how we humans understand it.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Students,

School is hard. We adults expect you to stay focused on academics, but your friend is at the next table, and you want to discuss such-and-such that so-and-so said. Or maybe you have to solve a story problem with the girl who pushed you off the monkey bars in second grade, and how are you supposed to multiply with someone you don’t trust?

It’s tempting to think there’s an easy solution to the problem of other people. It’s tempting to imagine a world where we’re left alone, away from difficult people.

But life is difficult people. You can’t escape them. You do your best to get along with them and keep your focus on what’s important.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Students,

Your job is to figure things out. That’s what humans do. That’s what humans are good at. We’re not so good at following directions–we tend to make errors or skip steps. We’re not so good at carrying out the same task over and over and over–there’s a reason machines replace us.

But humans are really good at creating meaning, making connections, figuring out patterns, and solving problems.

So when there’s a problem in front of you, have faith in your ability to figure it out. You’re not supposed to know how to do it. But you are supposed to figure it out.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Thinkers,

When my wife tells me about someone I don’t know, I always ask the same question: what kind of animal are they?

A lot of times the world and what’s in it is beyond our understanding. We can’t know or name a thing precisely. But comparisons help. If we can say what a thing is like or put it in a category with other like things, we can begin to get a sense of the thing itself.

So when you come across something new, before you ask what it is, ask what it is like. You’ll probably get a better answer.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Writers,

If you learn to put your ideas into powerful, meaningful words, you can accomplish anything. Reading is important; math is important; science and social studies are important. But I think writing is the most important subject in school.

But to be a great writer, you have to be a writer all the time. You have to read like a writer, you have to see the world like a writer, you have to breathe like a writer. You have to always carry that writer’s notebook with you. And most of all, you have to believe that you have something to say about the world, and you have a way to say it that no one else does.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

It’s great to do well in school. If you do well in 4th grade, you’re more likely to do well in 5th grade, and more likely to do well in high school, and more likely to go to college, and more likely to get a good job.

But little in life is guaranteed. And there are a lot of life-upsetting dangers that lurk along the path.

What really matters is that you have loving people in your life who support you. And that you know how to find more of those people. And the best way to find more loving and supportive people is to be one yourself.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

Yesterday morning I sat in traffic and blamed the car in front of me. But that car was stuck because the intersection in front of him was blocked. And that intersection was blocked because the intersection in front of them was blocked, and it all went back to the earlier wreck that closed a road we weren’t even on.

And then I looked around and saw all these semi-trucks and thought about my morning cup of coffee that came all the way from Guatemala, and how I live in this awesome world where I can get anything I want from anywhere in the world. But sometimes I sit in traffic.

We’re all connected. Our choices and actions have consequences we can’t always see. Think about that before you just blame the car in front of you.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Readers,

People are going to come at you with their truths, and they’re going to do all they can to convince you they’re true. So you have to be smart. But more, you have to be wise. You can’t just know things; you have to know how things work.

So we’re reading nonfiction texts about weather. And we’ll learn a lot about weather, but more importantly, we’ll learn how nonfiction texts work. What we’re really learning are how ideas work and how humans communicate them.

If we learn that, we’ll be ready to weigh all of the truths that people bring us.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck