letters to my class

Dear Problem Solvers,

Writing a story, poem, or essay is like solving a problem. If you have some strategies, solving problems is a lot of fun. But if you don’t, then it’s just frustrating. 

So my job is to show you some strategies that work for writers. Then you practice using them and I give you feedback on how you’re doing. And then you practice some more and more and more….

Soon, you’ll get so good at using these strategies that you’ll start coming up with some of your own. And then I’ll teach these strategies to the next batch of writers. This is the Big Wheel that keeps turning through the years.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Students,

I’m happiest when I’m just chopping onions. It makes me cry, my face gets all scrunched up and weird looking, and I often slice into my fingers, but I love getting lost in the world of chopping onions. Everything else disappears and I’m totally focused on one thing.

The most important thing I can teach you is how to focus on one thing at a time. I believe there is great power in single-minded focus and I also believe it’s the only way you can ever learn anything really well. That’s why we read intensely. That’s why we are so focused when we write. You have to get lost in the “flow” of these activities.

So today I want you to check your focus throughout the day. Are you just chopping onions? Or is your mind distracted and scattered?

Sincerely, 

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Doers,

Doing the right thing is never easy. If you ever have feelings of certainty about the rightness of what you’re doing, you should spend a little more time thinking about it. And if what you believe feels right in your gut, then you might want to spend a little more time with it in your head.

Because doing the right thing usually means standing up for people who are different than you, have less than you, and who you might not even like or agree with. There aren’t prizes for doing the right thing and many times doing the right thing will make you unpopular or even hated.

But we must continue to do it, hopeful for a better world.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Thinkers,

It’s really important that you spend a lot of time thinking about your thinking. It’s not enough to simply know something. You’ve got to know how you know it, how you came to know it, and how knowing it can lead you to knowing more. It’s like a story with a beginning, middle, and end.

That seems like a lot for 4th graders, but I know you all can do it. I know this because I’ve seen 4th graders do it, and I know that thinking about your thinking will lead to the ultimate goal of thinking: deep understanding.

So when we’re talking about a story, poem or math problem, don’t just talk about the answer. Tell us the story of your thinking.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Thinkers,

Your goal as human beings is to think as many thoughts as possible. Some of those thoughts will be silly–How would a dog wear pants if dogs wore pants?– but some of them will change the world–What is justice? How can I make it happen?

But with only two eyes and two ears, it’s impossible to take in as much of the world as we need to grow these thoughts. So we turn to books to borrow others’ experiences. And we use books to get new thoughts, extend our thoughts, and challenge our thoughts.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Makers,

If we only did worksheets in class you could be perfect. You could fill in every blank perfectly, bubble in every letter choice perfectly, and draw every matching line perfectly.

But in real life (and in this classroom), we spend most of our time making things. Making art, making stories, making arguments, and making sense. And when you’re making things, perfection doesn’t enter into the equation.

So today when you’re making your stories, or making sense of a math problem, or making an idea about a book you’re reading, don’t worry about making it perfect. Make it make sense and make it have meaning.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Readers,

It’s important to have a reading spot. Try to find a place that is quiet, well-lit, and free of distractions. Oh, and make sure you have your stack of to-read books next to it.

But don’t worry too much about what your reading spot looks like because once you crack the book, you will be magically transported away. When you’re reading intensely, you will be so engrossed in your book, so lost in the world that the author created that when you look away from the page you will blink your eyes, shake your head, forget where you are, and slowly come back to reality.

And then you’ll look back into the book and get lost once again.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Cartographers,

Today we will make our maps of Colorado. And we’ll make this model of land inside that invisible rectangle by using materials that came from that land:

• 2 cups of flour from the Great Plains that stretch into Eastern Colorado
• 1 cup of salt from mines like they have all over the state
• 1 Tbsp of cream of tartar that came from the inside of wine barrels like they have in vineyards in Palisade, CO
• 1 cup of water that came trickling down from the Rocky Mountains

Think about these resources as you’re forming your maps and ponder that big connection between the physical world we live in and the mental world we create out of it.

And make sure you keep a lot of flour on hand.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Students,

Our society gives more attention to the bad than the good. At school, bad behavior will get you lots of time and attention with adults, but good attention is often ignored. If you watch the news, you might think it’s common for strangers to snatch kids,  but that’s really not true.

There are dangers in the world, but I believe the good far, far outweighs the bad. What’s more, I think always seeing the world as a dangerous and fearful place creates its own problems: we refuse to trust others, we act selfishly because we think everyone else does, and we assume that we can’t do anything to make the world a better place. These negative attitudes are the biggest dangers we face.

So at least for today, look for the good, do your part to be a helper, and be confident that most of the people in the world are on your side.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck