letters to my class

Dear Convincers,

The world is knowable. We can find things out. That’s the first truth that we have to believe if we want to be educated people. We can discover, we can uncover, we can deduce, we can prove. There are certain facts that we can all agree on.

From those facts, we make our own interpretations, opinions, and truths. We put them together in our own ways to make up our own minds and try to change the minds of others. But without evidence that others can see and agree with, the truth you make will never be believed.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

People are amazing. They took coal and used it to power steam locomotives in the early 1800s. It took them about another hundred years to figure out how to fly. And in about another 50 years after that, humans found a way to fly all the way to the moon. This all happened in less than 200 years.

This is your history. You are part of this story. What will your chapter be?

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Students,

You’ll face many naysayers throughout your life: people who say you can’t do something because of where you’re from or who you are. But don’t let other people determine your destiny. Live the kind of life that makes you happy. If you do that, you’ll do your part to make the world a better place to live. But if you don’t live your own kind of life, there are lots of stories that already exist for you. And you can easily fall into one of them.

You’re only nine or ten, but you’re never too young to have big ideas about world. Let those big ideas determine the kind of life you want to live.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

Yesterday we honored Martin Luther King, Jr. He fought for equal opportunity for everyone, regardless of skin color. But he also fought for the dignity of all people, regardless of where they’re from, what they do, or what they have. That’s a battle that is on going. That’s a battle that you’re going to have to continue. 

That’s a battle that you can fight everyday: treating all people with the dignity that all humans deserve, no matter what they look like, what they have, or what they do. 

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Transformers,

When I make my oatmeal in the morning I’m amazed the transformation that happens so quickly. With just a little water, heat, and time I turn dried, tasteless oats into something edible and some mornings delicious. And then I take dried roasted beans and soak them in water a short while and I have what I consider the greatest human invention!

Humans are transformers. Humans turn the sun’s rays into the electricity that powers motors and lights, plants from eons ago into the gasoline that powers are cars, and experiences from long ago and far away into texts that are available to everybody. 

What can you transform?

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Historians,

We might live in crazy times, but if you become a student of history, you learn that times have always been strange. There’s never been a perfect time that we should try to go back to. And there probably won’t be a perfect future that we can create. There’s just people living and making history in ways they can’t tell.

But it’s important that we understand that history because it created the world we live in today, and maybe it will help us better understand these times and how our actions will shape the future.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Readers,

You find a topic you’re interested in and read about it from every angle. You’re a detective and you’re weighing every piece of information. And you let the clues do the talking. Take your variety of texts and hold them next to each other in your mind. Let those texts talk to each their and listen in it n the conversation. Then find out something new that’s true about the topic.

The world is hungry for wisdom and insight. We don’t you need to only retell what’s already been told. We need you to have fresh ideas.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Writers,

You make something out of nothing. Using only your imagination you create a world, an idea, a vision of the world that people believe in even though it’s only words on paper. But I know that words can change the world. They have in the past and they will in the future. 

And words are available to everyone one of us. You don’t need money or power or fame. You just need a piece of paper and a pencil and the belief that you can write something that the world needs.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Learners,

I’m excited to be back. New years are like new beginnings, and they give you a chance to refocus on what’s important and what you want to accomplish.

I want each of you to be the best readers, writers, and thinkers that you can be. I believe that all of you are capable, and I know I know how to get all of you there. If you believe that too, if you’re willing to put in the hard work, and if you promise to support your classmates, then we’ll all get there.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Creators,

I enjoyed watching your creativity yesterday while making musical instruments. That’s a trait that will serve you well in the 21st century–not just following a formula for making something, but coming up with something new all on your own. Creativity combined with effort and perseverance will take you wherever you want to go.

So keep at it. Have a vision for what you want to create in the world and keep on making it in your own way.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck