letters to my class

Dear Readers,

Today we’ll talk to one another. We’ll disagree, and we’ll disagree intensely, but we’ll do it with respect and courtesy because we know that both sides want to uncover some central truth about the book we’re reading. We’re not just trying to “win” an argument.

But we’ll also hold each other accountable. We’ll insist that the other person provide evidence, use sound reasoning, and support their case. Our job is to make one another better thinkers and readers, not just ourselves.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Readers,

You have to have big ideas about books. We don’t just read books to read books and hear fun little stories. We read books to grow big ideas about the world. Even though some books aren’t “true” in a literal sense, they tell us something “True” about the world and the people who live in it.

Discover those Truths. Read lots of books. Grow lots of big ideas.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Humans,

I hate when people think they know everything about me based on what I’ve done in the past. I’m a complex individual who can change. And it would be even worse if they thought they knew everything about me based only on what I looked like or where my family came from or the way I was born.

Give people a chance to surprise you. Give them the opportunity to change. They might disappoint you, but way more problems in the world have been caused by closed-mindedness than open-mindedness.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Reasoners,

In all you do, be slaves to reason. It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing stories that you want to be true. But to use your mind well, you have to investigate everything you hold dear to see if it really is true. Let the facts guide you.

Facts are tricky things. They can hide. They can be doctored. They can be used to trick you. In school we practice weighing evidence, looking closely at proof, and drawing our own conclusions. Those skills will serve you better than any others in your life.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Mistake Makers,

You don’t learn anything when you get all the answers right. To learn you have to fail. To learn you have to make mistakes. To learn you have to be wrong. And you also have to be willing to learn from those mistakes.

My job is to give you lots of opportunities to make mistakes. Then I’ll tell you it’s okay to make mistakes, but let’s fix them and move on and try to make new mistakes. That’s the fertile ground of learning.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Attempters of New Things,

I bought some woodworking tools this weekend, and I’ve tried to use them. Working with tools and fixing things makes me feel the way that math probably makes some of you feel: incompetent, unsure, and full of dread.

What I’ve made so far is terrible: crooked cuts, rough edges, and nothing seems to fit together right. But I’m going to keep at it. I’m going to fail a little better each time, and maybe someday I’ll feel confident, sure, and full of pride.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Creators,

We learn through creating. You can read a book about the geography of Colorado and memorize where important landmarks are, but you’ll forget it all unless you use that knowledge to make something–like your very own map.

Creating doesn’t always happen in a workshop. When you’re writing a story or  responding to a text with an argument or big idea, you’re also creating.

But you have to take the knowledge of the world and make something that is all your own. That’s what real learning is.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Answerers,

There are no answer keys. Even if there were, they wouldn’t be very reliable. You’d disagree with them and bemoan their closed-mindedness. The real questions you answer in life have many correct answers and they’re made correct by how well you support them with reasons and evidence.

The good life takes a lot of thinking and it’s something you have to fight for.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Readers,

I’m reading Kate DiCamillo’s new book, and in it she has a minor character–a gym teacher–who has a favorite saying: “Flex your toes and isolate your objectives.” I think that’s sound advice, and it reminds me of all we can learn from literature.

So you’ll hear me say it today (and a lot in the future) anytime we have a task that we need to complete. There’s no replacement for focus and single-mindedness when there’s something you need to get done.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck