letters to my class

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

Dear Debaters,

As readers, you have a lot of evidence to weigh. You collect that evidence, put it together, figure out what’s most important and grow theories about the characters and story. Another reader might disagree with you, but that’s okay. What’s important is that your ideas are grounded in the text and defensible.

Today we’ll have some debates about Tiger Rising. You will come up with questions to debate, take a stance, and find evidence to support it. It’s an important skill you’ll use throughout your life.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Thinkers,

The things I like now are things that I used to know nothing about. Some of these things were things I never thought I could’ve liked. When you don’t know about a topic, it’s easy to believe it’s not worth knowing.

But if you keep an open mind, you’ll find that there’s value in everything, and you just might find a new favorite things in the world, and a new way to make meaning in the world.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck

Dear Measurerers,

Measurement is where the ideal world of math comes into contact with the real, physical world. And in the real physical world we can never be perfectly exact. Everything is an approximation–close, an estimate, good enough. 

Of course we strive to be as precise as we can, but like every other human endeavor, measurement is about finding a shared meaning that we can agree on. And when we do that, we can build things together.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck