Dear Livers,
You’re experts on living. You’ve seen thousands of days. You’ve been around language, people, and culture throughout your lives. And now you’re trying to figure out what it all means.
And doing that is all up to you. You can ask people for help. You can look to other people for examples. You can learn about how other people have done it in school. But putting your experiences together in a way that makes sense to you is the essence of living.
Sincerely,
Mr. Heimbuck
Dear Students,
Yesterday was one of the best days I’ve ever had in the classroom. You guys were rock stars! You supported each other, you listened to each other, you took risks. It was a beautiful thing to see. And it makes me feel confident that this will be a great year for each of us.
Keep up the good work. Having a great day is easy. Putting two great days together is much more difficult.
Sincerely,
Mr. Heimbuck
Dear Questioners,
Ask the questions that don’t have answers. That will upset some people, but it will lead you on the path to true knowledge.
By asking unanswerable questions, you’ll have the lifelong job of trying to answer them, and you’ll end up with a lifetime full of knowledge (and even more questions than when you started).
We’ll practice asking unanswerable questions today.
Sincerely,
Mr. Heimbuck
Dear Historians,
I hate when people think I don’t know about things that happened before I was born. Just because I didn’t see it happen on CNN doesn’t mean I haven’t read about it.
Yesterday, we talked and read about an event that happened 15 years ago–long before any of you were born. Just because you didn’t live it doesn’t mean you aren’t responsible for knowing about it.
The past lives on and all of us must know it.
Sincerely,
Mr. Heimbuck
Dear Students,
The classroom is a special place. It’s a place that’s separate from the “real world.” It’s a place where we can forget about the problems in our life, so we can explore ideas that help us better face those problems. It’s a place where we can decide what kind of person we want to be and work hard to make it happen.
It’s a place where we support each other because we know we’re a team and we’re a lot stronger together.
Sincerely,
Mr. Heimbuck
Dear Readers,
You’ll find books you love. You’ll find authors you’ll love. Throughout your life you’ll read every new book that writer writes. And then those books will introduce you to new books.
You’ll read because you want to learn about the world. You’ll read because you love the way that writers use language. You’ll read because you’re a reader and readers gotta read. Soon all of these books will become a part of your life and make it a bit richer.
Sincerely,
Mr. Heimbuck
Dear Strategists,
Have an idea of what your next two moves are going to be. Think about what your opponent is going to do and think about what your opponent thinks you think you’re going to do. Do this in games and do this in life. If you don’t, you’ll get beat like a rented mule.
Even if you lose, it’s better to lose with a strategy. Then, a loss can teach you something.
Sincerely,
Mr. Heimbuck
Dear Knowers,
People may tell you that you don’t need to know facts when you can search on Google or ask Siri. They might tell you you’re “wasting bandwidth” on knowing all the state capitals.
But I think it’s better to know something than to not know something.
Big ideas emerge out of lots of pieces of knowledge put together. Either you can make your own big ideas with your own knowledge, or you can just believe someone else’s big ideas.
I know what I’d prefer.
Sincerely,
Mr. Heimbuck
Dear Makers,
Just make something. Make it just the way you want it, and make it just for yourself. Make it just to see if you can make it.
Worry only about the process of making it, and don’t worry about the end result. Don’t worry about how it will be received. People will love it. Or they won’t.
Make it to make yourself happy. Make it knowing it’s only the first of many.
Sincerely,
Mr. Heimbuck
Dear Dreamers,
When an ant carries a rock to the anthill, it will never see and enjoy the anthill for itself. When people have big visions for the future, they won’t live to see them realized. But we have to have faith that our work will benefit future generations. And we have to keep the vision that we can make the world a much better place for everybody.
Rockets explode, buildings collapse, and new technologies fizzle out. But we have to stay true to our vision that we can make the world better, even if it we’re not around to see it.
Sincerely,
Mr. Heimbuck
letters to my class 