Dear Students: Here’s what I hope you have learned.
Dear Students,
My heart has been filled over the past few weeks with so many beautiful opportunities to see you and your families. Together, we have enjoyed play performances and impact project presentations. We have watched you walk the elementary school hallways, this time in caps and gowns as High School graduates. We’ve run into each other in restaurants, stores, and parks. Each smile, each hug, each accomplishment, and each memory shared fills my heart.
Often, our memories are the little funny things, like how we started our days with songs (and sometimes dances), the time I let you stand on your desk to do the chicken dance when you mastered your math facts, or how I always dropped things and called out, “Watch for Falling Objects!” Sometimes our memories are bigger projects, like an end of the year play, a biography parade, or an upcycling project. Seeing so many of your faces, and hearing your memories, has pushed me to reflect.
As a teacher, of course I want you to remember, and feel confident with the content of the subject areas., but at the end of it all, what I hope you have truly learned from the year we spent together are the very things each of you have taught me…
You are exactly who you are supposed to be.
You have the power to make a real, positive impact.
What you care about matters.
There is nothing bad or wrong about you. Sometimes, we just need to turn-up or turn-down certain behaviors in different situations.
Nobody is better than anyone else-we’re just different. We all have strengths and weaknesses, and often our strengths are our weaknesses, and our weaknesses are our strengths.
Learning when to ask for help is necessary for success, and asking thoughtful questions is a sign of intelligence.
You are the writer of your own story; each event influences your plot and how you react and respond to each event determines your story’s direction.
You are an important part of a bigger community.
You can inspire and influence others, but you can never control them, and you aren’t supposed to.
Celebrate others-don’t let someone else's accomplishments make you feel less., realize that it’s just their turn to be celebrated.
Decide who you surround yourself with by the fact that they make you feel safe, comfortable, and add value to your life, while you add value to theirs.
We can get through anything together!
It’s important to set boundaries that make you feel safe, and others should always respect them.
It’s kind to communicate and tell others how you feel. There is nothing noble about suffering in silence.
When you hurt someone, genuinely apologize and accept responsibility for your actions. Learn, strive to do better, and then move on.
When someone is unnecessarily mean, it says more about them than it says about you, don’t take on their negative energy, leave it with them.
Seek to understand, not to judge.
Accept people for who they are, it’s never your job to change or control them.
Don’t jump to conclusions, stop and ask questions first and consider other perspectives.
Remain open to other people’s interpretations. We all see things through our own personal life lens.
Grades do not necessarily equal intelligence or learning. Depth of thinking, curiosity, creativity, empathy, and the ability to collaborate are only a few of the many things that are not assessed by standardized tests.
There are only two wrong things to do in any creative endeavor–judge and nothing.
Understand that everybody is doing the best they can with what they’ve got.
You will learn so much by taking genuine interest in the stories of others.
Continuously strive to live into who you want to be.
What you invest your time and attention to is what will grow and improve, whatever you want to be better at…do more of.
Courage comes from getting comfortable in the discomfort of the unknown. Rise to challenges even when you aren’t sure what the outcome might be.
Work hard, play hard!
Lean into conflicts-conflicts aren’t bad, they are necessary opportunities to push us towards growth.
We are human! Humans make mistakes. Mistakes show us a gap in our knowledge or understanding. Embrace the mistakes you make for the lessons they teach and be generous and understanding when in comes to the mistakes of others.
Take time to reflect on if your actions align with your beliefs. In the places where they don’t, do better.
The goal of life is to live it alongside the ones you love!
Thank you from the bottom of my overflowing heart for living and learning alongside me. I am so proud of you!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Randolph aka Ms. V.
