Author Archives: Taylor Jackson
Dear Tiana
Dear Tiana,
You have matured from a reckless little girl into a fearless young woman. Channeling the same strength and passion that used to get you in trouble, you now act as a leader in the classroom and on the basketball court.
You are truly a remarkable woman and a joy to teach. I will be at your game this weekend, cheering you and the team on to victory.
With the incredible strides you are making athletically and academically, don’t let a strained relationship with LaKeysha take you back down the path you were once on. You are too smart, strong and sensible to let a little girl drama derail your progress this year.
LaKeysha is working through her own issues. I need you to stay in your lane. We only have one week of school until winter break. Your grades are improving, but we still have work to do. I would love to recommend that you stay on the basketball team, but I need to continue to see excellent character from you – in class, the hallway and during electives.
All my love,
-Ms. Jackson
Dear Mikal
Dear Mikal,
I want to support your dream of becoming an artist. You are developing creative talent and skills, and to be excellent at anything takes thousands of hours of practice. However, when your creative expression overlaps with my teaching, we have a problem.
There is a time to illustrate, paint and create, and there is a time to read, write and participate in class. I had to confiscate your sketchbook today after three redirections for being off task. I will gladly return your notepad under the following conditions.
You must complete all classwork to the best of your ability. I want to see the same care and attention to detail in your notes that I see in your sketches. You need to take your time and not rush through to finish early.
Once you show me exemplary classwork, you will have my permission to draw. I want you to practice and improve, and without an art program at our school to support your talent, we can find other ways to incorporate your passion at appropriate times.
I also want to see you walk the stage with your diploma in a few years. Art can be a challenging career to sustain. You’ll need math skills to stay on top of your finances. Literacy skills will help you market your amazing talent, and you will be able to read contracts and make informed decisions about selling your products.
I respect you and the artistic talent you possess. I am asking for a mutual respect of my instructional time during class.
All my love,
-Ms. Jackson
P.S. – The poster you made for our school competition is unbelievable! I can’t wait to see it unveiled at TruthFest on Friday. We are so lucky to have you in our homeroom.
Dear Candice
Dear Candice,
As you sit down to eat lunch by yourself again today, I want you to know that you’re not actually alone.
When I was in 7th grade, I felt like an outcast too. For the first several weeks of school, I sat at a lunch table surrounded only by the frizzy hair shielding my flushed, embarrassed cheeks. I wore off-brand jeans and dorky t-shirts, and I participated in all the “geeky” activities. Apparently no one wanted to sit with the shy, weird girl.
One day, I scoured my fourth period science class for a friendly face, and I finally asked a girl named Joanna if I could sit with her at lunch. Shockingly, she said yes, and I started eating at her table every day. By the end of the year, I was still wearing similar clothes and fixing my hair in the same way, but I was much more confident, and I had a few friends.
I want you to know that life gets better. There are peaks and valleys, and middle school is certainly a low point for most of us.
Over the next few years, you will learn that you don’t need to change yourself to make friends. You’ll grow into who you are, and you will find friends who are equally weird, wonderful, smart and fun.
You won’t eat lunch alone forever. In fact, you don’t have to sit by yourself again, if you don’t want to. Look up. Smile. Watch for a new friend in class.You might just surprise yourself with how many people would love to have you sit at their table tomorrow.
You are not as alone as you feel right now.
All my love,
-Ms. Jackson
From Elisa
Dear Sixth Grade Students
Dear sixth grade students,
Rubber bands are henceforth banned from our school. If you are caught with a rubber band of any size, shape or color, you will be placed in ISS immediately. This includes silly bands and any other elastic material you could stretch and shoot across the room.
All my love,
-Ms. Jackson
Dear Anonymous
Dear Anonymous,
Thank you for the food you leave on my desk every morning. Your quiet, unassuming generosity is so precious to me.
Are you sure you’re getting enough to eat for breakfast? I don’t want to take the cereal, yogurt or banana from your school breakfast if you aren’t eating at home!
And as much as I appreciate the food, I love the thought behind it even more. You brighten my mornings!
All my love,
-Ms. Jackson
Dear LaKeysha
Dear LaKeysha,
I get it; I really do. You have a dozen choices to make every morning before you walk into my classroom. You choose your shoes, belt, earrings, and whether to start the day with a smile or a grimace.
The most important decision you can make today and every day is the choice to be kind.
I know enough about what goes on at home to know that choosing kind is not always demonstrated for you. Choose it anyway. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if your earrings match your belt. What matters is how you treat people.
Popularity in middle school is a delicate pond on which you are skating. Being mean and pretty might scare people into thinking you’re popular for awhile, but I guarantee you that ice will melt soon enough. Try being the kind, pretty version of yourself.
Mean is a choice too. It’s not a default. Since the way you treat people is a decision, choose to be kind.
All my love,
-Ms. Jackson
From Mateo
Dear Ethan and Christian
Dear Ethan and Christian,
I have a new vocabulary word for you:
Empathy – the ability to understand and share the feelings of another
Today you two showed empathy when you noticed that I was stressed and frustrated at lunch. While nearly every other 6th grade student continued being rowdy and silly when I asked them to enter the cafeteria silently, you two thought about what it must feel like to be me, and you invited me to eat lunch at your table.
Ethan, I’ll never forget your quip:
“Well, about all we can do is pray!”
Amen to that.
And Christian, thank you for offering me a French fry while taking my mind off the craziness of the cafeteria by yammering about the latest movies you’ve seen.
You two are the coolest. Thanks for reminding me of what kindness looks like.
All my love,
-Ms. Jackson
Rivers & Roads 