Tag Archives: determination

Dear Miguel

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education, photography

Dear Miguel,

I’ve watched you silently absorb into Shaun, Keenan and Davian’s group. You never seem to instigate trouble, but you are often caught with the consequences of following that crowd.

Please be careful over winter break.

Life is a series of choices, and if you continue to passively follow others down this often dangerous path, you could find yourself in serious trouble.

What strikes me as different about you is the way you respond to consequences. Today, when all four of you were placed in detention instead of the Christmas party, you were the only one who did not argue, complain or shut down. You accepted your situation, as if you knew that your actions earned the consequence for skipping math class on the last day of school before break. That tells me you do know the difference between right and wrong.

It’s time for you to step up. Stand your ground on issues you don’t want to be a part of. Be strong enough to walk away and refuse to be part of the crowd that makes dangerous decisions over the break.

All my love,

-Ms. Jackson

Dear Marques

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education, photography

Dear Marques,

Nothing but courage stands in the way of passing your midterm. You know the material. When I pose a question in class, your hand shoots up in the air, and that jolly grin I’ve come to know and love stretches across your face.

But I watch as a paper test is set in front of you – the same questions, multiple choice answers – and your confidence fades. Your test average in my class is a 42. If I could grade you on oral answers during my lesson, you would have an A average.

We’ve been working on strategies to deconstruct the test. You have the tools you need. All that’s left is for you to believe in yourself.

Breathe. Read the question. Cover up the answer choices. Write a response in your own words in the margins. Search the text for evidence to prove your answer. Then look at the multiple-choice options to pick the best of what they have provided.

Breathe again. You are smarter than the test. I believe in you! I need you to believe in you so that you can show yourself, your parents and your community how brilliant you are.

All my love,

-Ms. Jackson

Dear Tiana

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education, photography

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

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education, photography

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

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education, photography

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

Dear Marcela

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education, photography

Dear Marcela,

Teach me how to be brave.

I look to you when I start to feel overwhelmed by your classmates’ behaviors, and I admire your strength. The rest of the class might be in a state of chaos: talking, out of their seats, sleeping, or doing Lord-knows-what, but I always catch you leading from a place of courage and quiet confidence.

You must be frustrated. I can tell how badly you want to learn. I am exhausted, because I long to teach, but lately I’ve had to be more of a disciplinarian.

You are stronger than I am in so many ways. The class gets rowdy, and I fight the urge to cry, while I watch you just work harder. I start to yell, and I notice that you tap the shoulders of the students around you to bring them back to focus.

Thank you for being you in an environment where it would be very easy to conform.

It is brave to be a strong, intelligent young woman in middle school. While most of your classmates desperately seek to fit in, you are comfortable in your own skin. To know who you are and what you stand for is courageous.

I want to be you when I grow up.

All my love,

-Ms. Jackson

Dear Agustin

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education, photography

Dear Agustin,

I wish you had told me sooner. I can only help you be successful to the extent that you are honest with me and you let me understand the complexities you are facing.

Pain cannot be silenced. He parades around in disguises when we try to hide him from others, but he will not go away until faced and dealt with.

Without knowing what was occurring in your life outside of school, here is how I described your first semester of 6th grade to your mom in our parent conference yesterday:

In August and September, Agustin was a solid B student. While not always intrinsically motivated, he responded well to reminders to complete his work and stay on task in class. He was pleasant, funny and had perfect attendance. Occasionally, he got a little too silly with his friends, but he would politely and respectfully bring it back when corrected.

 In October and November, Agustin’s grades slipped to low C’s, and he almost never turned in completed homework. He began to display an attitude of careless and reckless behavior. When corrected, he talked back, sulked or even walked out of class. He has not laughed or joked with his friends in his usual, carefree way. He skipped my class on three different occasions in the past month.

Agustin, I wish I could have had this conversation with your mom and your dad. But you and I both know that this is no longer possible. Your dad told me in August that he brought you to this country – facing incredible hardships along the way – so that you could have the best education possible.

Would he be proud of the way you are letting pain and sadness erode the gift he gave you?

Your mom told me that he has applied for a work visa. I am hopeful that you will see him again soon, and during the in-between time, I want to challenge you to make him proud with the decisions you are making. Act every day as if your dad is about to walk back in the door to be reunited with your family forever. Wouldn’t you want him to catch you on your best day with your best grades?

I can only imagine how traumatizing it was to see your dad taken from your dinner table. When those memories surface, I want to challenge you to stay. Don’t walk out of class. You can’t outrun the memory; it’s internal. You have to sit there and face Pain and show him you’re stronger. Channel that rage into becoming the smartest student and the fastest striker on the soccer team.

A student who has the courage to walk out of class has the strength he needs to stay and overcome.

All my love,

-Ms. Jackson

Dear Self

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education, photography

Dear self,

Three goals today:

  1. Show up.
  2. Teach the objective.
  3. Be nice. Do not yell or cry.

You will get through this day. You will not worry about tomorrow or the next day or the next day. You will not give up on yourself or your students. They deserve to be taught by an adult who respects them and does not abandon them in a difficult time.

Half of the battle is showing up. Get out of bed, and get going.

Never, never, never quit.

Dear Alberto

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education, photography

Dear Alberto,

You lost my trust today. From now on, you will stand at the front of the line and Julian will stand in the middle. Neither of you will be at the end of the line, and the two of you will not stand next to each other. Do I make myself clear?

You need to know what I heard and saw, so you can grasp how serious this is. I know that you have your side of the story as well, and I will hear it, but first you need to understand what I observed.

I gave clear directions for the class to line up silently by the door. The 33 students at the front of the line followed my directions, and we all transitioned into the hallway. As we stood outside of Mrs. Titus’ room, one of your classmates ran up to me, breathless.

“Ms. Jackson! Alberto and Julian snuck out of the line! They’re fighting in your classroom!”

As I ran into the room, I saw Julian slumped against the window, with his hands shielding his face. You raised your binder over your head and slammed it onto his hands and face as I yelled, “Stop!”

I had to literally stand in front of Julian to get you two to stop throwing punches. Alberto, you are twice as tall as Julian. You are much stronger, and you used your binder as a weapon.

I am responsible for the 35 young adults in your class, and you two decided to jeopardize your safety and the safety of every other student in my care by foolishly picking a fight in my classroom during the passing period.

It is clear that within the four walls of our school, you feel safe enough to pick a fight. You are bigger and stronger than most boys your age. You feel invincible.

What happens when you pick a fight at Deer Path Park? Or on Illinois Avenue when you’re walking home?

What happens when you look the wrong way at the wrong guys at a stoplight? Ask Keenan. That’s how his brother was shot and killed, less than a mile away at the Jack-in-the-Box on Kiest.

I’m sick of the needless violence. You have to learn now how to channel your emotions without swinging your fists.

You are going to serve your In-School Suspension with the 8th grade tomorrow. By the end of the day, I expect a written apology to Julian, and a written reflection to me, explaining what happened, why it was wrong and what you will do differently next time.

I care too much about you to let you go down this path.

All my love,

-Ms. Jackson