Tag Archives: inspiration

Dear Tiana

Posted on by under education, photography

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

Posted on by under education, photography

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

Posted on by under education, photography

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 Anonymous

Posted on by under education, photography

education, photography

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

Posted on by under education, photography

education, photography

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

Dear Marcela

Posted on by under education, photography

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 Amber

Posted on by under education, humor, photography

photography, education

Dear Amber,

You are my inspiration. Today, at the career fair, I was impressed with your passion and plan for your future.

Me: “Hey, I noticed that you talked to the visiting psychology professor for awhile. Is that a career you’re interested in?”

You: “Yes ma’am! I think it’d be really great to counsel kids in elementary and middle school. A lot of my friends have been having a hard time, and I like giving them advice. I think I’m pretty good at it too.”

Me: “That’s amazing. You have nearly perfect grades in all your classes – I think the last time I checked, you had averages above a 95 in math, science, reading and social studies. Is that right?”

You: “Yes. I really like school, and I don’t mind working hard.”

Me: “Well, with grades like that and an excellent work ethic, you should check out the University of Texas. That’s where I went to school, and they have a great psychology department. They do a lot of research, and it could be a wonderful place for you to get your degree someday.”

You: “Oh, Miss, I was kind of thinking I’d apply to Harvard…”

Shame on me! Of course you should be thinking about attending an Ivy League university. There is no reason you can’t consider Harvard as a very real possibility for your future.

I wanted to let you know that I emailed one of my mentors in Dallas ISD to find resources that will take your reading and writing to the next level. It’s never too early to start preparing for the rigorous coursework that any university, and especially an Ivy League school, will expect from you.

I’m excited to challenge you and support you as you work on this extra practice.

I can already picture the diploma in your hand, that gorgeous smile on your face and the cap and gown flowing as you stride across the stage some 10 years from now. It’s a long road ahead, but you won’t be walking it alone.

All my love,

-Ms. Jackson

Dear Rodrigo

Posted on by under education, photography

education, photography

Dear Rodrigo,

I have to admit, you were driving me crazy in class today.

Clink, clink, clink.

At first, I couldn’t figure out where the noise was coming from.

Clink, clink.

A glimmer of light reflected off something grasped tightly in your hands. Frustrated, I walked over to see that you were playing with a stack of nickels, dimes and quarters.

“Rodrigo, put the money away, or it’s going to be mine.”

“Eleven dollars, Miss!” You whispered excitedly as the coins clinked and clanked into a plastic bag. “How much longer until the book fair?”

Thirty-three minutes later, I watched as you and your classmates scoured the shelves of shiny books, dug through the junky pencils and erasers that look like iPhones, and plowed through piles of pens that light up and make noise.

“15 minutes left” I announced to the class.

You pulled a book off the shelf and leafed through it gingerly. Checking the price, I noticed you shake your head and put it back. You did this three more times before spotting the discount table. Snatching a book, you eyed it eagerly, and with five minutes left at the fair, marched proudly to the check out.

Clink, clink, clink. You counted out each nickel, quarter and dime with care and pride, beaming when you heard the total price.

“I still have six dollars and forty-one cents!” You cried and raced back to the poster section of the store.

You were the last student at the fair.

 “Rodrigo, we really need to go,” I stressed.

“Aha!” you exclaimed, pulling a burnt-orange University of Texas poster from the pile. “Ms. Jackson, LOOK! Don’t you love it?”

 I smiled, “Yes! It’s awesome. Now let’s hurry! We gotta get you back to class.”

“Wow, Miss, I even have 27 cents left over!” Without hesitation, you plunked the change in the donation box, becoming the only student in the entire school to donate so far.

We walked into the hallway.

“Here you go!” Beaming, you handed me the poster.

“Do you want me to hold this until we get back to class?” I asked, confused.

“No, Miss, I bought it for you!” You almost skipped with excitement.

“Oh, Rodrigo, that is so thoughtful, but you should really keep it! Your parents will probably wonder what you bought today. Didn’t they give you the money to spend at the book fair?”

“No, Miss, I earned it.”

“What do you mean? Is this your allowance?”

“Not my allowance. I help my uncle with his roofing business. He usually doesn’t have any cash, so he pays me in coins.”

This gift is so meaningful to me. Thank you for spending your hard-earned money on a poster for my classroom. I admire your generosity and am honored to be the teacher of such a hard working and considerate young man.

All my love (and Hook ’em, Horns!),

-Ms. Jackson

Dear M’adri

Posted on by under education, photography

education, photography

Dear M’adri,

I am so sorry about your loss. I know how close you were with your grandfather, and in the brief time I got to know him from the carpool line, I always enjoyed his kind spirit and warm smile. My thoughts are with your family in this difficult time.

I know you are worried about missing work while you’re gone. I have attached the assignments you will miss to this letter. Part of your homework is to write an acrostic poem with the letters of your name. I made an example for you below. Feel free to use any of the words I chose for you or to change them.

M’ADRI – an acrostic poem

Mature – a leader, a reader, this scholar sets the bar. Her sensibility and hard work will get her far.

Athletic – She’s the school’s goalie, and one of only three, 6th grade ladies to make the final team.

Dyslexic – Owning her challenges like taunts from a rival, this scholar defies the odds of reading and writing survival. The experts say she will be reluctant to read, while she ignores their predictions and volunteers to lead. For her, it might be more difficult and take more time, but this inspiring student loves to make her poetry rhyme.

Resilient – Tough is her middle name; determination is her game. All she does is win, because she never gives up or gives in.

Intelligent – Admired by her peers for her book knowledge, no one doubts this scholar is on the path to college.

I hope you feel encouraged, because every word in this poem is true. I’m here for you when you return to school, and in the mean time, you have my phone number if you want to talk.

All my love,

-Ms. Jackson