The following letter contains approximately 1,200 words that will begin to shape your fifth grade year. Be sure you have time to read them all carefully. You may want to have your family sit and read with you so you can all be excited about fifth grade together. You should also have dancing shoes on (true story) and a video camera handy (extra credit).
Ready? Of course you are! Because you are about to become...
I am excited for the year ahead - but first, I need your help in knowing what this year is going to look like.
Yes, your help!
What this year holds is, in large part, up to you. I have my plans, my ideas, my goals....what about you?
I have been teaching for 18 years, and every year I begin the school year as a different person. I decide on that first day who I am as a teacher, what is important to me, what I want to accomplish, and what I want my students to see when they come to school. I choose that. You know what's the best part? Even after the first day of school, I can decide at any point in time that it's time to make a change or improvement. It's a good feeling having that kind of control.
Who Will You Be? (This is a big question - take your time to think about this!) Will you be the kid who has brilliant ideas? The kid who loves math? The kid who looks to help other people? The kid who......? Fresh start. Clean slate. We all get one (that includes you!) and we all get to begin fifth grade as the person we want to be.
What is important to you? (This is another big question and one I am really curious about, so I will ask it twice.) What is important to you?
There are lots of things that are important to me: fearlessness, ruckus making, my family, sharing ideas, reading, discussing great ideas, making things, discovering things, sharing what I know, and learning a wealth of knowledge from other people.
As a teacher, there are a few more things that are important to me:
* Having a relationship based on respectful, open communication. I promise you that no student I have ever worked with has ever been in trouble for respectfully sharing their opinion with me. In fact, it usually makes me like and respect you even more!
* Having my students as co-creators - I want your input for our units. I have the outline for what concepts we will explore, but this is an inquiry-based program. We are inquirers, thinkers, and explorers - right? Be prepared to help decide where our learning will go. Don't ever be afraid to ask the first question! Never forget that we are all teachers, and we are all learners!
Check this out:
* You will get lots of feedback. More importantly, we will engage in dialogue about your work. That means we both talk. I am not the person you should be trying to please or perform for. That person is the one who looks back at you when you brush your teeth. Your objective is to knock the socks off that person. I am here to help you do that - as are your classmates. The chance to discuss, review, revise, rework, tweak and try again are all opportunities to show yourself just how awesome you can be.
* I believe in collaboration. I love to share ideas and try new things. Even when those things fail, I know I am just one step closer to finding what does work. I encourage you to be generous with your talents - whatever they may be. The more you give away of yourself, the more you will grow. I guarantee that your awesomeness factor will increase exponentially.
* Inquiry is the key. I am a huge fan of reading, watching documentaries, and researching things online. Once I inquire about something, it is then my job to ask the next question, research some more, or do something about it! Having a great question is a great first step.
* Time is precious. So are you. I don't like wasting time, and I especially don't like wasting your time. That means I try to come to school ready, fired up, and prepared to make a ruckus. Major changes in the world do not take place without a little ruckus making.
* Technology is part of the process. I love technology because it allows me to connect to new ideas. I like to think about what I want to do and look for tools to help me do it. I want to hear your ideas on technology and what works for you. We can do some amazing things with our brilliant brains, and technology can only help us to go further.
* We are not in this alone. We are a community: our class, our families, our school, our neighborhood, our town, our state, our country, our world. There are so many amazing people doing amazing things. I bet you can think of ten amazing people who do amazing things right now. We need to hear those people's stories.
OK...if you made it this far and are still with me, congratulations! You are a rock star. Stop reading right now and do some kind of victory dance. (Hopefully you are reading this in a public place and people are watching - I bet they are thinking, "I should dance more...."). Are you dancing yet? No? Afraid you will look silly? What is the worst that could happen? It's a great day to take a risk!
So....what now? How can you best prepare for the extreme awesomeness of fifth grade?
Think about what I said about being who you want to be. Most importantly, remember that everyone else in our class is thinking about that, too. I always admire those who are brave enough to set lofty goals and make the effort to become an even better version of themselves.
Despite having now used more than one thousand words, there are no words to describe how excited I am about working with you next year!
When you have had a chance to relax, digest this letter (maybe talk about it with your family or friends) and get your fifth-grade brain tuned up, I would love for you to write to me to introduce yourself, ask questions, maybe respond to something you read in this letter that made you think. If you don't get a chance to email me, feel free to ask me on our first day. See you soon!
PS. If you didn't get up and dance before and are now wishing you did, there is still time to do it. Anytime. Email me a video with your best moves (extra credit).
kristin_baird@wrsd.net