Dear Future Students

Dear future students,

Hi. I love you.

My name is Laura, and it makes me feel weird that one day in the future, you’re going to know me as Ms. Dekle. You probably won’t be able to say my last name right, and that’s okay. Most people can’t (and if they can say it right, they can’t spell it right, but I'm used to it by now so no worries).

One day, in a few years, I’m going to be your teacher. That’s kind of intimidating for me. I’ve spent my whole life planning on being a teacher when I grow up, and right now is the part where I am both growing up and learning how to be a teacher. I’m used to thinking about one day in the very far future when I’m a teacher…and it’s closer than I think. In less than five years I’ll be done with college and hopefully in less than five years I’ll be your teacher!

Here are some things I want to tell you:

You are awesome. I cannot wait to meet you. We are really going to have so much fun together. Sometimes when I’m in class I get bored (as I very much hope you will never do in my class, but if you do it’s okay and I’ll still like you) and I just think about how I’m going to decorate my classroom and how I’m going to use peanut M&Ms to teach you about the structure of the earth and the books I’m going to read to you after lunchtime. It’s going to be great. Mostly because you are great.

I’ve spent my whole life watching grownups and thinking about if I would want the jobs they have. There are a few I would do, but I've always known I want to teach. I'm pretty sure it's in the stars for my future. Always always have I thought about and dreamed about having a whole classroom of my own, with awesome kids to fill up the seats and put their backpacks in the cubbies and here’s the best part of it: you are those kids. You are the kids I’ve been thinking and wanting and hoping for.

I had always planned on being an elementary school teacher – I wanted fourth grade. And then I started working at the most wonderful camp for people who need special help with certain things but who are the happiest, sweetest, most sincere and lovely people I have ever had the pleasure of spending my time with. I enjoyed my time with them so much that I rerouted my life dream of being a fourth grade teacher to being a teacher of beautiful wonderful people like you.

I’m in a bunch of really cool classes right now that are teaching me about your physical and emotional development and what’s going on in your brain and how to tell if you need special help when you’re a really little kid. I’m learning so much about you – all about how I can be the best teacher for you. 

The thing about being a teacher is that it’s technically in my job title that I will do all of the teaching – the instruction, the assessments, the educating. But what isn’t said in the title of my job is that I’m also a learner, and you will be my teachers. You’re going to teach me about myself, and about how to love life, how to be a kid, and that's something I need to be reminded of quite often. You’re definitely going to teach me a lot more than just those things, as I expect I'll teach you more than just academics, and I look very forward to all of it.

We are going to have so much fun together. I can’t wait to hear you laugh and help you learn to read and teach you my very favorite morning song (the birdie song). One of my life themes is: “adventure is out there!” because it’s true. It’s everywhere you go. We are going to have a lot of our life adventures together.

You’re going to be my students, and even if I sometimes very rarely get somewhat frustrated with how things are going in our classroom, I need you to know that there is nothing you can do to not be my students. Even if you change classes or schools, you’ll still be my students. That makes me so happy.

Until we meet (for the first time),

love,

Lauralicious