Save the notes. You’ll need them later.

Recently, I recorded a #punkrockreflection for the show about a letter a former student wrote me. It was a great little letter. It made me feel great, it made me remember why I do what I do, and yes…it made me cry.

My wife is now the amazing principal at the school we both taught at and she recently put out a call to former alumni to write a letter to a teacher that they had who meant something special to them. She posted that this year had been extra difficult for educators and that if any former students wanted to help a teacher feel a little better as they juggled everything about teaching during a pandemic, they should write them a letter. She said that she would make sure they got to the teacher even if they didn’t work at her school any more. I was the lucky recipient of one of those letters.

My wife was right. I needed that letter. We (the royal we of collective educators) need those letters. I was so stoked to get it and to hear from a former student. It’s those little messages, letter, and notes we get through our career that are life affirming and career making.

Getting that letter reminded me of my collection. My letters and notes from students. I have a stack of them in the desk drawer in my classroom. In my district, where I have spent 11 of my 15 years in the classroom we have little cards called “Happy Grams.” They come in a rainbow of bright colors so you can’t miss them. I’ve kept them with me as I’ve moved classrooms, buildings, and schools. I even have two spray painted burger king crowns that I won from student council. I’ve got a cool plaque my robotics kids got me that says “Bucklwild” on it and plenty of knick knacks kids have gifted me with throughout the years. If you wanna read about the marbles in my desk drawer go check that blog out too.

Why do I keep them all? That’s easy. I need to. They remind me why I do what I do. They remind me of the hundreds and hundreds of kids I have been lucky enough to hangout with and talk history, government, and economics with. They remind me that for every day I walk in my classroom there are kids who need me to be the best I can be for them.

So if you’re not keeping a stack of notes and mementos, you should. You need them. We need them. I had to take down 4 years of graduation announcements when we finally returned to our classrooms last fall. We were told we needed to clean up our walls so they could deep clean to open us back up. I kept those too. If I need a reminder of why I do what I do, I break into that stack of Happy Grams, I flip through those grad announcement, or I put on that burger king crown….Okay I don’t do that but you get the point.

If you have those notes somewhere in your classroom, break them out. Read a couple. Breath deeply. Remember why you do this thing.

Those notes, those little things, mean the world to me. So much so that four years ago when there was a state wide teacher walk-out and 75,000 of us marched on the capitol here in Arizona to fight for better education funding, those cards came with me. I put them in a baggy and shoved them in my backpack. Those kids were my reason for fighting. Those kids are my reason for doing what I do. So I thought I should take them with me. I needed them then and I know I still need them now.

There is a good chance I will be packing up my classroom at the end of this school year and moving on to my next role in education. Those notes, letters, and mementos are coming with me. They belong on the journey. I wouldn’t be who I am as an educator without the kids those brightly colored cards represent.

So keep the notes. You’ll need them later. Trust me.