Selections from "notes from my students"

So earlier this week, my students' poor behavior led to them losing their recess time. Normally, this would mean that they would walk laps around the playground. On this particular day, it happened to be raining, so we stayed inside and I told my students to take out a sheet of paper and write to me, for 20 minutes, about anything they wanted to write about. The results were quite diverse, and very entertaining. Here are some of the highlights (transcribed exactly as written, hence the errors):

M: "Hi Ms. H. I know today is my birthday I'm really excited and I'm geting a fish today I don't now what I should call I If you got a good name tell me please your the best teacher I met If I give you a inveation will you come to my birthday pary you are really really really really nice and pretty I like school so much I don't wnat to leave."

C (an ESL student): "I fie sad becam we didit got time to tike at lunch and recess and I sorrow we wase our time." (followed by "Be Mine." and a picture of Spongebob that he traced from one of the many Spongebob valentines he has sitting in his desk that he will periodically distribute in quantities of anywhere from 1-4 to a random student at a random time.)

K: "Dear Ms. H. I'm feeling happy I want Kids Bop 18 a puppy roller skates a bairbe and a doll house. A coller for puppy. I want to go smiwing."

C (in the form of a thank you card): "Thak you for being my teaher and thak you for helping me love C"

T: "I want some new shes and some new games and some new close and some books and some new sinny j...and I want a machn and some bes so I can wap kids and I want to be a football plaer. The end."

D: "Dear Ms. H I will lik some jolley rache and som hot chetoc."

One paper without a name simply said "fighting", and honestly I was impressed that it was spelled right.

B: "Dear Mrs. H. You are a very nice teacher some people say you arn't. When I grow up I want to be a vet because it is so not cute to see animals out on the street or diging in the trash can trying to fine somthing to eat."

A (an ESL student): "Ms. H ho is jore frabrate siger?"

D (an ESL student): "I like my dog Soloman because he is playful. When I run he run aftar me every thime I go inside he goes inside. When I fall he goes and like me and jump on me and that tikiles. When I sleep get on my bed then he start liking me. When I wake up he star barking and that mean he is hungry. Then I got and walk him all the niborhood. When I go to use the bathroom he use it to. That is why I like Soloman. The end."

Z managed to write his name on his paper and nothing else over the course of 20 minutes.

R: "I want a milky way a 3 musscaters a bike a skate 3 game for x box 360 a candy bar 7 pairs of shoes a hot tub a jucuzy a big big pool with a diveing board a te-rex motercicle a skating rink."

B (an ESL student): "Well when I grow up I whant to be a doctor of anomirt."

A: "NASCAR us my fariote I love NAscar."

K, whose entire paper was embellished with flowers: "Dear, Ms. H. If we my famliy Invite to our house or vactoin would come"

E (an ESL student) and one of my favorite writings from the day: "guitar stampers horses cariwinds favorite restrunt barbie ice cream dog ice cream maker trofy calne movie for punit disien kit neckless braclit candy chuky cheses cotten candy gum balls notebook markers glitter pen led pencils cocont ice cream. new dress boucey house. bike scoter money miny bake oven. humingbrid."

S: "I want a bop it. and a fish. I like chinken. I like furits. I want a puppy. I want to go to daycare. I want to be a grown up. I want candy. I want some bloons and a moter bike and a moter scoter and a room flild whth furit and an manchin and to be rich. And have preety cloths and shoes. to have my toes done and hair done and to be mixed. and to have greenesh redesh bluesh eyes. I want to go to bild a bare workshop. D-3." (I was intrigued by the inclusion of "and to be mixed" in the middle of that...it's pretty deep for a third grader.)

And last but certainly not least, T: "Dear Ms. H. I love skatebording. It is fun you should try it. you might fall. But not hard I did a cople times. But not hard it's fun."


So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. If you've found yourself wondering recently what's on the mind of your average third grader...well, I'm not sure I would call my third graders average, so I'm not sure this would help you. In fact, our classroom mission statement says that we're anything but average:

"We are exceptional. We are not ordinary. We will work hard to achieve our goals. We will support and respect each other. We are exceptional. We are not ordinary."

Exceptional thoughts from exceptional students. These are why I teach for equality.