That same week one of my students said something so unexpectedly funny I never wanted to forget it so I wrote it down Just a short quick sentence with enough detail for me to remember the scene if I looked back on it years later That's how it all started For the next fifteen years I wrote down everything I wanted to remember from my sixth grade classroom I jotted things down in notebooks electronic files on gifts from students more notebooks and even next to their faces in yearbooks For the most part the memories just sat in those places untouched for years But then in the summer of 2023 I began going through all of those captured moments in time I expected to find exactly what I wrote down a funny quote here a story of friendship there but instead I discovered something more There in all those memories were lessons I am not sure why I missed these in the moment but now it is all I can see Life lessons embedded in the simplicity of everyday encounters just waiting to be discovered And what I know is this Everyone has a story to tell and every story is important Every Single One
The following stories took place in my sixth grade classroom The names of individuals have been changed for privacy However one name has not been changed Tapasvi You will understand why when you read her story
A Sticky Note Years ago I had a student who wouldn't speak And when I say wouldn't speak I mean not at all Not one word I have never felt so ill equipped as a teacher I had no tools for this situation So as a way to help connect with her I just drew a cartoon or wrote a little message on a sticky note and placed it on her desk every single day It went on like this for the rest of the year We had parent meetings counselor meetings psychologist meetings and we kept trying to talk to her 2
but she didn't speak all year Two years go by and I get an envelope in the mail What's inside A single sticky note On it it said I saved all your sticky notes Thank you so much you helped me more than you know And that's what is hard about life Most of the time you never get to know your impact But I guarantee you whatever you are doing even the small things like a sticky note have probably made a huge difference 3
