A Letter to the Students in District 332

Dear Students in District 332:

This morning, I drove past your schools and saw the message greeting you.  You know, that yellow sign? It said, "Kids Aren't Worth It. Vote No."  I know you also saw that sign.  I know you drove past the sign in the yellow school bus or in your parents' car and had your backpack or bag full of things. You were thinking about the homework you needed to finish up or the speech you had to give or whether or not they'd have chocolate milk out for Chocolate Milk Friday.   Some of you were really tired because you were up late for the pop concert or baseball game or other activity or event.  Some of you were just tired.  When I saw that sign, I imagined you sitting there and reading it and my heart broke a little bit.

That sign is a lie.  A bold faced, awful, lie.  It is the worst kind of attention seeking message meant to get people upset.  They were successful in their efforts to get attention, but they did so telling lies.

You need to listen to me when I say this.  If we were in the same room, I would look you straight in the eye and tell you in a voice that means business:

"You. Are. Worth. It."

Some of you have never been told you aren't worth it before.  I'm sorry you had that message sent to you today.  I'll bet that was shocking and surprising and felt kind of crazy.  It is all of those things.  I know that you know those signs are lies.  But just in case you kind of wondered, know that you really are worth it.  Your gut feeling was right.

Some of you were born into this world and the first message you received was that you weren't worth it.  Some of you have been hearing the message your whole life.  Some of you are hungry most days and get most of your meals at school.  Some of you (67 of you, that we know of), don't have a home or are living in a situation that isn't so great.  Some of you haul water to the structure you call home and can only have washed clothes on pay days.  Some of you see your parents struggle.  You see them hurt one another or themselves.  You see them doing drugs or selling them.  Some of you are being hurt by the very people who are supposed to love you unconditionally.   Some of you are living in situations and having experiences that most of us have only read about in the newspaper.

Some of you have other stuff going on.  Some of you have to see a doctor or therapist because your brain works differently and you need help sorting through the good and bad thoughts to find the truth. Some of you have feelings so big they burst from your body. Some of you have feelings so big you fold inward and we lose you for a little bit.  Some of you have parents who are divorcing or reconciling or remarrying.  Some of you have lost a family member.  Some of you have someone close dying from cancer.  Some of you want to die yourselves, sometimes.

I see you.

I see you doing those hard things and feeling those big feelings.  I see you handling stressors that would make a grown man or woman crumble.  I see your strength and your resilience and your hope.

I see you walking into school and taking your spot and doing the hard work of learning.  I see you doing things that are boring and uninteresting sometimes, because...  let's face it... not everything we learn is super interesting.  I see you finding the interesting things and asking questions and making sense of this world.  I see you get excited when that thing you didn't get suddenly clicks.  I see you get frustrated in the process and want to give up and then keep on working.

The thing is, there is every reason in the world that you should not learn.  All those things I just wrote about should make you not able to learn.  Only, that's not what happens.  Of course it's not what happens.  You are you.    Even though you are dealing with all of that stuff, You. Are. Learning.

You know all those tests we make you take?  When we send you into that room to take them, we take a deep breath and we wait with worry and excitement.  You see, we KNOW you can do it.  We remember all that hard work.  But, we also know that many things can impact how a specific student does on a specific test on a specific day.  So, we calm ourselves, cross our fingers, and hope for the best.   Guess what?  All that work did pay off!  This week I received several congratulatory e-mail messages that all said the same thing.  Most of you EXCEEDED our expectations.  We are so proud of you.  You should be proud too.

I know some of you got test scores that were a little disappointing.  We get disappointed, too, but not in you.  We know you can learn, but that it takes you more time or you learn in a way we haven't quite figured out yet.  We are only disappointed because we know those numbers can sometimes feel so important that you forget that your value is not defined by those test scores.  You see, even if you were a student who had a bad test day, you are still worth it.  You really are.

Those signs worry me because I am afraid that they will just solidify what some of you already believe.  I worry that you will read that and think about quitting or giving up.  I worry that you will decide that it's not worth it anymore to try to prove your value.

Listen to me.  You have value No. Matter. What.  I don't care what that sign says. I don't care what your report card, your test score, or your bank account says.  I don't care what that mean kid in the back of the bus says or what your cranky grandma says.  And that grumpy guy who yells at you from his yard?  I don't care what he says either.

You are worth every single penny that has ever been spent to make sure you could grow up safe, healthy, and with opportunity.  You are worth more than that.  There is no dollar amount that can measure your value.  You are priceless.

I'm so sorry that the grownups have forgotten you in this battle.  I'm sorry that in their desire to win and be right, they've forgotten that you are watching and taking this all in.  I'm sorry that in our quest for power and control and to stroke our own egos, we've decided that you and how you feel about yourself doesn't matter.  The grown ups are worried about things like taxes and politics and old grudges and other stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with you.  And yet, here we are, using you in our battles.  I'm sorry for that.  It's wrong.

I'm not sure what's going to happen with this vote.  You are worth a million, kaillion dollars times infinity, but there's not that many dollars to be had.  The grown ups will figure this out and hopefully soon remember that you are watching and listening.  Not everyone who votes "No" believes you are not worth it.  They just have different ideas about what can be done with the collective dollars we have.  As for the others? Don't you let them ever make you believe you are not worth "it."  Whatever "it" is.  The time, energy, dollars, and everything else...you are worth it all.

I love you.  With all my heart and soul, I adore every single thing that makes you the amazing you that you are.  I lose sleep worrying about you and I look forward to seeing you every day.  Those smiles and hugs and greetings....they are real.  I promise.

You. Are. Worth. It.  All of it.

Love,

Ms. Rossow